Travel & Food

’Winter Wonderland’ at Ananti Club

By Lee Hyo-sik Ananti Club Seoul, located in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, will soon be transformed into a winter wonderland attracting families seeking to enjoy a range of outdoor activities in winter. Korea’s first family-oriented golf resort where fathers can play golf, while kids and mothers engage in a wide array of activities at the club house and other facilities, will offer a comprehensive winter activity program called ``Walkin’ in Winter Wonderland’’ from Jan. 3 to Feb. 5. ``For a month, our high-quality 27-hole golf course will turn into a winter wonderland. We have prepared many more outdoor activities for our family customers during the upcoming season to make them go home fully satisfied,’’ said Sante Ahn, general manager of Ananti Club Seoul. ``From spring to fall, we cater to golfers and their family members. Fathers golf on our beautiful course, while the rest of the family has fun in our outdoor swimming pool, tennis courts and other amazing facilities at the club house. In winter, it becomes a great place where families with kids can enjoy a wide array of

Templestay for New Year

Buddhist temples nationwide start retreats for 2012 By Do Je-hae The settling of the past year and the arrival of a new one is an opportune time to reflect and plan. Responding to people’s need for quiet rumination, some Buddhist temples run special programs to help visitors reflect on the last 12 months and set plans for the New Year. The templestay program is considered an all-year round program, but the Jogye Order, running many of Korea’s oldest and most prominent Buddhist temples, recently announced a series of special programs at certain temples for the New Year. “The New Year templestay programs are designed to help participants start the New Year with a renewed sense of purpose and energy and the participation in these programs has been increasing,” an official with the Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism said. “In particular, they offer a glimpse of traditional practices that are not easily experienced in city life. Because the programs revolve around traditional cultural experience, there is an increasing interest in them among children, students and families.”

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Best hotel Mugunghwa, a new experience of hansik

The renovation and re-opening of the Lotte Hotel Seoul’s Korean restaurant Mugunghwa in November 2010 was an exceptional event in the hotel industry, where very few have Korean restaurants. But the new Mugunghwa, on the 38th floor of the main building, has offered high-end Korean cuisine and a refined dining experience, proving customer demand for authentic Korean cuisine and the possibility of globalizing Korean food, or hansik. The restaurant serves authentic Korean courses with a modern flair based on the traditional table-setting of Korean noble families. It adapted the traditional food presentation into the Western-style menu, which is comprised of amuse-bouche, cold appetizer, porridge, fish dish, grilled dish and dessert. Mugunghwa pursues authenticity in cooking methods and ingredients, creating traditional flavors of Seoul and southern provinces with seasonal ingredients. In food presentation, it pursues modernity, with presentation techniques benchmarked from restaurants owned by world star chefs. The interior is very modern and stylish, with a touch of Orient

Best hotel Ultimate French cuisine at Pierre Gagnaire a Seoul

The opening of Pierre Gagnaire a Seoul in October 2008 at the Lotte Hotel Seoul introduced a whole new concept of French dining to Korea. Operated by the world-renowned three-starred Michelin chef Pierre Gagnaire, the restaurant features Gagnaire’s French cuisine of revolutionary cooking methods and artistic revelation; a collection of 270 different wines selected to match the chef’s creative dishes; stylish interior design; Gagnaire’s comprehensive service manual ranging from reception and service technique to food and wine pairing; and a multi-concept bar, the first in the world to have his name. Gagnaire doesn’t easily allow his name to be used because restaurants bearing his name should maintain a high level of quality. Only five of his restaurants across the world bear the name, which are in Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Dubai and Seoul, meaning guests of the Seoul restaurant can have the same quality of food and service as that in Paris. The Lotte Hotel Seoul was able to bring the highest level of restaurant to Korea by investing about 7 billion won in the Pierre Gagnai

