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  • Paradise Hotel, Busan

    1. Hotel building(s) and public space(s)

    Paradise Hotel Busan is a five star hotel, a member of The Leading Hotels of the World, located at Haeundae beach area, Busan, Republic of Korea. It is one of the top hotels in Busan, along with The Westin Chosun, Lotte Hotel and Novotel Ambassador (the former Marriott Busan), to name a few.


    Entering the hotel complex (west building) by car.


    This picture and the next one: west building and adjacent Paradise Duty Free shops front area.



    The hotel consists of two buildings, both located along and overlooking the beach. The one on the east side is the original building, which was renovated two years ago. The building on the west side is newer, and has 18 floors, with floors 15-18 being executive floors. The Executive lounge is located on the 18th floor. The two buildings are connected to each other by a bridge, located on the second floor.


    View of the bridge connecting the east (shown on the right) and west (shown on the left) hotel buildings. Picture taken from the beach side.


    View of the bridge connecting the east (shown on the right) and west (shown on the left) hotel buildings. Picture taken from the beach side.


    Looking at both hotel buildings from the beach side.


    New apartment block being almost finished, next to Paradise Hotel Busan east side building. For approximately *.S.$15,000 per square meter, you can have your own apartment and enjoy the ocean view at your time and leisure…


    November 2006. The new apartment building next to Paradise Hotel we just saw above, in its early days of construction.


    Haeundae beach, Busan. Looking east.

    Paradise Hotel Busan is located along Haeundae beach, the famous long beach of South Korea. The beach in which if you dare to swim off-season (i.e. earlier that May and later that September), they actually come and force you to get out (yes, unbelievable but true.) This happens in all South Korean beaches during the off-season period. It is probably because most people don’t know how to swim, and this is the main reason some get drowned each year.


    Haeundae beach, Busan. Looking west. View from balcony of room in the west building, 15th floor. The Westin Chosun is at the end of the beach.

    The Haeundae area is quite touristy, not truly representative of Busan (more on this later), with expensive hotels but also cheap ‘love’ motels (which actually offer very good value). More on the love motels later in this report or in one of my future threads (time & work permitting). The Paradise is preferred by Japanese tourists and the maritime professionals (the maritime people often prefer The Chosun, Novotel Ambassador and Lotte Hotel as well). I heard a story few days ago about the Japanese who come in Busan by the hundreds for having their cosmetic operations performed here, as it is considerably cheaper than having them done in their country. The hospitals of Busan (and the same applies for Seoul) are full of *.S.-educated Korean medical professionals who are supposed to be very good indeed. Another reason for the Japanese to come here is, of course, shopping.


    Paradise Hotel, Busan. West (on the left) and east (on the right) buildings.

    All rooms facing the sea offer a nice balcony, which is something other hotels in the same area do not have (Westin Chosun, Novotel Ambassador). I have actually stayed at all three hotels a number of times in Executive rooms with city and sea view respectively at each hotel. Getting a room with ocean view balcony makes a difference, as rooms facing the beach avenue have more noise. Facing the ocean you get an imminent feeling of relaxation and calmness, so it’s definitely worth it. The east building of Paradise Hotel has a casino, located on the first floor. Entrance to Korean citizens is forbidden to the casino, from what I have heard. I have never actually been there so I cannot really give an opinion – but a casino is a casino, it’s a legitimate business and not a non-profit organization, so the odds are clearly against you (simple maths). The hotel has a nice gym, which operates from 6am to 10pm and is located in the third floor of the west building. It offers good training facilities and a sauna. There is an outside pool, too (see picture), operating all year long.


    Outside pool, located in the east building.

    Should a guest wants to have dinner in the hotel, there is an Italian restaurant (west building again, second floor) and although I have not tried that yet, I plan to do so in the next month or so. Parking in the hotel is arranged (a) outside (valet, see picture) and (b) at the basement (three floors). The negative point here is a common occurrence in Korean hotels: the two elevators run from the bottom basement only up to the fourth floor; then you have to get off and get one of the other three elevators which run from B1 to 18th floor… Same type of arrangement exists at the Novotel Ambassador (which incidentally had a minor renovation in ’07). As for the parking at the Westin I cannot really say as the two times I stayed there we were shipyard’s and shipowner’s guest and were transported to/from the hotel by helicopter and car respectively.

    Breakfast is buffet service and is arranged on the Executive floor (for guests in floors 15-18) and on the first or second floor (if I am not mistaken, as I have never been there) for all other guests, that is for the west building.
    Last edited by N_Architect; 13 April 2008, 08:25 AM. Reason: Uploaded full report w/ pics

  • #2
    2. Executive Room

    2a. Executive room in the east building (i.e. the old building, renovated two years ago)

    The executive room (in both buildings) is more spacious than the one at Westin Chosun, but less spacious compared to the one in Novotel Ambassador (which incidentally was Marriott Busan until the fourth quarter ’06, when reportedly the owner of the property decided to switch.) The standard welcome package includes personalized envelopes with welcome message from the hotel’s Japanese manager and and information from the concierge as well as fresh fruits. Daily national newspaper (English edition) is at your room door early morning. The International Herald Tribune (Asia) is also available in the Executive lounge.

