JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul (Seoul, SOUTH KOREA)

I have walked past this site many many times when the hotel was still under construction and kind of wondered if it would ever be ready. It had to be at least 4-5 years since I first saw them digging up the ground. But it still looked very much like a construction site every time I came to visit Dongdaemun.

After not hearing about this new Marriott for a couple of years, I finally got confirmation from a friend that it has opened for business at last! Since I would be visiting Seoul this week, I figured I might as well come and check it out myself.

It was a nice feeling getting a sweet corporate deal from Marriott. We got ourselves a room in the executive floor directly facing Dongdaemun and they also threw in a complimentary afternoon tea free of charge. How nice was that?

We arrived via the airport shuttle and after a 10-minute walk from the nearest bus stop, we finally got to the hotel lobby. That had to be the longest 10 minute ever considering the hard work of dragging a large piece of luggage along and trying to avoid all the pedestrians (and there were a lot of them.) en route to Dongdaemun. 



Following a relatively easy check-in, we were finally given the keys and I just couldn't wait to check out the rooms. This is pretty decent sized with a nice touch of modern design. Not bad.



And that jaw dropping view of Dongdaemun from the window. Love it.



After a quick shower, I went upstairs to the executive lounge looking for my complimentary afternoon tea set. I was feeling like a VIP now.



While I waited for my tea to cool off a little, I stepped outside to the terrace for a breath of fresh air.



I have to say, we have spent four marvelous nights here. Breakfast, which was served at the executive lounge was seriously good (though not great).



Although they didn't offer a great deal of options with their breakfast buffet, I was impressed with the quality of the ingredients. The smoked salmon was a pretty good way to start my morning.



Of course, it also didn't hurt to have some "made to order" items, such as fried eggs with sausage and egg benedict on the menu.




JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul was everything we were looking for and more. Perhaps the only knock about it is its location (which was supposed to be its selling point). While I love the Dongdaemun area, it's just a little far going from the touristy places like Hongdae and Gangnam. This would be the perfect hotel for someone who likes to spend the vast majority of time shopping in the area, but for someone like me who loves to explore different parts of the city, long traveling time is a bit of a concern.






Rating: ❤❤❤❤
Price: ₩₩₩
Address: 279, Cheonggyecheon-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Closest Metro Station: Dongdaemun
Tel: +82 2-2276-3000
Website: www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/seldp-jw-marriott-dongdaemun-square-seoul/