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Novotel Suites Ambassador Seoul Yongsan

Name: Novotel Suites Ambassador Seoul Yongsan Review
Item: Novotel Suites Ambassador Seoul Yongsan
Rating: 3.9
Author: Janko Zehe

Price / night€139 (about $149; I stayed four nights, no breakfast)Check current rates →
ALL StatusA welcome drink at the bar, nothing else; no lounge was offered
WiFiFast
WalkabilityYongsan Station and its shopping mall are right across the way
Airport / TrainMetro straight from the airport to Yongsan Station, which is right next to the hotel

The view from my suite at dusk: the whole city lit up over the Han River. This view is the best thing about the room.

The suite is generous: kitchenette, seating area with a sofa, a desk and a wall of windows with that view. Everything I need for a few days. I only photographed it on check-out day, so it looks lived in (face blurred).

Two beds, a yellow armchair and a lot of space. It is a comfortable suite, and the room is pleasant to look at. The bed is unmade because it was check-out day (face blurred).

Deoksugung Palace: a green, calm garden with a neoclassical building and a fountain, right in the middle of the city. Worth a visit from the hotel.

A small brick pavilion with a golden railing in the Deoksugung park. I liked the mix of styles.

The gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace, Geunjeongmun. It is the big palace of the city, and this entrance is spectacular.

The Novotel Suites Ambassador Seoul Yongsan is part of a huge hotel complex in the Seoul district of Yongsan, right next to Yongsan Station. The complex holds three Accor hotels: a Mercure, a Novotel and this Novotel Suites. We had a large suite with a fantastic view over the city, a washing machine in the room and a huge bathroom with a great shower. The service was friendly, but the stay brought me nothing special as an ALL member.

Quick verdict: A big, comfortable suite in a location you can hardly beat for public transport: Yongsan Station is just across the way, and the airport is a straight metro ride. Friendly team, great shower, great view. ALL status did not do much here beyond a welcome drink. JCI Score 3.9 out of 5.

Location

The hotel sits in a giant complex next to Yongsan Station, one of the biggest stations in the city. From the window you can see the station complex, and at night it is brightly lit, because there are football and sports pitches on its roof. So there is always something going on around the clock. Behind it, as part of the station, there is a large shopping mall.

Getting There & First Impression

I came from the airport and could take the metro straight to Yongsan Station, and from there it is a short walk across to the hotel. That is hard to beat.

Check-In & Loyalty Experience

There was a small queue at check-in, so it did not go very fast, but the people were super friendly. I booked a junior suite, so there was no upgrade. Sometime during the stay we got a welcome drink, which we had at the bar. That was all my ALL status brought me here; no lounge was offered to us.

The Room

The suite was very generously equipped. It had two beds, a TV corner with a sofa, a desk and even a washing machine. The bathroom was huge, and the shower was great. The room climate was pleasant, and there was nothing to complain about. The view was the highlight: we looked far out over the city. One thing to know: at night it is dazzlingly bright outside, because of the football pitches on the roof of the station, so we always had to darken the room completely. With the curtains closed, I slept very well.

There is also a pool with lounges on the roof of the hotel, where you can even have a Korean barbecue by the pool. We did not do that. It felt a little odd to us.

There was a desk in the suite, and the WiFi was fast, so working was no problem.

Food & Drink

I did not have breakfast in the hotel. Instead we went to the shopping mall that is part of the station. You find all kinds of cuisines there, and the coffee was the best, so that was enough for us, and we took it instead of the hotel breakfast.

Digital Customer Experience

The WiFi was fast. Nothing else digital to report.

The Bill & Value

Four nights cost €557.25, which is about €139 per night or about $149 per night.

Verdict

What I particularly liked

The fantastic view, the very friendly team, the huge bathroom with a great shower, the washing machine in the suite, the generous space and the fast WiFi and the unbeatable location at Yongsan Station.

What I didn't like

The queue at check-in, the bright light from the station pitches at night (you have to darken the room completely), and the stay brought nothing special as an ALL member: a welcome drink, no lounge.

Would I come back? Gladly, the location and the space are hard to beat. But Seoul has so many other great hotels that I am curious about, and I have already booked my next trip there.