I stay at a lot of airport hotels. Too many actually. Most provide nothing more but convenient – yet soulless – experiences. Except for the Incheon Grand Hyatt. It’s easily one of my favorite hotels in the entire world.
If all you’re looking for is convenient place to stay near ICN (in Seoul), this is the place for that. If you’re a resident of Seoul looking for a nice weekend getaway, this is also the place for that. Like I said – it’s one of my favorites (for a lot of reasons).
A full review of my most recent 1-night stay the Incheon Grand Hyatt
I splurged on a Deluxe Suite in the West Tower for my most recent stay. The following is a full review of my experience.
Location
The Grand Hyatt is located adjacent to the Incheon Airport (ICN) near Seoul. Accessing it from the airport via the complementary shuttle bus is extremely easy. Buses depart Terminal 1 (near gate C3 / arrivals level) and 2 (near gate 2A / arrivals level) every 30 minutes.
Two things to say about the shuttle bus from the airport: First, it’s the best airport hotel shuttle bus I’ve ever been on. Second, I actually took these pictures on the ride back to the airport after my most recent one night stay. That satisfied looking smirk on my face is representative of my satisfaction for both the shuttle bus *and* the hotel.The main entrance to the West Tower at the Incheon Grand Hyatt. Yup. Looks mighty grand to me.
The lobby (and checking in)
I arrived at the West Tower approximately 2 PM (for a 3 PM check in). As I experienced during past visits to this property, everything was very clean and extremely organized. The architecture of the lobby is impressive – and very much worthy of the ‘grand’ name.
Good news: it’s only 2 PM, and it looks like they’re letting people check in before 3 PM. Bad news: it may be 3 PM before I reach the front of the line.It wasn’t that bad actually! It only took six minutes to be number three in line, so I’d like to take this opportunity to give a virtual fist bump to every member of the very efficient front desk staff. #fistbumpsforallHere are some pics of the lobby that I took the following morning. This should be enough to shut up anyone who thought “that ain’t grand!” after seeing the pic of the exterior above.And I’m only including these pics because I know there’s still at least one of you who refuses to admit how grand this is. How are you not seeing it yet? This is almost as swanky as my recent TWA Hotel experience!
Getting to my suite
This is a busy hotel. There are people coming and going at all hours of the day (and night), so be prepared to squeeze into the elevator with other guests on the way to your room. It’s all part of the experience.
Pick an elevator, any elevator. Actually, I’d advise you to choose the first one available. Otherwise it’s going to be a very long wait.The sixth floor hallway (somebody likes wood). I’m sure there’s a “that’s what she said” joke in there somewhere, but I’m just going to play it safe and move on…Room 660 is mine for the night. I haven’t even walked in the door yet, and I already know that a glorious night it is going to be. I mean grand. A grand night.
Deluxe Suite overview
This was my first time staying in a suite at this hotel. Walking into it, I felt stupid for not doing it sooner. Not only was it large, it was well designed and very bright. It featured two bathrooms, a walk-in closet, a large living space, and a bedroom with floor-to-ceiling windows. Score!
What’s the Korean word for “holy shit?!” Whatever that word is, that’s what I was feeling upon stepping through the door and seeing this.“Home away from motherf*****g home” is another perfectly valid way to describe this. This is nice.“You seein’ this s**?”I can see the bedroom from here, and looks even better than this living room. More on that in a moment…It’s basically a small apartment all up in here. What am I going to do with all this space?This is the view looking across that loooong couch back to the main entrance. I almost had to pull out my telephoto lens for this.Seriously though. That couch! Long and hard (just the way she likes it I suppose).“I’m so totally going to make a cheesy joke about this couch in the review!”There’s also a decently sized TV in this room – along with a large desk (all the way to the left).The bedroom. How I managed to score a corner room is beyond me, but I’ll take it.A king size bed a fit for a king (and / or a nerdy hotel reviewer from the US).It’s good to be the king. Being a nerdy hotel reviewer from the US is overrated IMHO.If for whatever reason that bed (or that couch out in the living room) didn’t look appealing to you, there’s always this chair I guess. I ended up calling it the Korean Air chair (because of the color).As nice as this bedroom is, I’m a little ashamed to admit that I found Korean TV to be just as interesting. Here I am being captivated by the latest episode of Lovely Runner…The good news? There’s a TV over there in the bathroom. No need to hold it in while Lovely Runner is on!
The bathrooms
I’ve stayed in a hotel rooms that were smaller than the main bathroom in this suite (The Haneda Airport Hotel comes to mind). It consisted of three separate rooms: the toilet area, the combined tub/shower area, and the main area with the vanity and mirror.
