South Korea is one of the more popular destinations for winter sports. Despite being the comparatively weaker sibling as compared to nearby Japan, South Korea has its fair share of glamour when it comes to ski resorts!
The country recently hosted the 2018 Winter Olympics in the province of Pyeongchang! As M and I were travelling in South Korea in late winter, we deliberately planned for a trip into the mountains to snowboard.
At Pyeongchang, there are multiple notable ski resorts, but the largest and most popular one has got to be the Yong Pyong Ski Resort. After doing some research, we learnt that it’s better to stay in the Alpensia Village and travel to Yong Pyong every day as Alpensia has more facilities.
Coincidentally, there are also 2 points hotels here in the Alpensia Village – Alpensia Intercontinental Pyeongchang Resort and Alpensia Holiday Inn Resort Hotel, and we’ve stayed in both!
This article is a review of our experience at the Alpensia Intercontinental Pyeongchang Resort.
Booking
We booked 2 nights at the Alpensia Intercontinental Resort using 35,000 IHG Points. At the time of booking, the cheapest non-refundable rate was US$271 for 2 nights. This meant that we were getting US$0.77 per point which was reasonable.
Although we were staying a total of 3 nights in the area, we were not able to book the property for our third night as it ran out of award availability. Therefore, we moved to the nearby Holiday Inn Resort midway through our stay.
Check-in
We arrived at the resort late in the evening around 5 pm with the last shuttle bus from Jinbu train station. At the time of arrival, the check-in lobby was empty and the staff attended to us immediately.
During check-in, we were told that our room got upgraded to the King Bed Classic Lake View with Balcony Room. This was a pleasant surprise as the room is only 1 category away from the suites.
Also, as IHG Platinum Elite members, we were given the option of a welcome drink or 500 IHG points. As 500 IHG points are only worth approximately US$2.50, we chose the drinks without hesitation.
We also mentioned that we needed to make a property switch to the Holiday Inn Resort at the end of our 2-night stay. As they were both sister properties under IHG, the staff offered to move our luggage over at the end of our 2nd night.
It made our messy schedule a lot more convenient and we appreciated their gesture.
Unfortunately, even as IHG Platinum Elite members, points redemptions do not get free breakfast benefits and this property is no exception.
King Bed Classic Lake View with Balcony
The Room
At first view, the room is huge. Despite not being a suite, it has a long enough walkway that makes it feel like the bathroom and bedroom is vastly separated.
At the end of the room, there is a lounging area and an office table for work.
The TV itself seems like it is in need of a dire upgrade. As with the other hotels that we’ve stayed at in South Korea, most of the TV channels are in Korean. Due to its age, there are no streaming or casting capabilities available here too.
The bar counter comes with 2 bottles of water, 2 sachets of instant coffee, 2 coffee bags and a number of tea bags. There is a Tefal kettle too which is a nice touch.
The pièce de résistance of the entire room, in my opinion, has to be the view from the balcony. As we visited the region in winter, the lake was still frozen and there was plenty of snow on the ground. I could only imagine the views if there were fresh snow on the trees.
Bathroom
The bathroom is grand and it reminds me of our time in Conrad Singapore. The design is very similar and it’s one of the largest bathtubs we’ve had.
There is a separate enclosed shower area at the other end of the bathroom.
Bathroom amenities are provided by Byredo (a luxury brand as pointed out by M).
Location
The Alpensia Intercontinental Resort is located at the entrance of the Alpensia Ski Village. It is just a short 5 minutes walk to the village itself.
This is in contrast to its sister property, the Holiday Inn Resort which is located right in the heart of the village. If you’re someone who prefers a quieter environment, the Intercontinental Resort might be a better option for you.
From the hotel, it’s a short 5-minute taxi ride to the famous Yongpyong Ski Resort. It is not recommended and advised to walk between the ski resorts as it is quite far and the road isn’t very safe in winter.
Conclusion
If you’re visiting the Pyeongchang area, we’d highly recommend staying at Alpensia Intercontinental Pyeongchang Resort. This is one of the best hotels available in the area and we’ve had an incredible time there.
The good service, together with the excellent hard product makes the resort an easy recommendation. To top things off, prices at the resort are fairly reasonable both in terms of points and cash rates.
