Lotte Hotel Seoul Review: Which Tower Should You Book?

Location & getting around

The hotel is 190m from Euljiro 1-ga Station. Myeongdong’s main shopping street is 250m away, Myeongdong itself 420m, and Cheonggyecheon stream 470m — so a large part of central Seoul is a walk rather than a journey. The Namsan cable car is 1km away and Changgyeonggung Palace 2.06km. A convenience store sits 130m from the door and a pharmacy 290m.

Jonggak Station is a further 580m, giving you a second line. Guests mention the subway entrance being directly outside and the airport limousine bus stopping in front of the hotel.

Gimpo Airport is 15.86km away and Incheon 48.49km. The property quotes around 100 minutes for the airport run. Being in the middle of the city means the distance is short but the time is not — worth factoring in for an early departure or a late arrival.

Rooms & occupancy

Opened in 1979, 868 rooms, and the renovation was completed in 2026. Guests describe it as freshly finished and clean, with no noise carrying between rooms.

One thing to check before booking. The hotel is split into a Main Tower and an Executive Tower. Actual stay records show rooms in both. Executive Tower plans include Le Salon lounge access on some rates, while the Main Tower shows Deluxe Suite and Superior Suite Family Twin configurations. They share a hotel name but they are not the same product. If you do not check the tower and the lounge inclusion on the booking screen, you can end up with a room quite different from the one you pictured.

Children aged 2 to 12 stay free. Families with children rate it 9.0 on average, families with infants 8.7.

Guests in suite-grade rooms describe two toilets and two basins, with the bathtub and shower separated. That applies to the upper types rather than standard rooms, so do not read it as the baseline.

Facilities

There is a pool, a fitness centre, an executive lounge, restaurants, a bar and lounge, a coffee shop, banquet rooms, shops and a business centre, plus an on-site golf facility. There is an ATM on the premises, and the hotel runs a shuttle to nearby attractions.

Breakfast reviews well. It is a buffet, and guests describe Japanese, Western, Korean and Chinese dishes served together — abalone porridge among them. If you eat a real breakfast, the inclusive rate is worth pricing out.

On in-room provision, guests mention bottled water and capsule coffee, and note that Japanese-style plugs worked without an adapter. Several also mention Japanese-speaking staff.

Two things to weigh. Rate is the one guests raise most — the facilities and service satisfy, but the price is described as hard to justify at times. And at 868 rooms the lobby and lifts have busy periods. If you want a small, quiet property, this is a different kind of hotel.

Compared & alternatives

Against L7 Myeongdong in the same district, the difference is grade and scale. L7 is a 251-room four-star sitting 110m from a station, with no bathtub and no pool. This is 868 rooms with a pool, a lounge and a golf facility — at a higher rate.

If you will actually use the facilities, this one; if you are only sleeping there, L7 prices better. Dormy Inn Seoul Gangnam is a different district entirely, so decide first whether your days happen north of the river. How the districts differ is set out in Where to Stay in Seoul.

Bottom line

A large hotel in a position where central Seoul is genuinely walkable, with the facilities to match. 190m to the station, 250m to the shopping street, 130m to a convenience store — those numbers shorten the whole day, and the 2026 renovation means the condition matches the address.

The decision that matters here is not the star rating but which tower you book. With 868 rooms across two buildings and lounge access varying by rate plan, that is the first thing to confirm.