There’s a commercial break going on right now anyway, so now is as good of a time as ever to show you the bathroom.It’s not a big TV, but it’s a TV nonetheless. And waterproof too!I actually like how the tub and the shower is sectioned off into its own little room. Oh, and the glass walls? Let’s just say that you better hope that the person staying with you doesn’t mind seeing you naked. Because they’re gonna see everything.You’ll have near total privacy while sitting on the toilet though. Because of the frosted glass door, the most anyone else will be able to see is just a silhouette of what you look like taking a dump.The towel situation? Meh. BUT……the bathrobe situation was on point. There was another one in the closet as well!Perhaps the best thing about the bathroom was the fact that there were TWO in this suite. This is the half bath that is located adjacent to the main entrance. It’s basically the one to use if you’re afraid of someone watching your silhouette as you take a dump.
Amenities
There are benefits to paying more for a better room. Waiting on the table for me was a bottle of wine and some pretty fancy chocolates. A nice little perk considering that this was in addition to the fully stocked minibar (with high-end alcohol).
See? Now that a desk! And no, for anyone wondering, I did not bring my own wine.It was there when I arrived. With chocolates! A pretty nice perk for a guy who considers Diet Coke and a bag of Doritos to be living large.Speaking of amenities, there’s plenty of stuff to spend your money on as well (including an assortment of hard alcohol). No Doritos unfortunately – but I’ve got my eye on that Coca-Cola.More hotel reviews need to have pictures of the electrical outlet situation IMHO. See? I got you covered!
Closet and storage space
The amount of storage space in this suite is insane (in the good way). Not only is there a standard size closet just off the main entryway, there’s a full walk-in closet adjacent to the main bathroom. It’s huge. And glorious.
I can’t even remember the last time that I had a hotel room with a walk-in closet (in addition to a regular sized closet in the main room). This was awesome…though probably overkill for a guy who travels with nothing but a backpack.
The view
The Grand Hyatt is located so close to Incheon Airport that you’re likely to have a nice view of incoming and departing airplanes no matter which direction your room is facing. Some rooms have better airport views than the others. Be sure to ask for one when checking in (if that’s what you want).
I had a really nice view of the competition from my room. The Paradise City hotel was located directly across the street, and the Best Western (among other properties) is to the left. I wonder if there’s anyone over there in the Paradise City looking over here at the Grand Hyatt with envious eyes?
What a standard room looks like
Not feeling like spending the extra money for a suite? No worries! The standard rooms are just as nice IMHO. Here are a few pictures of my basic room from the last time that I stayed here:
This is the Standard room that I stayed in during my last visit here a few years ago. It’s basically the same ‘ol same ‘ol (but smaller).
The food
I’ve never had a meal at the ICN Grand Hyatt that I didn’t like. I’ve always done room service in the past, and I couldn’t resist doing it again. The quality (and service) is exceptional.
What kind of idiot travels all the way to South Korea and orders a hamburger? This idiot, that’s who. In my defense, this was my last night after a week of traveling around Asia, so I definitely had my fair share of dumplings and rice on this trip.
I also decided to pay a little extra for the breakfast buffet this time. I can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s one of the best breakfast buffets I’ve ever tried.
If you include breakfast with your stay, you’ll be eating it at the Grand Café (located on the ground level at the far end of the lobby). Pro tip: pay extra for the breakfast. It’s so totally worth it.My breakfast haul (the first plate at least). The verdict? I declare this buffet to be better than the one I experienced at the Westin Grand Munich. I’d definitely be using that Korean word for ‘holy sh*t’ again if I knew what it was!
All the pros and cons of staying at the Incheon Grand Hyatt
In my opinion, it’s worth staying at this hotel just as much as it’s worth visiting Seoul. I know. Flying halfway around the world only to stay at a Hyatt sounds ridiculous. But trust me – this one is good. It’s well worth the defense you’ll have to make for yourself when trying to justify it to friends and family back home).
Pros
Everything about this place is immaculate and clean. It feels brand new (even though it’s not).
The staff (everyone from the front desk to the restaurants) is incredibly kind and helpful.
The location is excellent. It’s just a short five minute ride to and from the airport.
Cons
This is a huge property that attracts both locals and travelers. It’s always busy. There are people everywhere.
It’s so expensive that it might not be overkill it for a short (sub -6 hour) layover between flights.
Sound insulation between rooms is poor. RIP to your travel-battered soul if you have noisy neighbors.
