Seoul Seoul Travel Guide: Best Hotels, Restaurants & Experiences

This 29-story glass tower in Gwanghwamun reimagines ancient palace architecture through contemporary design, showcasing 130 Korean artists throughout its spaces. Floor-to-ceiling windows frame Gyeongbokgung Palace and modern skyline, while eight restaurants—more than any Seoul hotel—include Michelin-starred Cantonese Yu Yuan and a speakeasy. The ninth-floor Korean sauna offers gender-separated facilities with cold, warm, and hot baths alongside traditional dry and wet rooms. Ivory-toned suites appeal to business travelers and cultural explorers alike.

Korea's first Western-style hotel, founded in 1914 to host Japanese and European royalty, now offers Seoul's largest guest rooms with décor straddling Far East motifs and European refinement. Sushi Cho on the 20th floor pairs seasonal fish with premium sake and panoramic city views, while seven other restaurants span Cantonese, Italian and French kitchens. The City Athletic Club's 82-foot pool, Korean-style saunas and spa treatments appeal to business travelers and dignitaries alike.

Named for Korea's tenth-century cultural zenith, The Shilla Seoul occupies wooded slopes on Mount Namsan with traditional design that honors dynastic heritage over generic Asian minimalism. The lobby's Seon Ghi Bahk installation—thousands of translucent fragments suspended like starlight—sets a refined tone continued through five restaurants, including La Yeon's two-Michelin-starred Korean cuisine. Outdoor terraces, pool sunbeds, and panoramas of Jangchung Dan Park suit travelers seeking Seoul's sophistication without the metropolitan chaos.

Contemporary Dutch design intertwines with Korean tradition across 241 rooms and particularly lavish bathrooms. The ground-floor restaurant draws inspiration from nearby Apgujeong's gourmet alley, splitting into three kitchens—one for wine and tea, another for seafood, and Meat & Co for carnivores. Indoor pool, spa, jacuzzi, and sauna round out the wellness offering. Gangnam's luxury retailers, cultural institutions, and nightlife lie steps away.

RYSE operates as hotel, gallery, marketplace, and creative incubator across 272 rooms tailored to different working styles. The Executive Producer Suite delivers panoramic Seoul views and an open layout designed for entertaining, while flexible coworking lounges and a 15th-floor networking space support collaborative work. An on-site bookstore stocks niche magazines, books, and vinyl records, reinforcing the property's commitment to makers and creators seeking both accommodation and community in Hongdae.

Chef Mingoo Kang's three-Michelin-starred kitchen reinterprets Korean fermentation and long-simmering techniques through a contemporary French lens. The signature Mingling Pot concentrates umami from dried seafood, vegetables, and fruit into a layered broth, while the Jang Trio dessert transforms doenjang, ganjang, and gochujang into refined confections. Abalone baechu-seon and fish mandu further demonstrate the menu's deft balance of ancestral craft and modern refinement, served in a minimalist dining room overlooking greenery.

Chef Yim Jung-sik's two-Michelin-starred table has earned global recognition for reimagining Korean culinary tradition through a contemporary lens. His seasonal set menus transform familiar staples—gimbap, bibimbap—into refined compositions built around premium ingredients like abalone and duck, each meal opening with meticulously prepared banchan. An extensive wine cellar supports the cuisine with thoughtfully curated pairings, framing an evening that balances innovation with deep respect for Korea's gastronomic heritage.

Drawing from Korea's jimjilbang tradition, this three-story wellness sanctuary within the Four Seasons layers warm, hot, and cold therapeutic baths alongside steam chambers and dedicated sleep quarters. The facility recreates the neighbourhood bathhouse ritual where locals have long dissolved stress through alternating temperatures and restorative napping, now rendered in polished luxury with adjacent fitness areas and a swimming pool.