Lotte Hotel Busan

My recent stay at Lotte Hotel Busan was deeply disappointing and absolutely not up to the standards of a five-star hotel. 1. No luggage assistance upon arrival I arrived at 9 PM and no staff were present to help with luggage. No greeting at the door — the welcome felt more like a budget business hotel than a luxury property. 2. Basic amenities poorly managed Only two bottles of water were provided in the room. I called for more and waited over 30 minutes with nothing delivered. Staff insisted it would take at least 30 minutes, but even then, nothing came. On the second try, they said only two more could be sent — and they arrived via robot. Completely impersonal and inefficient. 3. Non-responsive customer service I sent multiple emails regarding specific requests and issues — none were answered. Eventually, after pushing multiple times, only part of my requests were handled. There was no proactive or professional customer care. 4. Misleading signs and outdated infrastructure Elevator labels for high and low floors were placed incorrectly, causing many guests (myself included) to take the wrong elevators. No staff were there to guide or explain. The hotel overall feels old and worn out — a sharp contrast to the newer hotels near Haeundae. 5. Staff lack basic knowledge of hotel layout When I asked if I could access the department store directly from within the hotel, the front desk staff said they weren’t sure. It’s shocking that hotel employees don’t even know this basic information about their own property. For the price paid, the value was incredibly poor. I strongly discourage staying here — there are much better options in Busan.

Modern hotel, nice decor, plenty of facilities (extra charge required), poor service. Swimming pool, sauna, gym all require additional charge or are only included with premium rooms and above. The facilities are great and gym is of a commercial level. Hotel staff were not very welcoming and rather depressed. Even though the hotel is in the city center, it's not really near any of the main spots you'd want to check out. We ended up taking a 30-minute taxi ride every day just to see the sights, which was a bit of a hassle.

Super comfortable hotel with first class amenities--indoor and outdoor pool, exercise facility, world-class restaurant with spectacular views of Busan and a concierge who will recommend and make dinner reservations, call you a cab etc. All in all we had a delightful stay.