The hotel is great, but not quite exceptional. A lot of that has to do with the size of the hotel (almost 400 rooms), meaning it does not feel intimate or private and staff are not able to provide personalized service or remember names etc. The lobby was always crowded, and felt like a large average 5-star Marriott lobby. (Having visited the lobbies at Josun Palace and Signiel, they executed this much better). FS lobby was clean and stylish, but people lining up to the desk and waiting their turns etc. In my opinion the best hotels have tony and cozy lobbies, where you rarely see anyone and tye doormen learn your names quickly, this was not the case here. That being said, the staff and service was always excellent when we faced the staff in any situation.
The location of the hotel in Seoul in more important than one might think. I often neglect the location when bookign hotels, as I assume the best hotel in the city is usually located in the best address. However, in Seoul it really depends on what are you looking for. For us, the location was not optimal, as we found ourselves taking a taxi to the other side of the river almost everytime we left the hotel. And in Seoul that is 40 minutes even with out rush hour, and 1 hour when there is traffic.
FS location is good for a few attractions, but if fine dining or shopping is your thing, stay at Signiel (on top of the best luxury mall), or Josun Palace or Park Hyatt, those are all on the other side of the river. If the palaces are your thing, stay at the FS.
The hotel is modern and stylish, it is not ultra-modern like Josun Palace or Signiel, but definitely not in a bad shape at all. It kinda gives a higher end American Four Seasons / Ritc Carlton vibe.
The breakfast buffet in enormous, it has everything. Maybe 65% of it is Asian food, but it has everything westerns would want too, perhaps smoothies and berries were the only missing items. During the holiday season it was very crowded, and people had to wait in line for tables, but during work days it is more quiet. The staff there was very hard working and always had a smile on their face.
The room was large (palace view suite). It included club lounge access, which is worth it. They have dining available from 3-8 pm, and definitely enough to skip restaurants in the afternoon / evenings if wanted. The staff there was the only ones, who were able to provide personalized service. I am very grateful for them, they did always a great job! It was a pleasure spending time and dinign there twice a day. For breakfast I would recommend the main restaurant, it is quite restricted here.
The bed was excellent as always at FS. The free garmet pressing delivered 8 pieces of clothing in 6 hours, thats remarkable (during my sleep).
They also provide stylish and quiet air purifiers in the room, which was great.
I must also mention the excellent and rapid assistance they offer via the chat in their app, they managed all the questions and restaurant booking quickly and perfectly. 10/10 for that!
The spa was quite disappointing. A nice relaxing, quiet and intimate spa area is always important for us in city-hotels. However, their spa felt more like a public swimming hall, or a 4-star hotel pool. It lacked any type of design, making it look cheap and commercial. It was as bright as it is outside, and the loungers were quite basic. The pool was also very crowded during holiday season. During work days in was less crowded. The large warm jacuzzi was nice, and if you close your eyes, you can enjoy it for sure, but do not expect a luxury spa experience.
We booked a suite to have the Korean spa included to our rate, as I was told by the staff, only guests staying in suites could access it (later on site the staff told anyone can access it for 70 000 krw, which is a lot less than the standard difference in the rate for a suite at + 600 000 krw per night extra). The Korean sauna / spa was more quiet, but the weird thing was that they require you to be naked everywhere, in the pools and jacuzzis too, not just the sauna. That was quite surprising. We ended up only using the Korean sauna / spa once…
The gym was literally the best hotel gym I have ever been to. It had everything, looked modern and stylish and all the equipment were new and high quality. It was better than most commercial gyms.
They also have some restaurants on site, of which the Market Kitchen was excellent. They have a massive korean / international buffet every night. I would recommend trying it out.
All in all, I can recommend the hotel, but I would personally stay at Signiel next time for the smaller size and better location for shopping and dining. However, that might not be the better option for everyone…
