I recently stayed at the Park Hyatt Busan. The Park Hyatt is the summit of the Hyatt hotel-chain pyramid and thus expectations are always very high when visiting a Park Hyatt hotel. Please read below to find out if these high expectations were met.
This stay was part of a 3 week trip through South Korea. I’ll also post reviews of the Andaz Gangnam, Grand Hyatt Incheon, Grand Hyatt Seoul, and Grand Hyatt Jeju. And I’ll also post 2 videos on my Youtube channel reviewing the High Speed train from Seoul to Busan in first class as well as the new A321 from Korea Air in Business Class from Jeju to Seoul. Links are below. But as stated, in this review I’ll focus on the Park Hyatt Busan.
Location
The Park Hyatt is located in Marine City. Marine City is built on reclaimed land next to Haeundae Beach. When you arrive by car from downtown Busan, chances are you’ll come over the Gwangan Bridge. An impressive bi-level suspension bridge which looks like a mix between the San Francisco Bay Bridge and Golden Gate bridge. The Park Hyatt hotel has probably one of the best views of this bridge and the view is spectacular.
When arriving over the Gwangan Bridge, Marine City appears on the horizon. My first thought was that I was arriving at the latest city development in Dubai. Skyscrapers with curvy shapes mimicking the waves of the sea. Certainly not boring and the Park Hyatt is occupying one of these buildings.
Arriving by taxi is probably the best option to get to the Park Hyatt. It takes roughly 20 to 30 minutes to get from either the airport or train station to the hotel. Taxi’s are pretty cheap and reliable in South Korea, and the Uber apps also works in Busan. So this was definitely our preferred means of transport while we were staying at the hotel.
We did also use the subway several times though. The nearest subway station is a 10 minutes walk.
Rooms
I used a suite upgrade for this suite and we were awarded with a ‘Family Ocean Suite’. This suite is ‘designed specifically for families’ and measures 77 M2. However, we then immediately come to the pain point of this suite. In the bedroom there is a queen bed as well as one single bed. This bedroom is not too big and it feels really cramped with both a queen bed as well as a single bed for a child placed directly next to it.
Besides the lack of privacy with the single bed placed directly next to the bed of the parents, having queen bed for the parents is – I believe – not per the standards of a Park Hyatt. In fact, every other Hyatt hotel we visited in South Korea (Grand Hyatts and Andaz) did have a big, comfortable king bed! So a bit weird that the Park Hyatt just had a Queen Bed.
Concerning the single bed, a much better design option would have been to place the single bed (or sofa to be turned into a single bed) in the living room! There is sufficient space in the living room for that.
What is impressive though, is the view to the Gwangan Bridge. Well, if you can enjoy the view since during the day. It is strongly advised to keep the blinds down during the day, because of the heat radiation of the sun. Even with the blinds down, the airco can hardly keep up keeping the room cool in the summer.
While the bedroom is a bit smaller than you might expect, the bathroom is great with a double vanity, a bath and separate shower.
Restaurants & Breakfast
The Park Hyatt Busan has 2 main restaurants; the Dining Room and the Living Room. I’m not sure why these restaurants aren’t simply called ‘Steak & Seafood Restaurant’ and ‘Italian Restaurant’ because that’s what they are. The Dining Room is located at the 32nd floor and is also the place where breakfast is served.
We wanted to visit the Living Room one evening only to discover it was closed on that day. The Living Room Bar which also serves food seemed a good alternative but children weren’t allowed there…. Luckily we could still sit in the ‘closed’ Living Room and enjoy the food from the Living Room Bar over there.
Breakfast is where the Park Hyatt Busan shines. There is an extensive buffet as well as a-la-carte options.
Conclusion
Before coming to the conclusion, the Park Hyatt Busan also has a Spa and indoor Swimming Pool. Please note though, that you do need a bath cap in order to use the swimming pool. Of course, you can purchase this at the Park Hyatt… So I now have several Park Hyatt Busan bath caps which I’ll probably never use again….
I started this review with the question whether the Park Hyatt Busan could meet my expectations. During my visit to the Park Hyatt Busan, I regularly asked myself whether this Park Hyatt Busan is truly a Park Hyatt. Is this Park Hyatt the summit of the Hyatt hotels in South Korea?
To be honest, I think the hotel leans too much on the amazing views. The bedroom with the queen bed was disappointing. Having a single bed directly placed next to the Queen bed is simply a bad layout choice. I also didn’t think the design was something special and it certainly didn’t have the ‘wauw-factor’. In fact, I think the Grand Hyatt Incheon was much more impressive.
This doesn’t mean, the Park Hyatt Busan was a bad hotel. On the contrary. I can truly recommend staying in this hotel. But it should probably be called ‘Grand Hyatt Busan’!
Also have a look at my review on my Youtube channel of the High-Speed train from Seoul to Busan. A very comfortable ride and in the video I will explain the best way to buy your ticket for the high-speed train in Seoul. Don’t forget to subscribe to the channel if you like the contents!
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