Hilton Gyeongju
A 330-room lakeside Hilton on Bomun Lake with a Japanese garden and indoor and outdoor pools.
- Neighbourhood
- Bomun Lake, Gyeongju
- Status
- Open
Why we recommend it
Gyeongju is one of the most rewarding historical stops in South Korea, and its hotel choice is narrow. The Hilton is the dependable option: a full-scale lakeside hotel with the space, services and range of restaurants that the smaller properties in town do not offer. Specialist tour operators regularly place their clients here, while noting candidly that it is not on the level of the best hotels in Seoul or Busan.
It suits travellers who want a comfortable, predictable base after a day among the tombs and temples, and families who will use the pools, bicycles and grounds. The lake setting is at its best in the cherry blossom weeks of spring and again when the hills turn in autumn. For how to spend the days, see OKYTO’s two-day guide to Gyeongju, the old capital of Silla. The other lakeside address on our list is Lahan Select Gyeongju, also on Bomun Lake.
Rooms & Suites
Rooms are spacious and bright, with floor-to-ceiling windows, marble bathrooms and a contemporary, neutral scheme. The choice is essentially between a lake view and a mountain view; some Deluxe rooms and all Premium rooms have a private balcony.
The hotel also keeps a number of ondol rooms in the Korean manner, with carved wood, low tea tables and small private gardens. Suites vary considerably in size.
Dining
The restaurants described by specialist operators are Genji, for sushi and Japanese cooking; Silkroad, for Cantonese and Sichuan dishes; and Da Vinci, the more formal room, serving Italian and Mediterranean food with a view of the gardens. Drinks and lighter fare are served in the ninth-floor H9 bar, the Lakeside Cafe, a poolside bar in season and Shilla Court, the lounge with floor-to-ceiling windows. Restaurant line-ups in hotels of this kind change, so names are worth confirming before travel.
Some restaurants and bars of the Bomun resort area are within walking distance. The livelier independent tables are in town, among them 987 Pizza, in the Hwangnidan-gil quarter of Gyeongju.
Wellness & Spa
The outdoor pool is seasonal, operating in the summer months, and there is an indoor pool for the rest of the year. The hotel has a gym, a sauna and Korean-style communal baths. Outside, the landscaped gardens are joined by a jogging track, and bicycles can be borrowed for the path around Bomun Lake. There is a playground for children.
Location
The hotel stands on the eastern shore of Bomun Lake, within the resort district of the same name, with mountains behind. The historic centre of Gyeongju, with its burial mounds and museum, is roughly fifteen to twenty minutes away by car or taxi, so the hotel is a little removed from town. Busan is about 75 kilometres to the south.
- Address
- 484-7 Bomun-ro, Gyeongju 38117, South Korea