Hotel Review: Andaz Seoul Gangnam (Andaz King Suite)
From Honolulu to Seoul (2022) | Travel Report
Introduction
The Andaz Seoul Gangnam is a remarkable cultural blend that seamlessly incorporates elements from both the past and the future. The term "Andaz" is derived from Hindi, meaning “personal style,” and the Andaz Seoul truly exemplifies this concept with an impressive flair! With its distinct design aesthetic and modern interpretations of what a hotel can be and should feel like, we had the wonderful privilege of staying for four delightful nights at this fantastic hotel, conveniently located in the vibrant heart of Apgujeong.
As mentioned in my detailed travel report, I had planned on utilizing a Hyatt Suite Upgrade Certificate in order to secure a luxurious suite at the Andaz Seoul Gangnam. The price of a suite at the time of check-in was approximately $800-900 per night, which meant we were fortunate enough to be getting a fantastic deal for just 89,000 Hyatt Points. Quick math revealed that this equated to a staggering value of about $3,400.00 USD for a single night’s stay!
Check-In
We checked in around 12:45 PM after having come from the impressive Conrad Seoul, where we truly had a blast enjoying the Grand King Executive Suite. The lobby was busy and vibrant as it was a Friday afternoon—lots of locals and tourists were bustling about, creating an energetic atmosphere. Andaz’s check-in structure is unique in a sense that they don’t utilize a traditional check-in counter; instead, they offer complimentary water or drinks to guests upon arrival. Compared to my check-in experiences in Tokyo and Scottsdale, it seemed like we weren’t provided with a drink this time, which was slightly disappointing and unexpected.
I had applied a suite upgrade certificate prior to checking in, so I knew ahead of time that, at the very minimum, I was guaranteed an Andaz King Suite. Sure enough, we were allocated a spacious King Suite to enjoy, though our suite wasn’t quite ready at the time of our check-in. We were kindly offered the opportunity to check in and have our luggage conveniently delivered to our room once it was ready for us. With a sense of excitement, we happily made our way to the 2nd floor to enjoy lunch, where we indulged in a truly delicious tempura eel set that exceeded our expectations.
Lobby
The lobby is on the smaller side of things, though the choice of materials made for an intimate and luxurious surrounding. A variety of supercars frequent the valet parking, with the likes of multiple Lamborghini Urus, Mercedes-Benz S Classes and Porsche Panamera’s all lined up on the daily. Given the proximity to Gangnam and various luxury shopping malls, it’s nice to see a cluster of luxury models spread across the parking lot. Lobby is connected to the A+Z coffee shop, which makes a great Iced Toffee Nut Latte!
Room 1109 | Andaz King Suite
We were given Room 1109, an end corner suite unit situated on the beautiful hotel grounds. I’ve taken the time to compare a wide array of various business luxury hotels, and I still feel that Andaz does the “home” feel the best, surpassing the rest in this regard. As you enter, you’re immediately welcomed by a delightful scent of hospitality and a spacious, massive living room, accompanied by a conveniently located powder room to your left.
Modern is the key word here - all the furnitures are definitely utilized and curated in a way to make you feel in a very sophisticated environment. From the mini bar to the trash can, everything was thoughtfully built out to feel like you’re in a very expensive room. From the living room, you are then greeted with the masterful bedroom to your left, along with several key features that I should mention upfront:
GigaGenie aka Korean Alexa - a Harmon Kardon AoT device that controls all elements of your room along with being a bluetooth music player. I found this to be quite intuitive and caught myself a couple of times randomly telling the device to close my blinds.
Blinds and sheers are motorized - either you like it or you don’t. I personally love the mechanical element to my blinds and sheers closing automatically, but some folks just like to immediately do it themselves.
Closet is massive. And it’s six doors. There’s actually four closets (one in the living room foyer and three in the bedroom) and they’re all big enough to stuff a couple folks in there.
There are an insane amount of outlets, like borderline insane. Just the living room alone has 3 places to charge your phone, USB outlets, 220V and more. Bedroom has 2 more and the bathroom as couple more.
The bedroom bed is incredibly comfortable, and I found myself drifting off to sleep quickly with all the lovely, plush feather pillows surrounding me. I did find that the mattress was a bit harder compared to those at the Conrad Seoul and the Intercontinental Grand Seoul Parnas, but that’s certainly a matter of personal taste, I believe. Despite this, I still slept like a piggy snug in a warm blanket, so I had no real qualms with the bed's firmness. If anything, the room’s ability to close off multiple spaces with layers of sliding doors is what truly makes this suite so much fun and versatile. You can literally split the suite into four separate, partitioned sections, allowing for both privacy and togetherness.
A few minutes after checking in, the leader of the Guest Relations, JM, came and greeted us with a bowl of some incredibly sweet grapes and an orange, along with a fantastic bottle of wine. I easily downed the bottle at night after watching a bit of Running Man re-runs from the TV.
Bathroom
Whether or not you wish to make a trip down to the spa located downstairs, you’ll certainly feel like you have your very own luxurious spa room all to yourself right within your accommodation. The bathroom is, in my wife’s enthusiastic phrase, “HOLY HECK,” and I can assure you that description is 100% accurate. It is elegantly cladded with stunning marble and features a soaking tub that is strategically placed right in the center, creating a dream-like ambiance. This extraordinary bathroom truly is a lady’s dream come true – honestly, I’d love to have a bathroom like this in my own home! You can sink into that warm and inviting water filled with bath salts, or take a long, rejuvenating shower that can easily accommodate up to eight people at once.
