Launched in 1998 with the opening of the W New York, W Hotels & Resorts have grown into a chain of some 50 luxury hotels in 24 countries worldwide. Owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, W hotels are generally marketed toward a younger crowd, sporting clean, iconic, minimalist design features & boasting contemporary 5-star luxury. I spent a night in W Hotel Wakerhill, in the east of the South Korean capital of Seoul, where I developed something of an affinity for the brand’s huge, ever-present, shiny, silver W logo, its cutting edge this & its funky, ultrahip that.
W is For || Wonderful Room
The W Hotel’s Wonderful Room shares a common theme with all W Hotel rooms, that of a minimalist modern decor. Amenities include a bed wider than it is deep, remote control everything, piped music & a Bose Wave Radio complete with W Hotel soundtrack CD (yours for only KRW30,000 (€19)). Temptations include a bedside drink-&-you-pay-KRW17,000 (€11) jug of mineral water & 5-star-priced mini bar & room service menus. All of that meant this room was pretty Wonderful, but also pretty dangerous. W Hotel, Walkerhill, Seoul, South Korea.
Wonderful Room bathroom, a nirvana of gleaming white ceramic, polished chrome, glass and of course the usual hotel-branded bathroom freebies. W Hotel, Walkerhill, Seoul.
W Hotel bathrobe. Not that you would of course, but pocket of these & your credit card will be down a tidy KRW150,000 (€96), with, I assume, no discount for pocketing two. W Hotel, Walkerhill, Seoul.
Everything about the W Hotel – from the architecture to the decor to the music played in the rooms to the hallway lighting – is funky & hip; it’s a 5-star hotel for the young Korean gentry, most of whom you’ll find hanging out in the Woo Bar, the hotel’s lobby bar which boasts the longest bar-top in Seoul & serves some of the city’s most expensive drinks (KRW15,000 (€9.50) bottles of Heineken & KRW25,000 (€16) cocktails).
W paperweight, Wonderful Room, W Hotel, Walkerhill, Seoul.
W Hotel || Features
Contemporary luxury. Informal contemporary luxury. That’s the W Hotel way. Room names of Wonderful, Fabulous, & Fantastic are all very positive, while the informality stretches to the lobby, more commonly known as the Living Room. Oh, & of course the W appears whenever possible: the concierge is known as Whatever Whenever; the laundry bag is christened Wash; & the swimming pool is aptly known as WET.
W is For || WET
WET, the indoor pool of the W Hotel offering views over the Han river to east Seoul. Walkerhill, Seoul.
The pods in WET. They are funky and look oh so cool, but are totally functionless as rising out of the water to mount them is next to impossible. W Hotel, Walkerhill, Seoul.
Room Service
A room service purchase, a morsel of cheesecake costing KRW20,000 (€13). Expensive? You bet. Worth it? You bet. I should have ordered two. W Hotel, Walkerhill, Seoul.
W is For || (A)Wesome
My W Hotel was aWesome (see what I did there?) & my only regret in spending one night in W Hotel Walkerhill was that I didn’t have more nights at my disposal.
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Contact || Book
• W Hotels
• W Hotel, Walkerhill Seoul || Rates start at KRW300,000 (€200)/night.
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