Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas, an IHG Hotel

Gangnam's Grand Dame, Renovated for a New Era

The Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas has stood on Teheran-ro for thirty years, long enough to have been the first international hotel brand to open in Gangnam. In 2022 it marked that anniversary with an eleven-month top-to-bottom renovation, carried out room by room from the seventh floor to the thirty-third. British studio 1508 London led the redesign around three ideas: a return to nature, balance, and crafted detailing, replacing a dated corporate shell with something closer to a resort inside a business tower. The result is a hotel built for Gangnam's pace that no longer looks or feels like it.

Why It Works

We selected the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas because the renovation went further than a lobby refresh: every guestroom now has floor-to-ceiling windows, a television of at least 55 inches, and the kind of detailing, from clothing steamers to finished millwork, that a true five-star refit requires. Weilou, its modern Chinese restaurant, has won the World Luxury Restaurant Awards three times, giving the hotel a dining credential that outlasts any single renovation cycle. Add a relocated, higher club lounge and genuine event infrastructure, and it reads as a hotel upgraded with intent rather than obligation.

Why This Location

The hotel sits directly on Teheran-ro in Gangnam-gu, inside Seoul's main business corridor and within easy reach of the COEX convention and shopping complex. It is less a tourist base than a working one, built for guests who have meetings nearby but still want their evenings to feel like a proper stay rather than a layover. Restaurants, department stores, and the Bongeunsa temple grounds are all a short walk or taxi ride away, giving the address range beyond its spreadsheets-and-conference-rooms reputation.

Fast Facts

• Gamme: Luxe, cinq étoiles

• Vibe: Renovated business-district grande dame, nature-inspired interiors

• Chambres: 838 chambres

• Best For: Business travellers in Gangnam who still want a genuine five-star stay

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: The top-floor Club InterContinental Lounge, relocated for the view

• Dining: Weilou (modern Chinese, triple World Luxury Restaurant Award winner), Grand Kitchen, Hakone

• Amenities: Club InterContinental Lounge, Grand Ballroom and meeting spaces, floor-to-ceiling guestroom windows

• Attractions: COEX convention and shopping complex, Bongeunsa temple, Teheran-ro business district

Weilou and a Decade of Dining Awards

Weilou moved to the 34th floor as part of the renovation, and its modern Chinese menu has done enough to collect the World Luxury Restaurant Awards three separate times, a rare repeat credential for a hotel dining room in a city with no shortage of them. Grand Kitchen covers the all-day buffet brief with the scale a 550-room renovation demands, and Hakone handles traditional Japanese cooking for guests who want something quieter. Together they give the hotel a dining program built to be used daily, not just for a single occasion meal.

The Club Floor, Moved Up a Level

The Club InterContinental Lounge shifted from the 26th floor to the top of the tower as part of the 2022 work, trading a good view for the best one in the building. It is the kind of change that signals how the renovation was prioritised: not just finishes, but which parts of the stay get the most daylight and the clearest skyline. For guests on club access, breakfast and evening drinks now come with a vantage point over Gangnam that the rest of the hotel can only borrow from the restaurant floors.

Suites Built Around Craft and Light

The Presidential Suite occupies two floors on level 32, with a four-metre ceiling, a Finnish-style dry sauna, a private treatment room, and a dining room for eight built around its own wine cellar. It is the clearest expression of 1508 London's brief: craft detailing applied at a scale few Seoul hotels attempt. Even standard rooms carry the same logic in miniature, with floor-to-ceiling glass and steamers built in rather than offered on request, so the renovation's ambitions show up well below the top-floor suites.