The Shilla Seoul

Spectacular view on N Seoul Tower and mountain, room is well sized with wardrobe and very comfortable desk, bedding is extremely comfortable and the mattress and pillows are incredibly soft, all toiletries are from Molton Brown, gym has all the equipment and helpful staff, swimming pool is excellent, the room is properly cleaned twice a day. Staff is extremely professional and friendly, willing to go extra to help us with any questions. Concierge service is one of the best I have experienced globally. We had breakfast and dinner at The Parkview- it serves the most delicious and sophisticated food. The Library bar has a fantastic view, serves delicious coffee and live music and signing takes place in the evening. Dongguk University Station is 5 mins walk and Namsan hiking route is 15 mins walk away. Hotel has a selection of amazing luxury shops on the basement floor, including contemporary fashion designers. The Shilla has a wonderful Korean art displayed including Park Seo-Bo and Lee Bae.

The hotel is great, a little formal, yet equipped with all the things I like. Fitness centre, good bar, good restaurant, breakfast is varied and the location is very good for exploring the city from there.

Excellent service with a lot of attention to details, quite unusual! The breakfast buffet was excellent with a variety of different choices, catering for many different tastes across the world! The bar area (the so-called library) is also very nice and was great for an informal dinner as I was on my own on a business trip.

I don’t know much about the Shilla’s history but stepping into the hotel felt like I was stepping into an institution. It is outdated though, but it comes across as cozy rather than grimy because of the upkeep. It’s outstandingly clean. The service at reception isn’t the greatest compared to other high-end hotels in Seoul. We weren’t told about details such as needing to book breakfast beforehand if we wanted to pay the guest price, or that there’s a car service between the parking and the hotel. They did end up giving us the guest price for breakfast though to amend for their mistake, but parking is a hassle if you have a car. You have to park and either wait for a car to take you up the hill to the hotel, or make your way up a very long staircase.

The hotel is beautiful - modern design and gardens surrounding the hotel. It is a very nice experience from check-in to check-out. We did not eat at the hotel but I heard from others that the restaurants were very good.