Business Lounges Attract Hotel Visitors
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Hotels are all about luxury and extravagance ― if you can afford better rooms and meals, you're more likely to get better service, and club lounges are no exception to this general rule.
Targeting business leaders and exclusive visitors, some hotels designate several floors as ``Club Floors'' and give guests access to posh lounges. Snacks and drinks, as well as magazines and other amenities await the visitors 24/7.
Club lounges provide breakfast, lunch and light dinners, as well as small conference rooms with high-tech gadgets for interviews, meetings and other occasions.
State of the Art
Lotte Hotel Seoul focuses on providing an exclusive, luxurious and cozy touch to its club lounge located on the 31st floor.
Free sandwiches, cakes, cookies, afternoon tea, cold dishes, chocolates and pastries are provided according to the time of day. Four conference rooms with beam projectors and other gadgets are available for free.
Next to the lounge is a refreshment room featuring massage chairs, CD and DVD players, an espresso machine, wireless Internet and other equipment.
The Westin Chosun Seoul has recently renovated its executive club lounge on the 20th floor. Guest relations officers provide secretarial assistance as well as check-in and check-out services.
Guests staying on the club floors are provided with a breakfast option ― they can eat at either the Western restaurant Ninth Gate or the buffet restaurant Ariya. The menus vary from vegetarian to continental.
"The executive club lounge gives access to only those over 14 years old. Therefore, people with children under the age should enjoy our other options," the hotel's promoter Ahn Joo-yeon said.
Cozy and Secluded
The Sheraton Grande Walkerhill's club lounge on the 17th floor has an exquisite view of the Han River, and right outside, people can enjoy the scenery of Mt. Acha.
``It is a panoramic view allowing you to see the seasonal changes of Korea,'' the hotel public relations officer, Kim Seon-mi, said.
The hotel offers a happy hour service between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. providing complimentary drinks and hors d'oeuvres.
A Korean Touch
On the 20th floor of the Imperial Palace Hotel is a traditional Korean lounge called the Club Imperial Lounge.
The hotel is designed in a rich baroque style, but the 20th floor lounge is for foreigners and Koreans who want to be in a more traditional ambience to make business deals and relax.
Snacks, various teas and free Internet are provided free of charge while conference rooms equipped with Korean traditional furniture welcome many foreigners. ``Some specifically ask for club rooms to get access to the lounge. It is popular among businessmen in Gangnam who want to impress their foreign business partners,'' hotel promoter Han Mi-sun said.
The hotel also offers traditional royal meals in three set menus that come with more than 16 dishes at once. Price ranges from 82,500 won to 165,000 won per person. The meals are available to groups of more than three people.