Seoul Long Stay: Hotel vs Serviced Residence Compared

Long Weekend Haus DDP's Dining Suite in Dongdaemun starts at ₩306,000 a night (2026-09-19, official site) and is one of six Seoul properties compared here on kitchen access, minimum-stay terms, cancellation windows and walk time to transit. The decision comes down to five concrete checks: whether the room includes a kitchen and a washer or dryer, how the nightly rate changes after three or more nights, the minimum-stay and cancellation terms, the walk time to a subway station, and what the room actually sleeps. Fraser Place Central Seoul near Seodaemun Station starts at US$149 a night (2026-09-16, Trip.com) with a kitchen in every unit. Settle the kitchen question first: full-service hotels such as Lotte Hotel Seoul, Grand Hyatt Seoul and Four Seasons Hotel Seoul book nightly with no kitchen and no minimum stay, while serviced residences such as Long Weekend Haus DDP, Fraser Place Central Seoul and Somerset Palace Seoul add self-catering and laundry in exchange for lighter daily housekeeping.

Fraser Place Central Seoul

Fraser Place Central Seoul sits at 78 Tongil-ro in Jung-gu, about a 6-minute walk from Seodaemun Station, and its Studio apartment sleeps 2 adults plus 1 child in 34m² with a full kitchen, starting at US$149 a night for a 1-bedroom, 2-adult booking (2026-09-16, Trip.com).

The property lists 269 furnished apartments on its own homepage and 271 on its own overview page, from Studio through Two Bedrooms Deluxe (81m² sleeps 4 adults plus 1 child), and every unit includes a hob, microwave, kettle, rice cooker, washing machine and cookware. The building also runs an indoor swimming pool and a resident lounge, and housekeeping is provided daily according to the property's own service description.

Booking runs through the official Fraser Hospitality reservations line, Trip.com and Tripadvisor, all requiring a credit card guarantee. A family staying near Seodaemun who wants a full kitchen without changing neighborhoods finds it here, in a two-bedroom layout large enough for a stroller and a home-cooked dinner.

Long Weekend Haus DDP

Long Weekend Haus DDP sits in Jung-gu's Ssangnim-dong, near Dongdaemun Design Plaza, and its Dining Suite sleeps 2 guests (up to 4) across two bedrooms and 35m² starting at ₩306,000 a night on the flexible, free-cancellation rate (2026-09-19, official site).

The 12-unit building runs across 7 suite types: the Garden and Terrace Suites (32-36m² one bedroom, sleeps 2/max 4), the Dining and Maru Suites (35-44m² two bedrooms, sleeps 2-3/max 4-6), the Terrace Premier and Skyline Suites, and the 702 Penthouse (69m² three bedrooms, two bathrooms, sleeps 4/max 8). Extra guests beyond a room's base occupancy add ₩10,000 per person per night, and stays of three nights or longer get a 10% discount. Check-in runs through a self check-in kiosk instead of a staffed front desk, so a flight landing at midnight does not cost a wasted night, and every suite includes a kitchenette and a washer/dryer, which turns a week-long stay into grocery runs instead of restaurant bills. The building is entirely non-smoking, does not accept pets, and offers free Wi-Fi in every room. The operating company, 주식회사 롱위켄드하우스 (Long Weekend Haus Inc.), lists direct booking at stay.longweekendhaus.com alongside the flexible rate's 14-day cancellation window.

Two couples who want separate bedrooms fit the 202 or 302 Maru Suite (44m² two bedrooms, sleeps 3/max 6), and a group of four to eight settles into the 702 Penthouse (69m² three bedrooms, two bathrooms) instead of booking two separate hotel rooms on two different floors.

Somerset Palace Seoul

Somerset Palace Seoul stands at 7 Yulgok-ro 2-gil in Jongno-gu, a 5-minute walk from Gwanghwamun Station and a 4-minute walk from Gyeongbokgung Palace, and its 1-Bedroom Deluxe apartment sleeps up to 3 with a king bed and full kitchen, priced from €130 for one night, two adults (2026-09-16, aggregator).

The property offers 280 apartments by its own count, from Studio through Penthouse, and every unit includes a hob, microwave, toaster, chinaware, a washing machine and tumble dryer, and an HD television with a dedicated work desk. On-site facilities include a fitness center, a billiards room and a rooftop hot tub and garden. Checkout is 12:00, a photo ID and credit card are required at check-in, and a refundable ₩20,000 damage deposit applies. A separate official group-rate document sets cancellation at free more than three weeks before arrival, 30% inside two to three weeks, and 50% inside one to two weeks.

