Located in the heart of Seoul, South Korea, Four Seasons Hotel Seoul is a five-star destination located just steps away from Gwanghwamun Plaza. It features stunning city views and offers upscale dining options, a state-of-the-art fitness center, and traditional Korean saunas. It is also home to a chic spa that is minimalist in design and combines traditional healing techniques with modern therapies to restore balance and help guests relax in the ultimate urban sanctuary.

In addition to the spa, there is also a sophisticated and contemporary nail bar that provides hand, foot and nail grooming. We chatted with Spa Manager Soyoung Cho at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, who shares favorite treatments, services worth splurging on, and other hidden spa extras:

Why You’ll Love It: Conveniently located in the center of Gwanghwamun (also known as the beating heart of Seoul), the Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul is the ultimate destination for guests looking for total relaxation. Our ideal location makes us popular among both local and international guests wanting to relieve stress after a busy day of work or travel. Our professional therapists deliver personalized therapeutic restoration using expert skills, intuitive healing and delectable skincare products so our guests can also expect optimal results. 

Key Features: We offer the following complimentary amenities for guests to freely use before and after the treatment: disposable underwear, toothbrush, toothpaste, hair brush, hair cap, razor, Fedora toner, serum and moisturizer, Miriam Quevedo shampoo and conditioner, body wash, bathrobe and Oribe hair wax and hairspray for men. In each treatment room is a powder room featuring all the amenities mentioned above for guests to comfortably get ready in privacy. 

Bonus: For guests who purchase spa credit, we offer complimentary access to the private Korean Sauna. We recommend that guests come an hour before their treatment to relax in the Korean Sauna, which boosts circulation and prepares your body for treatment. We also recommend a traditional Korean scrub for complete head-to-toe exfoliation, sloughing away dead skin cells and revealing tingling new skin.     

Insider’s Beauty Tip: Korean women use face masks daily especially during the dry winter months. A face mask is a quick and easy way to protect and rejuvenate the skin. Before going to sleep, I recommend putting on a face mask for about 10 minutes, then apply a thick layer of cream. You can immediately feel that your skin is much more moisturized. Make sure to not leave the mask on for more than 10 minutes, as it will have a reverse effect and dry out the face as the mask dries. 

Snacks Served: We serve two different types of welcome/refreshment tea to all guests prior to their treatment: sweet lavender and ginger cinnamon. For guests receiving treatments that are three hours or longer, we offer today’s tea as well as traditional Korean snacks. For guests with sesame or ginger allergies, we serve cookies.  

Unique Treatment: Our Four Seasons Ji-Ap Massage is influenced by traditional Korean deep tissue techniques with additional reflexology and stretching to help initiate self-healing throughout your organs and a loosening of tight and tired muscles. A firm, dry massage, it effectively releases physical and emotional tension, soothing the nervous system. The flow of energy throughout your body will be enhanced and restored.

The Purifying Experience is also very unique. Deeply cleansing and rejuvenating, this 150-minute treatment is our luxurious and modern take on Korea’s most historic and enduringly popular treatment. Start your therapeutic journey in our wet and dry saunas and hot and cold pools, boosting circulation. Then a traditional Korean scrub with a loofah mitt will exfoliate every inch of your body, sloughing away dead skin cells and revealing tingling new skin. A cocoon of nutritious seaweed delivers marine goodness straight into your body, initiating a gentle detox before herbal water is poured exquisitely over your figure to wash the seaweed away. A restorative, deep-tissue body massage, hair and facial mask will banish the very last vestiges of tension. You will feel absolutely recharged as you reacclimatize post-treatment.

Splurge Treatment: We recommend our Second Skin Treatment. Exclusive to Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, Biologique Recherche has pushed new frontiers in the beauty world with their Second Skin Facial. This treatment, famous for its injection-less filler results, uses five lifting and regenerating electrospun masks, made with 80% hyaluronic acid and a regenerating serum, which target damaged skin instantly. This exceptional treatment visibly refreshes the signs of aging, boosts the complexion’s water retention, and accelerates the healing process via the skin’s extracellular matrix. It is a genuine cosmetic alternative to invasive treatments with none of the downtime.

Insider’s Favorite: My favorite treatment is the Aromatic Balancing Body Therapy. A comforting and cosseting treatment, gentle Swedish strokes using fragrant essential oils coax your body back into a deeply relaxed state. Choose from a fragrant range of highest quality oils by Sodashi—Serenity for inner peace, Energizing to uplift and revive, or Toxicleanse to detox and fight fatigue—all using only the purest oils and essences. This light to medium massage is deeply restorative and will leave you feeling full of peace.

Featured Products: We use Sodashi and Biologique Recherche. Sodashi is a premium Australian skincare that is 100% chemical-free, made using the purest botanical extracts, and can only be found at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul. The calming rose mist is especially popular among women for its fragrance and soothing effect. Biologique Recherche is a high-end skincare brand based in France and we use their products for all our facial treatments. Their products are high in quality with a high level of nutrition and concentration for optimal results. Both Sodashi and Biologique Recherche products can be purchased at the Spa.   

For more information and to book a treatment, visit the hotel’s website and follow them on Instagram: @fsseoul

[Images courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel Seoul]

Four Seasons Hotel Seoul

97 Saemunan-Ro, Jongno-Gu

Seoul, 03183, Korea

+82 (2) 6388-5000