    The rooms are in good condition and always very clean. Internet (by cable) is available in each room, however at a charge (of approx. *.S. 12/hr. if I remember correctly). Bathroom consumables are from Aveda.






    Welcome letters and fruits.


















    Bathroom.


    Executive rooms in the old (east) building have a bath tub.

    2b. -->> continued in post #10 (too many pics.)
    Last edited by N_Architect; 12 April 2008, 11:07 PM. Reason: Uploaded report w/ pics

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    • #3
      3. Paradise Duty Free

      Adjacent to the west side building of Paradise Hotel Busan, there is the 4 levels Paradise Duty Free shops. It connects to the west side building internally through floors 2 and 3, so it is very convenient for any hotel guest to pop in for some shopping without going outside.

      For those of you who are not familiar with the concept, the duty free shopping story here works as follows: you go in, you do your shopping, but you cannot take anything outside. What you have to have with you is your passport, your airport, future flight number and date of departure from Korea, and your credit card(s) of course. Then you buy anything you wish, receiving a receipt and bill of exchange, and the goods will in turn be prepared diligently (very diligently, I must say, folded properly and carefully in appropriate packing and bags), then sent to a special desk at ICN or PUS airports. Just before your flight departs, on the day of your departure, and after you have checked in and cleared through customs, you can visit that desk and pick up your duty free items. Be aware not to purchase liquids in excess of the usually allowed quantities if you are connecting to other flights at other airports.


      Bill of exchange for N_Architect for goods to be picked up at ICN just before boarding SQ16, early May 2008.

      As far as the shops are concerned, most emphasis is given on designer brands, clothes, watches, luggage, cosmetics and accessories. Overall there is a lot of choice, you can find very good items at competitive prices, although for specific items usually wide selection is limited (e.g. for Zegna/Gucci mens handbags, no TUMI, very limited electronics.)


      Paradise Duty Free - main entrance.


      View of second, first and basement levels from the third level.


      Paradise Duty Free – third level, just outside the Zegna boutique.


      Paradise Duty Free – cosmetics, 2nd level.


      Paradise Duty Free – cosmetics, 2nd level.


      Paradise Duty Free – cosmetics, 2nd level.


      Paradise Duty Free – Loewe, basement level (thanks to the girls for their good service and for letting me take those two shots, lovely blue and green colors on these two womens bags, although the green does not show well.)


      Paradise Duty Free – Loewe, basement level.


      Paradise Duty Free - main entrance, LV and Tiffany & Co.


      Paradise Duty Free - main entrance, Cartier.
      Last edited by N_Architect; 12 April 2008, 11:04 PM.

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      • #4
        4. Executive Lounge (18/fl.)

        The executive lounge is located in the 18th floor of the west building. The lounge has a very classic feel and was completely renovated in mid 2007. It includes a large conference room and a small library with magazines and books. Provision has also been made for a smokers section, arranged in such a nice way (and in combination with the excellent a/c system) without making it a completely separate and ‘isolated’ entity from the rest of the lounge.


        Breakfast in the Executive lounge, around 7:30am. Haeundae beach on the left, The Westin Chosun far ahead.


        N_Architect’s usual (unhealthy) choice. Note the Pellegrino sparkling water (excellent choice by the maitre, with Perrier also being available.)




        Breakfast buffet in the Executive lounge, west building, 18th floor.


        Executive lounge during evening. Happy hour is from 6 to 9:30pm. Buffet is shown at the far end.


        As above, during early evening.


        N_Architect reading the latest edition of Architectural Digest, in the smokers section.
        Management has subscribed to a few interior design (Architectural Digest), fashion (Elle), golf, nature [National Geographic] amongst others, magazines. All received issues are on the shelves of the library for reading.


        Smokers section.


        The Executive lounge. The library is at the far end.


        Executive lounge business center, with three desktop computers, printer and fax. Free internet access. Newspapers on the right (Korean and English local/international.)
        Entrance to the lounge is on our left, right behind the vertical pillar.


        Executive lounge smokers section and library. The renovation of the lounge has admittedly been done with great success. The area offers a classic environment with quieteness and peace.
        Last edited by N_Architect; 13 April 2008, 08:38 AM.

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        • #5
          5. Busan


          Haeundae beach, Busan, on a cold winter morning.

          I've been trying to prepare a rather long 'report' on Busan for more than a week now, but in the process noticed that my attempt turned to a full expat's review of South Korea's customs, culture, work and living mentality, people, etc.

