By Jae-Ha Kim
jaehakim.com
October 23, 2019
We literally took the train to Busan from Seoul. Highly recommended. The trains are clean and super fast and they sell tasty snacks onboard.
Koreans generally won’t eat in front of you without offering to share. When the woman sitting next to me pulled out a bag of tangerines, she offered some to my family first before eating one herself. When I bought chips and juice for my son, I made sure to buy extras for her, too. (She declined a few times before finally accepting them. Then she gave them to my son, along with another tangerine.)
The Lotte Hotel is one of South Korea’s most prominent hotel chains. (My sister in law is in love with the breakfast buffet at their Jeju Island property.) It’s a favorite of ours as well.
This hotel is a 15-minute cab ride from the Busan train terminal. We drove past the famous Haeundae Beach, where they were setting up for some of the Busan International Film Festival events. It was too cold to go swimming when we were there, but it’s a gorgeous spot to take a walk.
At check-in, you’re given a cell phone to use during your stay, which you can use for local calls. If you don’t have a good international plan with your carrier back home, this phone comes in very handy.
As can be expected, the hotel has easy access to the Lotte department store. There’s a duty-free shop on the 8th floor, where you can buy higher-end items like Louis Vuitton and Chanel. But they also sell more reasonable souvenirs to take back home. Note: You will need to show your passport and confirm your flight number for your departure to take advantage of the duty-free shopping.
Our room was clean and well maintained. Bottled water was included, as were various types of tea and coffee. We would 100 percent stay here again on our next trip.
Just the facts: Lotte Hotel Busan, 772, Gaya-daero, Busanjin-gu, Busan, Korea (82-51-810-1000)
To tip or not to tip:Let’s face it: The United States is one of the most tip-happy countries in the world. You tip maids, servers and doormen. But when you’re in a foreign country, what do you do? The locals always will tell you if natives tip or not. I remember the Kiwis rarely tipped in New Zealand and then only if service was extraordinary. The policy also seems to hold true in the United Kingdom. South Korea traditionally isn’t a country where tips are expected, especially from fellow Koreans. However, with the influx of American tourists who are accustomed to tipping, hospitality workers have grown accustomed to accepting gratuity every now and again.
Please be careful when you do tip. For instance, I left change for a teenage server at a local cafe and she looked worried about the implication, until I explained to her boss that I was leaving the country and that I am a U.S. national where everyone tips. I also left tips nightly at our hotel, but I included a note in Korean for the housekeepers so they knew the money was for them. (If you’re worried that your Hangul isn’t legible, you can print out multiple copies of this on your computer prior to leaving for Korea and have them easily at your disposal: 청소해주셔서 감사합니다. It says, “Thank you for cleaning my room.”
We had hired a couple drivers during parts of our trip. While some happily accepted tips, one driver was clearly uncomfortable. When he picked us up, he presented us with drinks, snacks and fruit. It was obvious he had spent the tip money on us.
From their website:
LOTTE HOTEL BUSAN is located at Seomyeon, the center of Busan, South Korea’s biggest port city. It is about a 15-minute drive by car from Busan Train Station. As the largest hotel in Busan, it provides elegant services and as many as 650 rooms that guests can choose freely according to their needs. Also, our renovated modern-style rooms and dining spaces will present customers with unforgettable and impressive moments. As the baseball city of the nation, LOTTE HOTEL BUSAN features the Choo Shin-Soo room that honors the professional baseball player as well as a casino. Turn every business endeavor into a success and make each moment sparkle and shine with the backdrop of the ocean in the romantic city of Busan.
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