Dragon Hill Lodge

I've stayed here a few times now and keep hoping the rooms would be modernized but they are not. The hotel rooms are a bit run down. The shower curtain doesn't even fit and when you take a shower, water leaks outside the tub. Disappointed but the price is what makes sense.

We arrived at Incheon airport and had booked an Aafes taxi that took us directly to the lodge. This was very convenient and worked best for our family. We enjoyed the amenities the hotel offered like the shoppette, laundry facility, pool, and other stores. We also enjoyed a massage at the Salon. We were given adjoining rooms with a great view of Seoul Tower. We felt like the hotel was conveniently located. A short walk out the gate brings you to a very convenient spot to grab an Uber or walk either direction you can find great food spots. The only downside we had at the hotel is the restaurants. Bentley's service was super slow and our order was wrong but we could never find the waiter. Green Street was over priced and the food was bland. The donuts at the deli were decent but their coffee, drinks, and smoothies were not good. The smoothies at the pool were better.

Strong Stay... But Access Friction Holds It Back

Dragon Hill Lodge is a solid, dependable hotel; especially for those connected to the U.S. military community. Once you’re inside, the experience is exactly what you’d hope for: clean rooms, professional staff, and a wide range of amenities (gym, dining, laundry, etc.) that make longer stays easy and comfortable. It’s a very convenient, self-contained environment and a good option for families.

That said, there’s one issue that needs real attention:

Getting on and off post is unnecessarily difficult!!!

For a hotel that serves a high volume of transient guests, the arrival and departure experience is far more complicated than it should be. Many taxi drivers don’t know where to go, AAFES Taxi access is inconsistent (both at the lodge, and especially off in the city), and figuring out the correct gate, especially for first-time visitors, can be confusing. What should be a simple process often turns into coordination and guesswork...

This is the one area where the Lodge falls short, and it impacts the experience more than anything else. After a long travel day, or when you’re trying to get into the city on a schedule, this friction (especially walking from the gate, uphill, in the elements, after being on your feet all day) becomes very noticeable.

The good news is this feels fixable. Clear, standardized directions for drivers, better pre-arrival guidance for guests, and improved coordination at entry points would go a long way. OR... Figuring out a way to navigate a route where all taxis can drive up to the lodge!!!

BLUF:
A strong, reliable stay once you’re inside, but the access process needs improvement to match the quality of everything else.

The rooms and the facility look nice and everything works. The issues are derived from the location. The gate is hard to find due to it being hidden next to an underpass. The amenities in the hotel all close a 6pm essentially. So you can decide to either explore Seoul or stay at the hotel. You cannot do both. And lastly, the food is from the chow hall. It is just priced at gourmet rate.

My wife and I were here for 2 weeks in October. The rooms are nice, the workout facilities are outstanding, the pool is excellent. The hotel is quite clean and the restaurants and pub are great. The food is really good, has flavor, and not a hint of "institutional" (lack of) flavor. The staff and service are truly amazing. You need help, they are so polite and willing to do what it takes to ensure your needs are met. The travel/desk - Discover Seoul - is excellent with their tours, K-cards, maps, explanations on how to navigate the subway, sights, etc. The location is so close to everything. You can get a taxi at the hotel or outside the gate or do like we did most of the time...walk to our location or walk to the subway. This is a pearl of a gateway hotel to a beautiful and energized city. We love this place...city and hotel.

Excellent!!! Fresh live lobster tails , bar that doesnt close until 1 am, good food, bakery is fantastic, tried two different cakes. Pool and jacuzzi was good. I also enjoyed the sauna and steam room. My kids enjoyed themselves a lot. Tons of activities to do also. Best place to vacation with kids

Negatives- It’s very dated and you can’t see its age. It seems like MWR is not updating it almost like they’ll be closing it. The roof was leaking in the Subway/ Pizza Hut, the elevators make a scary creaky/ grinding sound, the playground area looks 20 years old, the fountains are all drained by the kid area, the pool was okay but the outdoor jacuzzi was broken, the room was fairly clean but dated and they required a family of five get two rooms even though er could easily have fit in one. The mini exchange is way over priced and the restaurants were all way over priced for the quality of food, unfortunately. They charged $7 for a bowl of plain cereal with milk on the children’s menu so that was disappointing. You can’t hook up tablets or your phone to screencast so if Joy have littles who get up early, no movie/ Sesame Street time so you can sleep and only AFN (all off except for Fox thanks to the shutdown) and the KBS Channels.

Positives- Front desk was really helpful. The Discover Seoul folks were wonderful while helping us plan tours to see the area and find things we wanted to see. The service at Green Street Cafe was very good and we enjoyed all our servers and the buffet was okay (and kids under 5 eat free), but it’s not as varied/ fancy as New Sanno in Tokyo and about 10 times the cost to stay here. The location is good for access to the city and attractions and they’ll plan out itineraries or get you on a tour bus to see it all. The City Tour was wonderful and we thought we’d see 4-5 spots and ends up going to 7! The DMZ tour was quick and a little sad, but even with the somber atmosphere it was informative and our guide was great. Our rooms looked out on the Seoul Tower and the working fountain you can’t see from the lobby/ atrium.

Overall, it’s a good spot for vacation if you get a good deal but a civilian hotel may be cheaper and fancier with the won rate.