          So I've been thinking of just writing a few things here about Busan, posting few pics, then make a separate thread on my South Korean impressions. This will probably take some time, also taking into account the fact that my views on the country evolve and are enriched constantly. I also need to have a more pictorial view of the country (i.e. take my camera and go out taking interesting shots), so this will also take time.

          Anyway, as this space here is on hotel properties reviews, for the moment we'll stick to that and write (coming soon) only a few comments about Busan.
          Last edited by N_Architect; 13 April 2008, 08:37 AM.

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          • #6
            Thanks and awaiting more pics.

            Can you comment on Busan as say, compared to Seoul. What is the atmosphere there like? Do you have lots of Russian tourists? etc etc

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by SQFAN View Post

              Can you comment on Busan as say, compared to Seoul. What is the atmosphere there like? Do you have lots of Russian tourists? etc etc
              I don't really know the answer to that, as in the two years I have been in South Korea I have visited Seoul only once (apart from the numerous transit visits which do not count). So I guess other SQTalkers (lee_apromise comes first in my mind) could tell us about that.

              What I can do however is to ask few colleagues at work, as they come from Seoul. So, thanks for asking - actually it's a good opportunity for me to do little bit of searching and put this in my report as well...

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by SQFAN View Post
                Can you comment on Busan as say, compared to Seoul. What is the atmosphere there like? Do you have lots of Russian tourists? etc etc
                Having been to both cities a few times now I prefer Seoul, probably because it's bigger and more to do. The down side is it is possibly a bit too big and too busy at times and the traffic can be hellish, just like most major cities.

                Busan's big plus is it's beaches, but I have never had long enough there to enjoy them as I'm usually there for a couple of manic days and then out again.

                Neither seems to have been invaded by Russian tourists in bright illuminous outfits like Thailand, yet.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by MAN Flyer View Post
                  Having been to both cities a few times now I prefer Seoul, probably because it's bigger and more to do. The down side is it is possibly a bit too big and too busy at times and the traffic can be hellish, just like most major cities.

                  Busan's big plus is it's beaches, but I have never had long enough there to enjoy them as I'm usually there for a couple of manic days and then out again.

                  Neither seems to have been invaded by Russian tourists in bright illuminous outfits like Thailand, yet.
                  Ta! My only unpleasant encounter is in Singapore but Russians were using the hotel pool at 2am and woke me up in the Cabana rooms.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Post #2, part b

                    (continued from post #2)

                    2b. Executive room in the west building (i.e. the new building)


                    Key card(s) and paper case with guest’s name printed on transparent sticker.


                    Welcome letters and fruits.




                    Minibar (forgot to note the prices…)
















                    Checked in at around 4pm, then went to Paradise Duty Free, as usual.
                    Upon returning to the room, housekeeper service had prepared my bed & slippers.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      continued from post #2, part c


                      Bathroom.


                      Cosmetics, bath salts and mini towels.






                      Executive rooms in the new (west) building have shower and bath tub.









                      A note: do not forget to bring toothpaste, toothbrush and shaving gel/cream with razor as local Korean regulations (blame the environment-protect craziness) prohibit the supply of such items from the hotel(s). These items are available new in the minibar, and you will be charged if wish to take and use.

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                      • #12
                        Excellent comprehensive review!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Great review, N_Architect.
                          I actually think your first room (the one in the old building) looks plenty nicer. Perhaps due to the renovation? It looks far sleeker. YMMV.
                          All opinions shared are my own, and are not necessarily those of my employer or any other organisation of which I'm affiliated to.

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                          • #14
                            I agree, KeithMEL. First room (as posted in the thread) feels better, the colors and decoration are much better, in my opinion.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by N_Architect View Post
                              I don't really know the answer to that, as in the two years I have been in South Korea I have visited Seoul only once (apart from the numerous transit visits which do not count). So I guess other SQTalkers (lee_apromise comes first in my mind) could tell us about that.

                              What I can do however is to ask few colleagues at work, as they come from Seoul.
                              Originally posted by MAN Flyer View Post
                              Having been to both cities a few times now I prefer Seoul, probably because it's bigger and more to do. The down side is it is possibly a bit too big and too busy at times and the traffic can be hellish, just like most major cities.

                              Busan's big plus is it's beaches, but I have never had long enough there to enjoy them as I'm usually there for a couple of manic days and then out again.
                              Just reviving this old thread about the difference between Seoul and Busan. I have a choice whether I want to stopover in Busan or fly direct from Seoul to Osaka for no difference in the fare and I was just wondering whether it's worth it ?

                              I read that Busan vs Seoul is similar to Osaka vs Tokyo, i.e. the smaller city is rougher, louder and more down to earth! I'm not into cultural activities like museums etc but just the food and the buzz/vibe of the place!

                              Comment

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