Best hotel Hotel-like living at Oakwood Premier

Oakwood Premier Coex Center Seoul, the first deluxe furnished serviced residence in the capital, satisfies customers who have high expectations in terms of products and services. The serviced residence combines luxurious hotel services with the spaciousness of a private home, allowing guests to enjoy a homelike mood with fully-equipped amenities while getting services from professionally-trained staff when needed. The 27-story property offers 280 furnished apartments including studio, one- to four-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 47 square meters to 228 square meters, and regal penthouses of 403 square meters. All residences are accessible only by key-operated elevators to guarantee security and privacy. Each residence has separate living, dining and sleeping areas, as well as a fully-equipped kitchen. The spacious residences are designed to host gatherings or conduct business meetings. Residences of Oakwood Premier Coex Center Seoul have a king-size bed with luxury linen, elegant dining area, fully-equipped gourmet kitchen, and marble bathroom with in-room ste

Best hotel Somerset Palace guarantees balance between work, family

Somerset Palace Seoul, situated in the heart of downtown Seoul, offers customers a level of luxury and comfort that is unsurpassed in the capital. Whether guests are on a business trip or on holiday with the family, the serviced residence’s professionally-trained staff are on hand to meet and fulfill their every need in spacious surroundings and sophisticated ambience. As a serviced residence where many guests bring their families for a long-term stay, Somerset Palace Seoul knows the importance of keeping a balance between work and personal life. It respects guests’ privacy and freedom to live the lives they want whether they are working, relaxing, spending time with family, exploring new city’s attractions or sharing experiences with other residents at Somerset Palace Seoul. Somerset Palace’s luxurious, family-friendly apartments range in size from studio to one-bedroom, two-bedroom and penthouse. Each apartment provides an enriching living environment for the busy executive and family with state-of-the-art communications and entertainment facilities. Fully-equipp

Best hotel Imperial Palace offers best business environment

Located in the heart of the business and cultural districts in Gangnam, Imperial Palace Seoul is not only a landmark but also a perfect environment for business people who visit the southern Seoul district. The establishment holds strength as a business hotel reinforced with modern IT services, including 42-inch LCD television in guestrooms and PDP television in suite rooms, and high-speed and wireless Internet services. The Business Center is also equipped with up-to-date IT facilities such as a projector, 42-inch PDP screen and professional translation and interpretation services. The hotel’s versatile banquet halls also make meetings and conventions successful through dignified interior design, state-of-the-art facilities and convenient transportation. Any type of gathering is available there, from large-scale international events, high-tech conferences, seminars and business meetings to gala events and theme parties. Antique-style Dubhe Hall has a capacity to serve 1,000 persons, while elegant Selena Hall can hold up to 800 people. Five other halls are available fo

Best hotel Enjoy Gangnam skyline at Ritz-Carlton’s balcony room

Except for those in resort destinations, it is not common for hotel rooms to have a balcony, especially those located in the city’s hustle and bustle. But Ritz-Carlton Seoul does, and the special rooms with private balconies, where guests can enjoy the skyline and city view of the Gangnam area, are gaining popularity among those planning room parties. The hotel has 375 guestrooms, including 47 suites and 75 Club rooms. Presidential Suites, measuring 200 square meters, are designed for state guests. It has a spacious living room that can accommodate up to 50 people for VVIP receptions; dining area; private office; and Jacuzzi with a window overlooking the city. In 2009, the hotel completed its room renovation and guests can now enjoy a more comfortable and pleasant stay. This year, as a second step of a master plan to be reborn as the nation’s highest-class hotel, Ritz-Carlton Seoul has undergone another facelift with the renewal opening of Chinese restaurant Chee Hong and the fitness club, an additional hotel entrance and the opening of an anti-aging clinic. The reno

Best hotel Sheraton Incheon gonig green

The Sheraton Incheon Hotel, located in Songdo, one of three new international business districts in the Incheon Free Economic Zone, is not only a frontrunner of the region’s hospitality industry but also a leading hotel in the country for its efforts to “go green.” The Sheraton Incheon, the nation’s first smoke-free five-star hotel, has been built utilizing eco-friendly methods, becoming Korea’s first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified hotel in March. LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system developed by the United States Green Building Council. It provides third-party verification that a building was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance for energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emission reduction, improved indoor environmental quality and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impact. In order to qualify as a sustainable green hotel, the Sheraton Incheon made efforts to reduce the environmental impact and pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, w