Somerset Palace Seoul does not participate in Ascott's own loyalty programme, and booking runs through discoverasr.com or Booking.com. A guest working from a laptop for two weeks near Gyeongbokgung Palace gets a full kitchen and laundry in the same walk radius as the palace itself.

Lotte Hotel Seoul

Lotte Hotel Seoul stands at 30 Eulji-ro in Jung-gu, adjacent to Euljiro 1-ga Station on Line 2, and its Superior Room sleeps 2 in a standard double-occupancy layout, priced from C$252 a night (2026-09-16, Kayak).

The property runs 1,015 air-conditioned rooms with minibars, safes, 55-inch televisions and nightly turndown, and housekeeping is offered daily. No kitchen or kitchenette appears in any room type; Club-tier rooms get a 10% discount on hotel laundry instead of an in-room washer. Check-in is 15:00 and check-out is 11:00, and the hotel's own notice effective 2024-04-15 sets cancellation or changes up to 6:00 PM three days before check-in, with a one-night penalty after that window.

No minimum-stay requirement appears on the property's booking terms, so it books nightly like any hotel. A traveler who wants daily turndown service and does not plan to cook finds that here, near Euljiro 1-ga Station and a 10-minute walk from Seoul City Hall, on Booking.com.

Grand Hyatt Seoul

Grand Hyatt Seoul occupies Mount Namsan at 322 Sowol-ro in Yongsan-gu, a 6-minute walk from Itaewon Antique Furniture Street, and its Club Room sleeps 3 to 4 in 322 sq ft with a king or two twin beds, priced from US$223 a night (2026-09-16, Travelocity).

The property lists 615 rooms including 53 suites, each with a flat-screen television and a minibar instead of a kitchen. Standard occupancy is 2 adults per room, with a third adult charged ₩33,000 including VAT; the maximum per room is 2 adults plus 2 children. Check-in is 15:00 and check-out is 11:00, and cancellation on a Member or Standard Rate allows a full refund up to 24 to 48 hours before check-in, with a one-night fee applied closer to arrival. No minimum-stay requirement appears on the property's policy pages.

Someone anchoring a stay around Itaewon and the Han River, with no plan to cook, finds full hotel service and a fitness center with a swimming pool here, booked through Hyatt or an aggregator.

Four Seasons Hotel Seoul

Four Seasons Hotel Seoul sits at 97 Saemunan-ro in Jongno-gu, about 0.9km from Gwanghwamun and Gyeongbokgung Palace with Gwanghwamun Station on Line 5 downstairs, and its Guest Room sleeps 2 in a king or two double beds, priced from US$433 a night for a 2-adult, 1-night stay (checked 2026-09-20, Travelocity).

The property counts 317 rooms and suites, including 285 guest rooms and 32 specialty suites; the largest, a 4,445 sq ft Presidential Three-Bedroom suite, includes its own sauna. Bathrooms are finished in white Italian marble with separate showers and soaking tubs, and rooms include an espresso maker and an iPad Mini instead of a kitchen. Check-in is 15:00 and check-out is 12:00, cancellation terms vary by rate and accommodation type, and a per-night deposit of ₩200,000 applies and is returned at checkout.

A traveler prioritizing a five-star concierge and marble bathrooms over cooking for themselves finds that trade here, a short walk from Gwanghwamun Plaza, through fourseasons.com.

Evidence and criteria

Property type is drawn from each site's own structured data: Long Weekend Haus DDP publishes a LodgingBusiness JSON-LD record on longweekendhaus.com (observed 2026-09-14) naming it a boutique apartment-style stay of 12 units, while Fraser Place Central Seoul and Somerset Palace Seoul are registered under Ascott and Fraser Hospitality's own serviced-residence brands, not as hotels.

• Legal registration: Long Weekend Haus DDP's operating company is listed in the official site's footer as 주식회사 롱위켄드하우스 (checked 2026-09-19).
• Address record discrepancy: Long Weekend Haus DDP's own JSON-LD gives 15-3 Ssangnim-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul (checked 2026-09-14), while a third-party listing for the same property gives a road-name address instead, so both are shown as published, not reconciled.
• Cancellation notice: Lotte Hotel Seoul's cancellation policy has an effective date of 2024-04-15, printed on the hotel's own notice.
• Deposit terms: Four Seasons Hotel Seoul charges a per-night deposit of ₩200,000, refunded at checkout, per its own booking terms.
• Long-stay discount: Long Weekend Haus DDP's own booking data sets a 10% rate reduction for stays of three nights or longer, checked 2026-09-14.

What distinguishes a hotel from a serviced residence in Seoul, for booking purposes, is whether the unit's own listing states an in-room kitchen and laundry, not the star rating or the marketing name attached to the building.