View from the Room: Somerset Palace, Seoul
As far as location in the mega city of Seoul goes, we hit the jackpot with the Somerset Palace. That's before we think about the airy room, the amazing politness of the hotel staff and the fantastic facilities
Room 1403 is a spacious room with floor to ceiling windows at the bedroom end which allowed a beautiful big view of the city from the bed. We could also see one of Seoul's main temples right outside which at this time, was hosting the glorious Lantern Festival.
Bedroom
Separated from the lounge by sliding doors if necessary, although all the windows are along the bedroom wall . All the storage is in the main between two double wardrobes (1 with mirror inside) and dressing table with lamp in between. There was no mirror here which is good as I dislike mirrors in the bedroom
- 4 drawers
- Plenty of shelving
- 2 bedside storage units with wall lights that delightfully come on and get brighter with the slightest touch.
- Full size laundry bin
- Eight quality wooden hangers with four more bought up when I requested
- Spare pillows
- Safe
Lounge
- Large TV on an even larger unit with shelves & cupboard
- Coffee table
- Sofa & armchair
- Dining table & 2 comfy chairs
- Large desk with chair & lamp and wall mirror
- Floor to ceiling shelves
Kitchen
- Fully equipped to cook and dine.
- Large fridge plus a freezer
- Hob
- Microwave
- Kettle
Bathroom
- Small bath with overhead, detachable shower
- Large mirror
- Good size sink
- Storage cupboard & hook
- Collapsible laundry line
- Shower cap
- Plenty of face cloths
- Hairdryer/shaving point
Amenities
- Hairdryer
- Tissue box
- Two short bathrobes
- Two pairs of quality branded slippers
- Very large roof top garden with mini jacuzzis and pool
- Solid soap, mini shampoo/conditioner, body lotion and shower gel left every day
The Air con unit didn’t work so for the first two nights maintenance came to kick start it into action. On the third day, they sent external engineers to fix it for good. There was an offer to change rooms but I really didn’t want to spend the time re-packing and unpacking again. It failed again on the last day but again, was fixed very quickly.
Laundry Cupboard
- Washer/dryer. I never got to grips with the dryer but the warmth of the room dried most things while we were out
- Laundry powder
- iron/board
- Cleaning equipment
Sockets - plenty in all the right places
Access - pairs of lifts in different parts of the hotel
Food
A breakfast buffet service every morning till 10am (later on the weekend as per the norm) with a variety of options. You can ask for eggs cooked in other ways other than boiled or scrambled usually represented. Some days pancakes or hotcakes turned up but everyday all nationalities catered for including cereals, fruits, pasties, toast and juices. Neither of the two coffee machines provided decent coffee to my taste but I always pack a cafetiere to make it in the room!
There are restaurants, cafes and a convenience store (selling travel cards) accessible from the ground floor.
Service
- Two complimentary bottles of water left each day
- Loan of large brollies from reception. (We needed them for one full day out of the nine)
- Summer blanket supplied as duvet was too warm
