If you’re traveling to Seoul on a budget but still want the comfort and convenience of a modern hotel in the heart of the city, the Four Points Sheraton Seoul, Namsan is the hotel for you. The Four Points Sheraton Seoul, Namsan is less than two years old and is located in the Yongson-gu district of downtown Seoul. The hotel is connected to Seoul Station (bus and metro) via an underground walkway and is within walking distance to local attractions such as City Hall and the Korean War Memorial. From Seoul Station, you can reach the airports (Gimpo and Incheon International Airports) with ease and the rest of the city without breaking your travel budget.
To get from Gimpo or Incheon International Airports to the Four Points Sheraton Seoul, Namsan, you can take the KAL Airport Limousine for door-to-door service, or the AREX/KTX express trains to Seoul Station as a cheaper alternative. Once you arrive at Seoul Station, make your way towards exit #12. Finding exit #12 is the hardest part and you might have to ask for directions several times along the way but once you find it, it’ll be easy getting back and forth.
When you get to exit #12, do not go up the stairs and outside. Instead, walk through the glass doors immediately to your left and follow the signs to the Four Points Sheraton Seoul, Namsan. Notice the giant 12 on the wall for exit #12 and the black sign in the background leading to the Four Points Sheraton Seoul.
The entire walkway from Seoul Station to the hotel is covered but does require you to enter/exit out several corridors. The Four Points Sheraton Seoul, Namsan is located in the Twin City building. Total walking time from the train platform to the hotel will be approximately 15 to 20 minutes. You can enter the Four Points Sheraton Seoul, Namsan from the street level or from the underground entrance but the lobby is located on the 19th floor of the building.
The Four Points Sheraton Seoul, Namsan does provide a complimentary shuttle service to Seoul Station, City Hall and other major landmarks within the city but unfortunately, does not offer a return service, nor does it operate on Sundays. Tour buses do pick up from the hotel (level 1 lobby, not B1 street level) but most taxi drivers will not know where the hotel is. If you plan on taking the taxis, the hotel will provide you with taxi cards in Korean with directions back to the hotel if you get lost. And lastly, if you plan on taking the City Sightseeing hop on/hop off bus tour, the nearest stop is located at the main bus stand at Seoul Station.
On the 19th floor (lobby floor), there is a small business center with a couple of desktop computers, a bar and the hotel restaurant located in front of the reception desks. The space is more for aesthetics as I can’t really imagine anyone getting any real work done here. Maybe it’s just a place for kids to hang out at while their parents are checking-in?
If you are booking a breakfast-included room or have SPG Platinum status, you will appreciate the included breakfast buffet. The breakfast buffet was pretty good (way better than expected for a Four Points Sheraton). There was a good mix of Korean, Asian and western dishes for breakfast including an egg station, udon station, fried rice, dim sum, cereal and pastries.
The fitness center and coin-operated laundry rooms are located on the 20th floor. The fitness center is not the best. You’re basically looking at a few treadmills, a single bench and some free weights. There are no pools or Jacuzzis located on the property so you will have to get creative with your workouts or just settle for some cardio.
The coin-operated laundry room is convenient if you need to do some laundry. Front load washers cost 1000 Won, dryers cost 2000 Won and a single pack of laundry detergent/sheet of fabric softener costs 1000 Won. No irons/ironing boards are provided in the guest rooms but there is one in the laundry room for you to use.
On this trip, my friend Andrew and I booked a standard room with breakfast included. Upon our arrival, we was assigned room 2710, a standard room on the SPG member level. As a SPG Gold member, I was offered a welcome gift of additional points and a pre-assigned, late check out of 4:00 PM upon checking-in. Not bad for a lowly gold.
The Four Points Sheraton Seoul, Namsan is pretty nice and smartly designed but I must warn you, THE STANDARD ROOMS ARE TINY! Andrew and I shared a two, twin-bed room and we were on top of each other the entire time. There were minimal storage spaces for us to unpack and store our belongings and there was zero room for us to spread out. The second bed butted up against the tiny work desk and there was minimal space to walk around. If you need a roll-away bed for a third person, you must book a deluxe room or above as roll-away beds will not fit in a standard rooms.
The windows were pretty small but did do a good job with filling the room with fresh air, natural lighting and provided great views of downtown Seoul and beyond. The hotel did a great job of blocking out the city noise from below but if you like to sleep with the windows open, you will hear the traffic and train noise from outside. Speaking of noise, the rooms were properly insulated and I didn’t hear any noise coming from the hallways or outside our room at all.
Room amenities included a mini-fridge, LCD television, in-room safe, bathrobes, slippers, water kettle and bottles of water.
The enclosed bathroom was also tiny with a glass walk-in shower, single sink and a toilet with bidet functions. Non-branded bath and body products were provided for your use but I don’t think they were very high quality products. Additional bath amenities including dental kits, cotton swabs, etc and a hair dryer were hidden in the drawer underneath the sink.
The positives about this room included the many hi-tech features such as automatic lights, universal electrical outlets, superior bathroom ventilation and a smart toilet. The ventilation was fantastic in keeping the bathroom and mirror fog-free even after a long hot shower and the toilet seat automatically warmed itself in the mornings for your posterior comfort. Ice machines are located on every floor. In addition to dispensing ice, you can also fill up your water bottles here with clean tasting, filtered water.
Overall, I enjoyed our stay at the Four Points Sheraton Seoul, Namsan and I would not hesitate to stay here again. It is a great hotel at an affordable price point. It’s new, modern and beautifully decorated in contemporary décor. The location is close to and convenient to Seoul Station and from there, you can get to anywhere you want to go. The rooms are small but clean and comfortable and I appreciated all the small technological touches. I do wish the rooms were more spacious with more storage spaces but I can deal with those minor details to save some money over the other hotels in the area.
Have you stayed at the Four Points Sheraton Seoul, Namsan? If so, please share your thoughts with me in the comments section below. Thanks for reading!
The other reviews in this series include:
- Air France Business Class Lounge San Francisco
- British Airways Terraces Lounge San Francisco
- DoubleTree San Francisco Airport
- Korean Air First Class, Boeing 747-8 San Francisco to Seoul
- Four Points Sheraton Seoul, Namsan
- Korean Air First Class Lounge
- Korean Air First Class, Boeing 747-8 Seoul to Hong Kong
- Courtyard Marriott Hong Kong
- Day trip Hong Kong to Macau
- SWISS Business Class, Boeing 777-300ER Bangkok to Zurich
- Hilton Zurich Airport
- Turkish Airlines, Airbus A321 Zurich to Istanbul
- Turkish Airlines CIP Lounge
- Turkish Airlines Free Transit Hotel Warning
- Turkish Airlines Business Class, Boeing 777-300ER Istanbul to Los Angeles
