Hotel Paragon

The hotel has all the makings of luxury accommodation, at acceptable prices, it is ideally located and attached to the shopping center. The service and rooms are flawless. The only thing missing for a hotel of this quality with the number of foreigners is a tax refund office.

Feels like a large hotel (as it is). Good location with plenty of shopping/dining within a few minutes’ walk. Clean, good sized rooms. Given its size felt a bit inpersonable but I’d probably stay here again given its location. Although we knew about it in advance don’t like having to pay for pool access.

"Great location, but the service was a complete letdown for a 5-star hotel" This hotel is located in the center of Busan, making it easy to access shopping areas and a wide variety of dining options. Though the hotel was built about 20 years ago, it has gone through several renovations, and everything operates properly for guests’ comfort. The overall service quality not only failed to meet the 5-star property standard, but was among the worst I have experienced at any 5-star hotel. To begin with, when I tried to check in at 3:00 PM—the standard check-in time—the room was not ready. The front desk staff asked me to come back at 4:00 PM instead. It was frustrating, but the staff apologized, and it was the weekend, so I decided to wait without complaint. But it means that the hotel doesn’t have enough housekeeping staff to meet the standard check-in time. When I went to the room at 4:00 p.m.—the time promised by the hotel—it was still open and being cleaned. I asked the housekeeper about the finishing time, but she didn’t respond—maybe she didn’t understand Korean. So I had to return to the front desk and ask about the room status again. The staff called the housekeeping department and replied that the room had already been properly cleaned and was ready on time. However, I had come straight down after seeing the door open and the cleaning in progress. After this unnecessary back and forth, my family was finally able to enter the room once the cleaning was actually finished. When I first checked in, the front desk staff offered a 30-minute late check-out to compensate for the one-hour delay. However, since I had a train reservation, the late check-out was useless for me. It felt like a ridiculous gesture. And when I had to return to the front desk again, they offered complimentary access to the gym, sauna, and swimming pool as compensation. Gym, sauna, and pool access are usually charged extra here—which in itself already feels inappropriate for a 5-star property. To then offer that as a form of compensation only adds to the irony. If the hotel wants to retain their stars on the door, I strongly recommend improving the overall service quality—especially housekeeping. This stay reminded me that not all five-star hotels operate with the guest in mind. I would advise others to consider alternatives.