I paid for my own about-one-week-stay at Lotte Hotel Busan, as well as 3 other hotels. Since this Lotte Hotel Busan Review is unsponsored, you can trust it'll tell you the truth about the pros and cons of this hotel. (Generally the standard of Busan hotels aren't as high as the hotels in Seoul, but they are cheaper, so...)
I've been to Busan several times, most recently for 2-3 weeks in 2023, almost 1 of which was spent at Lotte Hotel Busan.
I also stayed at 3 other hotels, but Lotte Hotel Busan ended up being my favorite of the 4. (It's the only one I would definitely stay at again when I next return to Busan.
The other 2 that I stayed at are Signiel Hotel Busan and Fairfield Songdo Beach, which were a bit more hit-and-miss: you can read about my experiences there if you click the respective links.)
Rating: 4.4 stars on Google out of 4,477 reviews (as of 25 March 2024)
Lotte Hotel Busan is a good place to stay if you want a comfortable (but not stylish) 5-star hotel that's located downtown with reasonable prices, great service, hotel staff that can actually speak English (you'll be surprised how rare this is in Busan), terrific Korean food, and direct access to the subway and a wide range of shops, including a supermarket and Duty-free outlet. However, note that the interiors are quite dated (in style, not function), though the outdoor rooftop pool is beautiful, and there are extra charges to use some of the facilities.
Note: there are affiliate links in this post. If you've found the info useful, I'll be super grateful if you use them to book 🙂 Thank you!
In addition, depending on what class of room you book, you may have to pay to use the pool, and may only be able to use the gym once a day. (Restrictions and extra charges on hotel facilities are not uncommon in Korea but Lotte (in general, not just Lotte Busan) does take it to an extreme. For example, you are charged for toothpaste and toothbrush, which generally even motels in Korea provide.)
Unfortunately, hotels in Busan do leave a bit to be desired, and Lotte Busan is as good as it gets, in my opinion, and my top choice for downtown Busan when traveling with elderly relatives. (wheelchair access to subway/ department store/ supermarket/ underground shopping mall + English speaking staff.)
Location
Like Lotte Hotel Seoul, Lotte Busan has a great location.
Lotte Busan is a 5-star hotel located downtown, in Seomyeon, fairly close to Busan Station. (It's my top choice to stay if I want to be in the centre of Busan, but there are also other places to stay in Busan, such as Haeundae, Songdo, and more.)
It has everything you could needing its building. Technically you could even not leave the building!
Besides the hotel facilities, which I'll mention below, there's also direct access to a:
- supermarket
- department store
- eateries and restaurants
- Duty-free shop (smaller than the one in Seoul)
- hair salon
- Seomyeon subway
- Seomyeon Underground Shopping Mall (where you can find all the affordable Korean skincare brands. The expensive ones are all in Lotte Mall.)
- Bujeon Underground Mall
- money changer: these are quite rare in Busan. Note that it's hard to get Singapore Dollars changed in Busan. Please bring USD
- cobbler: you never know when you'll need one! (My boots broke and it's hard to find large-sized shoes in Korea.)
Lotte also has a branch in Seoul, which I've stayed at several times. Lotte Busan feels more intimate than the one at Seoul and is MUCH Cheaper. For one, Busan has 650 rooms whilst Lotte Seoul has 1015!
For another, when I couldn't find the cobbler in the Lotte Underground Mall, the concierge actually personally brought me to the stall (of her own volition, not requested by me!)
Facilities
Lotte Hotel in Busan has a:
- outdoor pool: amazing! I was super impressed by how beautiful it was, given how dated the rest of the hotel is.
- spa: meh, not as good as the one at Signiel Busan. Also they can't speak ANY English.
- Korean restaurant (Mugunghwa): which was very good! (If you want to stay at a 5-star hotel in Busan with a Korean restaurant, you don't have a lot of choices. Signiel, Grand Josun etc all do not have Korean restaurants though the Westin Josun at Haeundae Beach does. The Korean food I ordered via room service was great too (which is not always the case.)
- Chinese restaurant (Toh Lim): the fried rice I ordered via room service was awful though so I didn't try the restaurant
- Japanese restaurant (Momoyama)
- Buffet restaurant (La Seine)
- airport pickup service from Gimhae (for 60,000 Won)
Room
I won't lie- the room is very dated. (If you want a more stylish room with a sea view, book 1 of the luxury hotels at Haeundae Beach instead.) I got a Deluxe twin room, which cost about 234,000 Korean Won per night.
However, everything works and the view of the city skyline is good. The room isn't the largest but it's big enough to have a:
- work table and chair
- lounge area with small table
I really liked how the room was sealed with a tape to indicate that it had been properly cleaned when I arrived.
Bathroom
The bathroom was my least favorite part of the stay. There was nothing wrong with it, but as you can see, it's quite date. It does have the mod-cons such as a heated toilet seat with shower jet, massage etc.
Koreans love bath tubs but if you're traveling with elderly family members, it can be difficult to get in and out of the tub. Lotte Busan does have shower-toilets as well as connecting rooms so you may want to ask for those instead.
Spa
I did a facial at the spa and it was quite a hassle booking the treatment as the therapists couldn't understand English at all. Overall, the experience at Chantecaille Signiel Hotel was much better.
How to Get There
The Lotte hotel has direct access to Seomyeon Station (which is on Lines 1 and 2)
- From Busan Station: take Line 1 towards Nopodong Station and get off at Seomyeon
- From Nopodong Express Bus Terminal: take Line 1 towards Sinpyung Station
- From West Intercity Bus Terminal: take Line 2 towards Jangsan Station
- From Gimhae Airport : take the Light Rail, Transfer at Sasang Station to Line 2 bound for Jangsan Station. (Or book the hotel pick up for 60,000 Won. If you have more than 1 person, this is actually quite worth it.)
Any questions about where to stay in Busan? Let me know in the comments!
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