L’Escape, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Seoul Myeongdong

The hotel is beautifully designed from the entrance through to the room, and the bar on the 26th floor and the Chinese restaurant and tea saloon on the 6th floor gave me the only good service I experienced. Thank you to those teams. Breakfast was good, though the selection was very limited. Service elsewhere was the worst I’ve had, starting at the entrance. The concierge is on the first floor and reception is at 7, but nobody helped with my luggage at this luxury branded 5 star hotel. At reception, the first woman who welcomed me blocked two of my credit cards. I told her after her first attempts that she needed another way for me to enter my pin for security, since the charge for 8 nights required it. She kept trying the same way. After warning messages, both banks told me the cards were temporarily blocked. I was furious and frustrated, especially after a 14 hour flight. Then she asked if I had another card or could pay cash. There’s a warning on the laptop screen telling guests not to get angry, which is also in the photos. It made me feel I wasn’t the only one they’d driven crazy. While I called my banks to unblock the cards, another woman took over and I paid in one minute. I can only say housekeeping happened because the bed was made. Some days the garbage wasn’t taken away, the sheets weren’t changed once in 8 nights, and the bathroom and carpet weren’t cleaned. They did change the towels regularly. I’m planning to return to lovely Seoul next year, but I’ll never stay here again.

For a hotel sold as luxury and priced that way, I expected cleaner rooms and better service. The design is attractive, but the black marble looks worn, possibly from not being cleaned enough. A bandage from a previous guest stayed stuck on the shower wall for two days until I removed it myself. The floors were so dirty I didn’t want to walk on them barefoot. Water pressure was very low; I called and they fixed it right away. I also asked for the room to be cleaned, but the result was still disappointing. On my last day I tried to have breakfast, but they said it was full. While I was being turned away, a group left and another person went in. I’m a paying hotel guest too. It was humiliating and left a bad taste. I’d recommend one of the Hyatt properties instead. It’s better appointed, the room is cleaner, and the service should be better for the price.

We were given a free upgrade to a larger room, and it was sensational, so comfortable for our four-night stay and roomy enough to feel like our own apartment. The location is fantastic too, with Myeongdong an easy walk away and the subway right nearby. Staff were all polite and friendly. The top-floor bar is worth checking out for its cool decor and atmosphere. We thoroughly enjoyed staying here and would happily come back. 5 Stars!

The room lights and curtains run on automation, and the electrical outlets are UK and universal, with a USB A port. There’s no level 13 and no room numbered 13. Toothbrushes and bath salt cost extra, so I was glad I usually bring my own toothpaste and toothbrush. I stayed five nights in the Myeongdong area. It was quiet, and the night market wasn’t too far away. The facilities seemed fairly new. As a Bonvoy titanium card holder, I got a free upgrade from a classic room to a secret room, and chose free breakfast through my titanium level. There was a small dim sum selection at breakfast, plus about 6cold dishes, spicy pork stew, steamed rice, beef bulgogi, French toast, smoked salmon, sweet sauce grilled salmon, scrambled eggs, croissants, bread, apple and grapefruit juice, yogurt, two coffee machines, and an egg station for omelets or sunny-side-up eggs.