Facing Dongdaemun Gate, JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul places one of the city’s historic landmarks directly in view. Rooms are contemporary and polished, with subtle Korean references and a calm approach to design. Restaurants, a bar, spa, indoor pool and event spaces give the hotel a complete urban framework, while markets, design districts and transport links animate the neighbourhood outside. The stay is shaped by this contrast: international comfort indoors, and the texture and movement of central Seoul immediately beyond the doors. Few city hotels in Seoul make their historic context feel quite so immediate.