Sotetsu Hotels The Splaisir Seoul Dongdaemun

We stayed at this hotel while visiting our son who is in Korea for study abroad. We had a great time; the staff provided excellent service from suggesting places to go and how to get there, reserving taxis, taking care of any problems in our room (we accidentally tripped a circuit). They also gave 2 bottles of water every day and replenished toiletries and coffee every day. My husband loved wearing the pajamas they had available, even though the legs were knee high. I think they could have provided two towels each since the towels are so tiny (more like hand towels than bath towels). We stayed in room 2007, had a wonderful view looking down at the DDP. The room had a small fridge and electric hot water carafe. I loved the toilet :-)
The location was great, access to different subway lines and bus right outside. Nearby are food stalls (the ones right outside don’t open till night but if you go across the street there’s some good restaurants, stalls, and even a textile market. The Seoul Wall museum is walking distance and worth going to (free entry). When we checked out they took our bags and held them for us till our taxi arrived at 2:30pm. The breakfast buffet was good. I think they could offer more fruit like strawberries and melons, but I was happy to try fresh lychee for the first time. Breakfast was a mix of “western” and Korean choices… eggs, bacon, toast, fruit and yogurt, pastries… then you could also fix your own bibimbap or pick some onigiri. There were other choices too, even soft serve ice cream!
I would definitely stay at this hotel again, and would recommend it to others. It was nice to have a 7-11 right on the corner for drinks and snacks, and I found a wonderful hair salon across the way to get my hair done. Also many Starbucks (which are NOT owned /run by the actual Starbucks) and a Paris baguette, as well as a little corner market where you could get fresh fruit (like strawberries) and other snacks.

It was our first time staying at this hotel and we had encountered an unpleasant experience on their service.

On The first day after check-in the safe box has a low battery and is not able to set up.

On the day Six halfway of my shower no Shower Gel.
We had called to inform the front desk staff and also requested a room service.

After make up of the room but no replenishment was done and no replacement of the clean bath towel at the end of late evening.

Until we personally went to inform the front desk counter staff.

The staff came up shortly to our room to follow up and saw it by himself.

My family stayed at The Splaisir and it was an overall pleasant experience. We loved the location as it was directly in front of the Subway [Exit 4 Lift of Dongdaemun History & Culture Park (DDP) station]. We travelled everywhere in Seoul by subway and it's so convenient.

As for the hotel, we felt welcomed and staff were able to converse in English so communication was never an issue.

We quite like the spread of the breakfast at the restaurant at L2, although the menu didn't change throughout our stay we just tried something different everyday to avoid getting bored. Entry is via coupons which were issued to us during check-in.

The room we had was nice and the view outside was great and unobstructed. The iconic DDP building was 2 streets away but because there wasn't anything interesting there we didn't go there.

The only area of improvement (hence loss of 1 star) was the room cleaning. For eco-friendliness we can put a sign to indicate we do not need a change of bedsheets but despite us not putting the sign the bedsheets were not changed. But we resolved this easily by requesting at the front desk and it was done by the time we came back from shopping.

There is a gym and laundry room at the basement 1 level but we didn't use them. Good for those who might need such services.

The location was great, right outside the door there is an elevator down to the subway network. The rooms were clean. There was glassware available in the rooms. The towels seemed kind of small and thin. The breakfast had wide selection but it seemed average in quality. I think of this as a high grade three star hotel.

I didn’t like their scented aroma therapy stuff in the lobby which is a little nauseating. Their toiletry had the same quality as that of most US motels, very meh.

This hotel is very conveniently located at exit 4 of Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station. It is beside DDP and surrounded by shopping malls. The subway elevator located right outside the hotel. The airport limousine bus stop is right outside as well. There are two convenience stores within 2 minutes walk from the hotel. The hotel has 20 levels in total, second storey is the cafe/ restaurant. There is a basement, the gym and coin laundry is located here. There are only two washers and two dryers. There is also an ice maker and microwave.

I booked the Deluxe Family Twin Room for 5 nights. It was originally meant for 3 persons but only two of us were sharing the room. The room is clean and decently sized, with one single bed and one double bed. For 2 pax, we managed to make space to open the luggage. There are bottles of mineral water provided daily. The bathroom has a bathtub and toilet with bidet. Shampoo, conditioner and shower gel are also provided. I’m also pleasantly surprised that there is a humidifier in the room!

The service staff is very friendly, always ready the greet the guests when they arrive. One of the front desk staff also kindly introduce the hotel when I check in. Not sure if it is a limited time promotion, the hotel offers 25,000 won voucher for use at Shinsegae department store and additional 10,000 at Shinsegae Myeongdong. You can even claim tax refund on the lodging at the airport.

Overall, the hotel is super value for money and the location is unbeatable. The only con is the waiting time for the lift can take a while.