Grand Hyatt Incheon

Having seen pictures of the Grand Hyatt Incheon (formerly the Hyatt Regency Incheon), awarded Best Airport Hotel' by Global Traveler magazine and ranking #4 on Tripadvisor's Top 25 luxury hotels of South Korea for 2013, I had made sure to include this hotel as part of my trip to Seoul during my stopover in Incheon. As a category 2 (which deservedly moved up to category 3 earlier this year), this hotel was an amazing value for just 8,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points (and I would argue that it still even at 12,000 points)! There is a lot of focus on service (almost too much I'd say) when there are at least 3 people greeting you as you enter the lobby, asking if you need help with your luggage and leading you to the check-in desk (which was not difficult at all to locate).

I'd arrived a couple days after Christmas so (yeah, it's been a while since the trip, took my sweet time to get around to writing this), fortunately for me, they hadn't had a chance to take down the gorgeous Christmas tree in their multi-story lobby.

The check-in desk is off to your right as you enter although you'll have no trouble finding it with all the staff members lined at the entrance greeting you and helping you find your way over to the desk.  This does feel a little over the top as you are greeted at least 3 times as you enter though.

A view of the atrium lobby from the second floor and of the elevator area. The lobby also leads to the casino built right into the hotel in case you wanted to try your luck.

The hallways are nicely lit although the corridor does feel a little bland.

The room is quite spacious and roomy. There isn't much of a view however as the hotel is just 5 minutes away from the airport and there's pretty much nothing located nearby.

On the counter, there was a very nicely presented tea set on the counter for your use and the room also came with some complimentary bottles of water which was greatly appreciated as the hotel is in a rather remote location not near any grocery stores, supermarkets or convenience stores (as you can see from the view from the window).  So in case you're hungry after you get off the plane and not feeling in the mood for hotel food, you might want to grab something at Incheon airport first (which has a pretty good selection of restaurants).

The bathroom was pretty standard and they seem to offer their own brand of toiletries.

I had redeemed the room on points and given that I was just a Hyatt Gold member (base level), I was pleasantly surprised to get a letter from the GM, some fruits, chocolates and a bottle of wine to thank me for my points redemption and loyalty to Hyatt hotels. Score!

The hotel also features a fitness complex called Club Olympus, which includes a large pool and a gym next to it in case you can't get any sleep or want to fit in some exercise while you're there.

My favourite part of the stay, however, was the hotel's own mini-version of a jimjilbang which included washing facilities, a warm and cold pool and a steam room and sauna as part of Club Olympus. All of these are also accessible via the change rooms. Don't forget to scrub before going in for a soak!

All in all, even though I was just there for one night layover, I was very impressed and definitely count this as one of the best, if not the best, transit hotels I've ever stayed at!