Grand Josun Jeju

A Five-Star Resort Built for Jungmun's Coastline

Grand Josun Jeju opened in December 2020 inside the Jungmun Tourist Complex, built from a remodel of the former Kensington Jeju Hotel plus an entirely new wing that brought the room count to 271. It's the flagship of Grand Josun, a standalone five-star brand launched by Shinsegae Chosun Hotel and named in tribute to the century-old Westin Chosun in Seoul, a way of borrowing pedigree for a brand-new resort rather than inventing one from nothing. The result sits on Jeju's southern coast, a short walk from the black volcanic rock formations the island is known for, with the scale and resources of a proper resort rather than a boutique stand-in, and a slogan, Journey to Delightful Moments, that the design mostly lives up to.

Why It Works

Jeju has plenty of resorts that treat families as an afterthought and design-conscious travellers as a different afterthought; this is one of the few that commits to both. Themed children's rooms and family suites sit alongside a design scheme serious enough to hold its own against Seoul's city hotels, and that balance, rather than a single standout feature, is what earns it a place on our list over resorts with flashier marketing but a more generic stay behind it, and over hotels that treat a kids' club as a box to tick rather than a genuine amenity.

Why This Location

Jungmun is Jeju's purpose-built resort belt, with golf courses, Yeomiji Botanical Garden and the Jusangjeolli basalt cliffs all within easy reach, and the Jungmun Beach coastline itself a short walk from the hotel. It suits families and couples who want a self-contained resort base for a Jeju trip built around nature and slower days, rather than a city stay with day trips bolted on, and the complex's concentration of attractions means very little driving is needed once you're settled in.

Fast Facts

• Price tier: €€€€

• Vibe: five-star family resort with a considered design pedigree

• Rooms: 271, including themed children's rooms and family suites

• Best For: families and couples wanting a resort base on Jeju's southern coast

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: the wellness floor, with sauna and pool looking straight out over the coastline

• Dining: multiple restaurants and bakeries on site

• Amenities: indoor pool, fitness centre, sauna, children's indoor and outdoor programs

• Nearby: Jungmun Beach, Yeomiji Botanical Garden, Jusangjeolli cliffs

Designed by Humbert & Poyet, Built for Families

The hotel's design and artwork come from Humbert & Poyet, the same Monaco-based studio behind Josun Palace in Gangnam, and their work here leans into vacation-resort sensibilities and warm, exotic materials rather than the colder minimalism common to city five-stars. What sets Grand Josun apart from a typical design-led resort is how deliberately that same design language extends into the children's floors, with themed rooms and family suites that feel considered rather than bolted onto an adults-only concept as an afterthought, down to the choice of materials and colour palettes in the children's spaces themselves.

The Wellness Floor With a View

The hotel's wellness area pairs a swimming pool, fitness centre and sauna with panoramic views over the Jungmun coastline, the kind of outlook that turns a routine gym visit into one of the better reasons to get up early on a resort holiday. Combined with the hotel's indoor and outdoor children's programs, it lets parents and children use genuinely different parts of the building at the same time, which is rarer at a five-star resort than the marketing usually suggests, and it's the detail most worth asking about when booking a family stay here.