Swiss Grand Hotel Seoul

No way this is a five star hotel. Maybe once but really not kept up. The restaurants were all closed except one, the pool was closed, the gym was unattended, the lounge was closed. Some letters on the sign in the lobby had fallen off and they didn't bother putting them back on. There was a cracked window but put some panels in front rather than fixing it.

The room was clean but the vent cover over the shower was coming off, the wall paper was peeling, and there was a rust spot on the tile under the sink drain.

Still some nice features like the lobby with a pianist playing live music on Sunday. It reminds me of some classic stories about a great house on a decline trying to maintain the facade.

Still charging five star rate prices though.

I booked the hotel thinking I could relax by the pool but it's been closed for years for "renovation/repair". There could have let me know before booking it. The pool was locked but it looked like no repairs were needed or being done. They just don't let people use it, maybe to cut the life guard cost and liability or something.

i love thisssss place, everything was magnificienttttt. i just wondering someday i had a trip to korea again and i'm gonna lived for an few days in this hotel againnn, LOVEE IT SOO MUCH. this hotel kept so many memories by my own, my friends, and etc. with AWMUN too

Rooms and other things were all good. But hotel staff refused to sever my drink on the working hours. I was insulted. He said the he will sever only for selective guests. I was humiliated and I am going to take legal action against them. I think the wont serve for dark skinned people?

For context - Attended the Asia World Model United Nations held at the Hotel and conference center; Conference block-reserved rooms. Room services were minimal, basically just made the beds and gave new towels. Sometimes they replenished in-room ordered coffee/tea, sometimes they didn’t. Basically no toiletries provided (1 shower cap and 1 bar of soap). We had 3 staying in our room and had to contact room service everyday to request 3 towels because they just kept giving us 2 even though we used 3 and obviously had at least 3 people because we had them provide an extra fold out bed beyond our 2-person bed. They didn’t even take all our trash away during the “room servicing” on our second day, despite us leaving it sitting neatly on the floor next to the over-filled trash can. Our shower has some issues. The water temperature would vary between tepid and scalding hot without us actually changing the facet. It seemed to cycle through rapidly heating water and quickly running out/low on the heated water and repeating this cycle every 2-3 minutes. My overall impression of the facility is it used to be a prime venue for conferences but now is just a second-rate venue (several floors of the convention center appeared completely closed - lights were off, doors locked - and I didn’t see a whole lot of non-conference guests). Decor is a bit outdated throughout the hotel. I fear this venue’s glory days have passed.

It is within walking distance of restaurants and shopping, so that was nice. There is a coffee bar inside the hotel. There also appears to be 2 restaurants in the hotel, but I never saw either open (my wife says one is operational and the other is closed down). The hotel did provide a buffet breakfast (which I never ate) everyday so I suppose that could be true.

The conference center catered buffet style lunches and dinners. There was a wide variety of mostly sea foods provided, which wasn’t bad. However, other foods were of mixed quality (consistently over-cooked beef, cold “hot food”). There were very nice jumbo monitors in the conference rooms. However, the acoustics were pretty bad. I’m not sure if that’s because of the quality of the conference center’s A/V system or the A/V techs running the system not having calibrated it well.

This was a rather unimpressive stay, especially given the venue’s potential.

a peaceful city retreat surrounded by greenery. Spacious rooms, refined comfort, and a calm atmosphere make it a refreshing escape from the urban rush.

We stayed in this hotel as a group. It was very convenient that they placed us in one floor. The breakfast buffet starts at 7am. The menu does not change for the entire four days we were there. There are vegetarian food but halal food is not labeled. The hotel is on top of a hill. There is a 711 convenient at the bottom of the hill. There is also a convenient store in the hotel. There are a number of bus station nearby. The neighborhood is relatively quiet and not busy unlike Myeongdong or Hongdae.

The rooms are spacious but not sound proof. If somebody is outside the hallway, you can hear their footsteps. I appreciate the heated toilet seat especially during the cold season. On our last day of stay, o noticed that they took all the towels and replaced them with face towels. I inquired and I was told that due to the number of guests that they ran out of towels. I explained that this is unacceptable and eventually they were able to give one decent towel. The hotel does not practice yet sustainable practice for towel use. There are light switches beside the bed that makes turning off lights accessible. Initially, I thought they dont offer tea or coffee in the room but apparently its just stored in one of the shelves near the fridge. There is a television but i wasn't able to check if its comnected to streaming service. The wifi inside the room is decent. The hotel offers foreign exchange to its guests.