This was our first trip to Busan and we wanted to stay beachfront either at Haeundae or Gwangalli. Ideally a 5 star - so that limited it to Westin Josun, Grand Josun, and Signiel. We have 2 elementary aged kids, so grand Josun was a bit too adult fancy and four seasons feel. Westin was cheapest and lounge meals are included if you get a suite, but it’s kind of small and older. Signiel was biggest and fanciest, but more expensive of course. No rooms are 4 occupancy, so we had to get 2 connecting corner rooms for about $800 total per night. Having 2 baths was nice and then we could get views from 2 sides of the building.
The location and amenities of Signiel are the best: very good high end dining, downstairs is a new mall that is about half open, not prime shopping but medical clinics, restaurants, etc. there is onsite $30/adult Club D oasis jijimbang sauna/spa and water park - but it’s quite busy. 10 min walk from your room to beach. 10 min taxi to emart, metro, etc. maybe 30-40 min taxi to train station. The hotel is floors 3-19 so you don’t get the top view but that’s ok.
The rooms give you free Evian daily but a paid mini fridge. Plenty of electrical ports and modern controls. Very comfy beds and blackout curtains. No noise from the hallway. You get your choice of pillow types. Lounge has drinks throughout the day and cookies. Very good bath products and water pressure.
They have indoor and outdoor pools but you are only allowed to go once per day, which is a bit weird to me - it wasn’t crowded. You get free lukewarm jacuzzi but you need to pay to use sauna.
We heard the View seafood buffet was famous so we had to try, but it was 175k won for adults and 70k kids. I think some other days it’s cheaper with less fancy dishes. But they had quality crab, lobster, sushi, meats, shellfish, Chinese, etc. - there are a lot of youtube videos about it.
The staff were good but not as attentive as the 5 star places in Seoul. We would return though, it was not perfect but it was very very good. Thank you Signiel!