The bathroom amenities provided are also quite unique, featuring products from the esteemed brand, Christophe Laudamiel. Honestly, the bathroom has become one of my favorite areas of the entire room; with its unique design and thoughtful layout, it serves as a wonderful place to unwind and relax after an exhausting day. To be truthful, my wife could easily spend all her time lounging and pampering herself in the bathroom if she wanted to, but for me, the real highlight was definitely the spa experience.
The Summer House & Fitness Center
Stop on the B2 floor and find yourself at the Summer House and Spa, where a state of the art fitness center, along with a pilates room awaits you. The fitness center contains free weights, aerobic equipment like the stair master and bikes, along with several machines as well. I had a couple of workouts that allowed me to gorge myself during breakfast, haha.
There’s a lovely indoor pool with a massive floor to ceiling screen showcasing the works of Seoul. The sauna includes the same toiletries as mentioned before, but they supply each individual with hair product, facial products and a series of amenities to help with your grooming!
The sauna features four pools that range from iceberg cold to volcanic hot - after a series of workouts, the mixture of hot/cold plunges made for a strong recovery! (Not recommended for beginners!) IT does help improve your blood circulation, immune system and tightens your skin appearance. It’s probably why everyone looks so young and fresh here in Seoul.
The Restaurant |Jogakbo
The Andaz Seoul Gangnam hosts a series of three restaurants under the Jogakbo brand. From Seafood Grill, Meat & Co to the Bites & Wine, each kitchen offers a menu that is prepared by specialist chefs that invite diners to check out gourmet ingredients with each season. You can literally ascend to the restaurant by climbing the marble cladded stairs from the lobby. Jogakbo is split into three themes, a Meat focused one, a Seafood focused one, and a dessert focused one. From a wide offering of champagne to Korean styled tapas to some ridiculously great seafood dishes, this place is incredibly great to dine and wine at.
Seafood Grill
The Seafood Grill features fireside-cooking cuisine with Korean flavors. Life seafood from the markets a series of selective selections are given for your preparation. When we first checked into the Andaz Seoul Gangnam, we had our lunch here and had a blast with their extensive menu.
I highly recommend to those reading this blog to get the Crispy Tempura Eel set. It’s 100% worth every bit of the 88,000 won. It serves 2 and comes with on a sizzling stone pot of white rice. Topped with pickled mustard leaves, confit garlic, pickled chili and spring onions, you’re then shown three delectable tempura eels that are then cut and placed together with the rice. My God, is this dish glorious!
We also got the fried soft shell crab and chips, along with the Mero - it was aged in miso sauce, clams grilled baby onions and pickled shallot. All were great and the service was attentive and fantastic from the get-go.
We came back for dinner during a busy weekend and ordered the Galbi Fried Rice and the Grilled Eel. Both were equally great and was delicious to the very end.
The Tempura Eel Set - a must get for lunch!
Breakfast at Jogakbo
As a Globalist member, we were entitled to breakfast every day - and boy did we enjoy our mornings! Breakfast buffet was 52,000 won per person, which equated to 104,000 won per day. Yeah, it adds up quick without being a Globalist - that’s a total of 416,000 won saved for the 4 days there!
The breakfast selections were similar to the Conrad Seoul, though the style was apparent in a more unique twist to the basics, like eggs and their Eggs and Bacon Brioche Bun. Their Korean breakfast selection was also ample and had a lot of barchan and side selections. The croffile for me was the highlight of the day, as it was the one dish that I constantly got over and over again. The seaweed soup in the mornings was also a great choice to begin our day.
Room Service at Night
We also had a night of room service dinner - the food portions were great, though I should have been wiser with my dinner choice of a Seafood Soybean soup, because I realized that the soup was literally identical to the one my wife had with her LA Galbi dinner dish. However, the multi-grain rice paired well with the soup and we both finished ours to the very end.
Location
The Andaz Seoul Gangnam is conveniently located right next to the Apgujeong Station (Exit 3), making it very easy to travel around Seoul and the tourist areas quickly. Ideally, it’s a great location for those looking to uh, splurge a bit more on shopping and/or enjoy a series of high-end restaurants and bars. In fact, a station down is Sinsa Station, where the famed Garosu-gil area is located.
On top of that, you can quickly connect to the flagship Hyundai Department Stores and the surrounding shops within minutes. There’s also a Blue Bottle Coffee shop next door, but come on - you’re here in Seoul, not back in the Bay Area! To be honest, the coffee shop in the hotel (A+Z) is so much better and the ambiance is lot nicer.
Conclusion
The Andaz Seoul Gangnam certainly does not disappoint in any significant way. While it is true that they may be slightly understaffed in certain aspects due to the rush of business conferences and busy local weekend getaways, the entirety of the hotel and its service is 100% deserving of its prestigious 5 stars.
The hotel truly embodies a personalized style and approach, creating an ambiance that almost feels like home away from home. With the subway station located just literally a few steps away, guests also have easy access to a wide range of dining options on the basement floor, in addition to the hotel’s very own delightful Jogakbo. I commend the dedicated team for making our stay as fun and memorable as possible, and I truly can’t wait to return here in the near future!
