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Seoul's Hottest Hotels
Charles C.D. Kang and Hee Young Kim July 11, 2008
Into the heart of the South Korean capital
Every weekend, the lobbies of the most exclusive hotels in Seoul are hopping with wedding guests, duty-free shoppers and families on outings—and tourists, of course. But more than just offering fancy accommodations, these hotels serve as social sites for South Korea's urban elite. Their strategic locations and top-quality services, especially in terms of dining and wining, help attract functions of all types, from birthday banquets and weddings to promotional shows.
In short, Seoul's hotels provide public spaces where local residents can cultivate an elite lifestyle. That's a far cry from when luxury hotels were first developed in Korea, when they were intended mostly for foreigners.
See our slideshow of Seoul's Hottest Hotels.
Antoinette Sontag was granted permission to build the first Western-style hotel in Korea at the turn of the 20th century. Sontag was a reformist of French-German origin, and sister-in-law to the first Russian envoy to Korea, who befriended Queen Min and King Gojong. Designed by the Russian architect Aleksey Seredin-Sabatin, Sontag’s eponymous property featured Russian-style architecture, according to Kim Jeong-dong, professor of architecture at Mokwon University.
When it opened for business in 1903, The Sontag Hotel made history by offering new “Western luxury.” A promotional postcard from the time features a panoramic view of the hotel, and announces it as “the only First Class Foreign Style Hotel inside the City Walls.” It is also widely believed that the Sontag Hotel was one of the first Korean establishments to serve coffee—then a rare foreign import enjoyed only by the privileged elite. “The Sontag served as a rendezvous for Western diplomats, missionaries and reformist intellectuals,” says Professor Kim.
Unfortunately, the profoundly historic building was bombed during the Korean War. To get a sense of what the hotel looked like in its glory days, visitors can stroll through the Jeongdong neighborhood behind Deoksugung Palace and check out the Tower of the former Russian Legation, which was also designed by Seredin-Sabatin,
Seoul's luxury hotels have played a major role in city's transformation into a modern metropolis. The five-story Chosun Hoteru, now known as the Westin-Chosun Hotel, was considered an example of ultra-modern Western architecture when it was inaugurated to great fanfare in 1914. For nearly a century, the hotel has served as a focal point of Korean politics and society. It even featured Korea’s first elevator and introduced Western-style dance halls and buffet restaurants to the country.
See our slideshow of Seoul's Hottest Hotels.
In 2007 and 2008, the Westin-Chosun underwent extensive renovations under the directions of interior architect Adam Tihany and lighting designer Arnold Chan. It was transformed into a future-oriented space that retains a rich sense of history—a trend seen in many of South Korea's other five-star hotels.
Also benefiting from a recent dramatic makeover is the Shilla Hotel, whose designer, Peter M. Remedios, managed to preserve its old charms while imbuing the space with a modern atmosphere through the use of leather, wood and natural fabrics. With the Grand Hyatt, the Shilla and the Westin-Chosun form the Old Guard of luxury hotels. They invoke the splendor of the grand hotels of the West while also striving to reflect the latest trends.
On the other hand, there's the Park Hyatt Hotel and the W Seoul Walker Hill, the most recent additions to Seoul’s luxury hotel scene. Though much larger in scale, they employ the aesthetics of boutique hotels. For the Park Hyatt, the super-hip Japanese design firm Super Potato, Ltd. placed the lobby on the top floor (the 24th) of the building. The resulting effect is an ambience of exclusivity, as the once public lobby space has been removed to the least accessible location. Unlike other five-star hotels in Seoul, the Park Hyatt only offers one restaurant and one bar, but they are both superbly designed and hugely popular.
Like many upscale hotels, the W Seoul Walker Hill carries its own line of products in its gift shop, further reinforcing the concept of selling a lifestyle. This very first W Hotel in Asia plays on the idea of a home-away-from-home; by naming its restaurants the Kitchen, for example. The guestrooms are also named unconventionally (the Wonderful Room, the Fabulous Room, the Spectacular Room, and so on) and each is decorated in a distinct manner.
More than just offering deluxe accommodations, Seoul's luxury hotels showcase the city’s economic vitality and the changing tastes of its growing elite class. Says Jeong Ah-jin, senior features editor for Harper’s Bazaar Korea, “the mantra ‘see and be seen’ has never more applicable.”
See our slideshow of Seoul's Hottest Hotels.
