The Orakai Songdo Park Hotel: The quintessential view of Songdo Central Park!
For my second stay in the Songdo area of Incheon, I chose the Orakai Songdo Park Hotel. It is located close to the Central Park Hotel, where I stayed previously.
From the Orakai room, you can see the Sheraton and Oakwood hotels, where I had afternoon tea. I booked the room using the cheapest on-site random assignment plan available.
My stay was on a Monday, a weekday. Typically, weekday stays have fewer guests compared to weekends, increasing the chances of receiving an upgrade or being assigned a better room.
If there is no specific hotel tier membership, upgrades are not guaranteed and depend entirely on the discretion of the reception at check-in. From my experience of staying in Japanese hotels for over 300 nights, I’ve received upgrades approximately once every 10 stays.
Since the pandemic, I’ve stayed in domestic hotels about 30 times. For instance, at the Shilla Hotel, I received an automatic upgrade due to my Visa VIP membership. At the President Hotel, only two room types were available due to COVID-19, so instead of an upgrade, I was moved from the 27th floor to the 12th floor.
This time, I received a proper upgrade for the first time. I was assigned a room on the 16th floor, which is part of the Superior Room category located on floors 15–18.
Additionally, I was given a room facing Central Park, offering a park view. On top of that, the room had a full-length window facing Central Park, one of only three such rooms on the floor. From the bed, I could enjoy a stunning view of the park and surrounding buildings.
During check-in, I was asked if I had any room preferences. I mentioned that I wanted a room with the best view in the hotel, and they truly delivered with an incredible view. I am deeply grateful for this.
I did not use the breakfast service, and while the hotel has a swimming pool and sauna, they are paid facilities, so I skipped them as well.
The hotel is a 2-minute walk from Incheon National University Station, and there is a Lotte Mart diagonally across the street. Additionally, the Lotte Giants baseball team reportedly uses this hotel as their accommodation when they have away games in Incheon.
I’ve enjoyed park views from three hotels—Central Park, Oakwood, and Orakai—and even visited the observatory with Inaniwa Udon. Although it’s an artificial park, the views are beautiful from every angle. Thank you.