One of the few luxuries we allow our family to have is a:
staycation
Hubby got us an overnight stay at the Intercontinental Seoul COEX in Gangnam last Valentines Day. The boys and I were thrilled!
I checked-in with the boys first as my husband was going to join us in the afternoon. We were put in a regular room but the receptionist said it was an upgraded accommodation because we were in one of the higher floors. Higher floor means better view.
When my husband arrived, he was quite disappointed. He expressed his disappointment to the hotel. We ended up with a corner suite accommodation.
The hotel is connected to COEX so it is on a very convenient location. There are many things to do in COEX. There’s the aquarium, the CGV, the largest Starfield library and endless shopping. From our suite, we can also see the Bogeunsa Temple, an important Buddhist site. 3,479 Buddhist scriptures are stored here. Your days will be filled with something to do.
But as to the hotel itself, we were a little bit disappointed. Our sons, who are less than 12 years old, can’t even use the pool. Pool use is only for 12 years old above because they don’t have a lifeguard. Big downer, especially for swimmers like them.
We weren’t able to use the hotel lounge as well. Other Intercontinental Hotels offer the hotel executive lounge for hotel guests with membership. My husband has maintained an IHG Spire membership (the highest membership level) so we are used to using the lounge. Surprise! This Intercontinental Hotel branch didn’t let us use the exclusive 2nd floor Club Lounge. Explanation was something like, we aren’t Club members (like their fitness facility, membership subscription is for purchase). I’m not entirely sure, but I just thought it must be catering to a “Gangnam lifestyle“. Entrance to posh places is by membership subscription.
Don’t get me wrong. We had a comfortable stay. I can rave about our suite. But hubby and I both agree, we enjoyed other hotel stay-cation facilities more than this one:-).
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I’m curious to know what a suit like that located at the COEX costs. You video captured the size well, and the view looks amazing. What a shame about the lounge and the pool. You all looked like you had a nice time there anyway, and while you may not return, at least you wrote an informative blog about it 😉
What a bummer! Do you also need a special membership to use the tub in your hotel room and another to ride an elevator to your floor? How ridiculous it is for such a fancy place to limit people and YOU’RE STAYING THERE! I bet you won’t stay there ever again and they’ve lost a customer…
I definitely feel the need for a staycation near the COEX. I love the architecture there and Bogeunsa is my favorite temple in Seoul. However, based on your review I’ll make sure to stay somewhere besides the InterContinental.
Usually pools without a lifeguard are still open to kids if they’re with a parent. I’ve never heard of one being just completely off limits to children… how strange. I’ve not been in to too many lounges unless I’m traveling with my mother who always has status, but yeah, it’s not usually based on being a member and buying it that way.. too bad. At least the room was nice.
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