Why the Seoul Plaza Hotel is one of my favorite hotels in the world

The Plaza Hotel in Seoul remains to this day as one of the best hotels I’ve ever stayed at. The staff was amazing, the room was phenomenal, and the food was pretty good. Oh – and the location (in the heart of Seoul) can’t be beat.

A full review of my 2 night stay at the Plaza Hotel in Seoul

Having spent the previous night at the Grand Hyatt Incheon, my reasoning for choosing the Plaza Hotel for my second night was simple: I basically searched for the best rated hotels in the heart of the city – and the Plaza was one of the top results.

Since I don’t hold status with any hotel chain, I’m free to chose whatever I like and not be forced into a property that doesn’t look ideal. It also lets me choose boutique hotels like this one over the chain brands – so by being a “free agent”, I get to choose some pretty interesting hotels during my travels.

Seoul Plaza Hotel exterior — The Plaza Hotel is situated right in the heart of Seoul, across from the city hall

Seoul Plaza Hotel located at center of city — This is the view right out side of the main entry at the Plaza hotel. As you can see, the location can’t be beat!

As soon as I walked in the lobby, I knew this wasn’t a chain hotel. The ambiance was dark and mysterious, and it had a very Asian feel to it with heavy use of gold accents. I liked it! The staff said it was no problem checking me in early (it was 1pm at that point) and they processed my information quickly – and I was once again escorted to the hotel by a staff member just like at the Hyatt Incheon. Guess it’s a Korean thing and I’m not the rock star I thought I was!

The lobby

Seoul Plaza Hotel lobby — The lobby of the Plaza Hotel – the check in desk is at the far end of this photo

Seoul Plaza Hotel lobby design — View of the lobby facing the other direction. By the way, this kicks the *snot* out of the lobby of the Comfort Suites Anchorage Airport Hotel (a property I recently stayed at). Just sayin’.

My overall impression changed as soon as I stepped off the elevator and started the walk down the dark hallway to my room. The decor was definitely…different. It actually reminded me of a nightclub without the loud music. Hmm.

Seoul Plaza Hotel hallway — The dark and mysterious hallways of the Plaza Hotel in Seoul (which, oddly enough) is nearly dark and dreary as the hallways in the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel in London. It’s a Plaza thing!

Seoul Plaza Hotel room door — Each room had a double-door entry. I’ve never seen that in a hotel before.

The room

I had reserved a Premier Suite, which is the middle ground between the standard room and the top of the line Presidential Suite. I had high expectations going in…

Once inside, I didn’t really know what to think other than the fact that it was a lot smaller than I thought it would be. A “suite” in Asia must mean something different than it does in the US, as I had visions in my mind of two large rooms and a bathroom. What this was, in fact, was two small rooms and a really big bathroom. Was I disappointed? Not really. It was still very nicely designed and felt really comfortable. The furniture was quite interesting as well. Very unique, and quite stylish.

Seoul Plaza Hotel premier room — The main room of the Premier Suite in the Plaza Hotel

Seoul Plaza Hotel furniture — The furniture in the Premier Suite was quite stylish and far more different than what you’d see in a chain hotel

Seoul Plaza Hotel desk and tv — The desk and wall-mounted TV in the main room of the Premier Suite

Seoul Plaza Hotel room entry — The main entryway showing the double doors from behind

Seoul Plaza Hotel floor plan — Here’s a closer look at the hotel floor plan on the door.

Seoul Plaza Hotel decor — Just off to the side of the entryway was a closet with blood-red materials. I’m not going to lie – this creeped me out a bit!

Seoul Plaza Hotel Premier Suite bed — The Premier Suite bed

Seoul Plaza Hotel bedroom — There’s another TV in the bedroom, which I thought was highly convenient

Seoul Plaza Hotel entrance to bathroom — The entrance to the large bathroom was located in the bedroom

The bathroom

Seoul Plaza Hotel bathroom — The bathroom was spacious and bright, with an equally large shower

Seoul Plaza Hotel bathtub — The tub was gigantic, though I didn’t get a chance to try it out.

Seoul Plaza Hotel toilet — That toilet was amazing – it was fully automatic with heated seats and an adjustable bidet feature. I want one at home!

Other things that I liked

Seoul Plaza Hotel room controls tablet — Everything in the room was controlled by this touch-screen interface beside the bed. Very convenient!

Seoul Plaza Hotel room view — Seoul Plaza Hotel room controls tablet

Seoul Plaza Hotel view of city — This is the view from the bedroom

Final thoughts

By the end of my two-night stay, I was feeling like I made a really good choice with this hotel. The location couldn’t have been better, the room was very comfortable, and there were a wide variety of dining options that looked quite tasty. I only tried thier all-day dining buffet/restaurant (the Seven Square), but it was excellent if not a bit pricy (as all hotel restaurants usually are).

If you’re traveling to Seoul and want to be right in the heart of the city, you can’t beat the Plaza.

Why the Seoul Plaza Hotel is one of my favorite hotels in the world