The Shilla Jeju

I stayed here for one night for a short family vacation. It was about twenty years ago when I first stayed at Shilla Jeju for the first time. Then it was definitely one of the best hotels in Korea. Now, it is still one of the most expensive, but the rooms are old and the service quality is declining. The hotel was so crowded, and I had to wait for buffet breakfast for thirty minutes. At the same price range of about $700 per night, there should be better options, IMHO.

Good for a family trip with several kids activity programs yet it also has adult only pool so parents can be free from their kids for a while. Love the jacuzzies and finnish saunas and you can see Mars, Moon and other stars with astro telescopes in its garden.

Having stayed in a fair few five star hotels in different countries around the world I have to say this is not one of them. For around USD 450 a night you get a three-star hotel room and have to shell out extra for use of the sauna or even to having a lie down by the adults-only pool. The food, while of good quality, is very limited in its selection and again quite overpriced. Unless you feel like having Korean or Japanese, the buffet is your only option. Breakfast is good but they don't even have teapots which I found very bizarre. We asked for some more hot water for our tea and they brought it in an empty cup - Mr Jeongho Lee, if you actually read these reviews, please ask the hotel to use some of that 2 million won from our stay to buy some teapots. All the masses of people leaving 5 star reviews for this place must either be dreaming or have not stayed anywhere actually worthy of the honour. Don't recommend anyone to stay here unless you want to feel ripped off.

This place is not so much 5 star resort but more like a family fun hotel. For the price I expected a nice quiet and relaxing get away. What we arrived to was a lot of screaming children and young families. We thought there would be saviour at the 'adult pool' which would be more aptly named 'VIP area' as you have to pay per hour to sit there or use the pool. Not like any other adult only area I've seen. At night they play live music by the family pool which blares into your hotel room. Luckily they finished by around 10. Now the restaurants, if you dont feel like paying out for an expensive buffet your choices are VERY limited. There is also a Japanese or Korean restaurant which both have around 4 choices each. You may also choose from the child menu but the price has to be made up to the adult price. The food selection is VERY limited. Also at breakfast when ordering tea, don't expect it to come in a teapot. You get one small cup with a teabag in it. When I asked for some hot water in a pot they just brought me another teacup with some hot water. Now 'beach access'... You have to climb down over 300 steps, which you obviously have to climb back up! Not worth it. No umbrellas or sunbeds on the beach.

I guess one of my pet peeves is overpriced food. The only reason i can't give this hotel a 5 star is the food. Don't get me wrong, the food was great but a bit overpriced. $59 for breakfast buffet is a bit over. Also, the pool side dishes was way too much. $38 for a burger, $18 for coffee.... Yeah, it's beyond that boundary of $7 coffee is expensive but you're willing to accept it. $18?? No F'n way i'm paying $18 for coffee! Other than that, the property is great. The main pool is a bit small when there's a lot of people but it's not bad. They have another adults only pool which seemed less crowded. Also had a live band at twilight and the band was pretty good. Koi ponds, campgrounds(GLAMping), you pretend to camp when you actually don't(women will love it), beach access with a little hiking.

An exquisite place island to be visit, top class service in the hotel, accommodative of foreign visitors, expanse of dishes at breakfast including fresh from the sea choices. Ideal for holiday destination where one is not so much under pressure for time.

They served Korean very well but not the foreigner. I arrived first and queued in front of the receptionist but a fat man in front of the receptionist ignored us. It is like we were invisible. It is not worthed to spend such a lot of money for that kind of service. It is my big mistake to choose THE SHILLA JEJU.

Overall a great resort with exceptional focus on service and attention to detail. We stayed there last week and had an excellent experience, though there were a couple of misses. Pros: 1. I accidentally left my duffel bag on the airport bus w/ my passport in it. The hotel not only got in touch with the bus company within 5 minutes, they had my duffel bag and passport in my room within 1.5 hours. Amazing! 2. Streamlined and highly attentive check-in service with a welcome drink. Also received a room upgrade. 3. Adults only swimming pool is nice and quiet w/ great views of the Pacific Ocean Cons: 1. We were asked to leave the lounge chairs (which we paid for) at the adults only swimming pool because we were not wearing swimming suits. We found that bizarre. 2. I tried to rent sneakers from the gym so that my wife and I could walk the Jeju Olle trail. They said you couldn't wear their sneakers outdoors so I contacted the General Activities Office. They said they couldn't rent out sneakers if you were not taking part in a GAO activity. This was quite frustrating.

A little over price, but hotel is really comfortable. Breakfast gave a good spread. Walk around in the compound and you will enjoy the views both day and night. Great Gym and outdoor swimming pool. Will comeback .