Seoul : Fraser Place Central Seoul, Average at Best

26th - 28th December 2012.

Seoul, South Korea.

I spent my last two nights in South Korea at the Fraser Place Central Seoul, a conveniently located serviced-apartment just 5 minutes from City Hall Station. The apartment is a slightly further away from Seoul Station and cost about 3500 KRW by taxi.

I picked the serviced apartment because of its convenient location and for its price. It seemed like a good deal as breakfast was included. Overall it is an average or decent hotel for people who are here for a work trip rather than leisure. The hotel lacked character and the service leaves much to be desired as the concierge doesn’t seem to be well-informed of its surroundings such as being aware of eateries after 1130 pm.

Alarmingly, the hotel doesn’t disclose its distinction of non-smoking and smoking rooms. The management told me it was recent and they didn’t want to discriminate its guests. I was given a smoking room and the hotel doesn’t even ask whether I wanted non-smoking or smoking (I didn’t know that exist at Fraser Place in the first place).

The Studio Room I got was decent except for the cracked glass. Toilet was automatic and warm, beds are comfortable and they have non-stick frying pans!

The weakest link at Fraser Place Central Seoul besides the unpolished service (judging it’s a 4 star establishment) is its restaurant First Floor. The restaurant was understaffed and there is limited capacity to hold all the guests. It runs alright at around 6-7 am but turned chaotic around 8-10 am during its peak hours. Guests had to look for their own seats in a coffeeshop style. I personally felt the hotel could at the very least help control the crowd and find and usher seats for incoming guests or provide a waiting list if they do keep track of the traffic.

It was a pity my last two nights in Seoul was somewhat marred by the lackluster stay at Fraser Place Central Seoul as a few critical issues and minor ones such as cracked glass, a need to reset wifi entry and a keycard that didn’t work.accumulate enough to become a major annoyance 

While the management apologized and gave their understanding, I was really hoping they could be more proactive and take the extra mile to overturn the situation, nothing much happened, they didn’t take the cue to give me a shuttle bus schedule, or pay for my taxi to Seoul Station, or give me glass of water while they take my comments or find a tube of toothpaste for me. One of such little moves could have been impactful.

Foodwise, I finally got to dine at First Floor on my last day at 0630 hrs after learning about my mistake of not going early (then again come on, I really wish to take it easy at a hotel I paid for and really? No seat for breakfast?!?).

The buffet breakfast was average, the sausages weren’t great (they are those you could get from a GS25 or C&U) and jams were limited. I was disgusted that they used Otogi Strawberry Jam too. Apart from that, they got a modest selection of breakfast classics like salads, grilled tomatoes, potatoes, bacon and eggs.

All in all, I was rather disappointed with my stay and hence choice of Fraser Place Central Seoul. Pity I could not get a refund and neither did I feel compensated for the lackluster stay after giving feedback. If you are looking for views, you could find rather nice views at their Pine and Maple Terraces.

Fraser Place Central Seoul
#202, Uijuro 1-Ga, Jung-gu, Seoul, Korea,
Zip Code: 100 -130
Tel: +82 2 2220 8888
Fax: +82 2 2220 8880