By Dylan Clements - Clements Travel, September 2026
Aman has announced its first hotel in South Korea, and the timing caught our attention. Not because Seoul needs Aman to put it on the map. Quite the opposite. Over the past few months at Clements Travel, we have seen demand for Seoul and South Korea roughly double, and the type of trips people are asking us to arrange has changed too.
A couple of years ago, Korea would come up from time to time, often alongside Japan. Now we are having regular conversations with clients who specifically want to go to South Korea. They are asking where they should stay, which restaurants we can help with, where to go for skincare and wellness, and increasingly how they can see more of the country. We are even seeing clients wanting to go as far as Jeju Island, somewhere we think is going to become a much bigger luxury destination over the next few years.
Then Aman announces Seoul. You can see why they want to be there.
What is Aman doing in Seoul?
Aman Seoul will be in Cheongdam, on the Gangnam side of the Han River. If you have not been to Seoul before, this is not the part of the city you visit for palaces and old Seoul. Cheongdam is where you find luxury fashion, galleries, restaurants, beauty, expensive apartments and a lot of the money in modern Seoul.
That feels like a natural home for Aman.
The project is also much bigger than just a hotel. Plans include a 38-story building with 49 Aman Residences, Aman Club, restaurants, wellness facilities, retail and cultural spaces, alongside the hotel itself.
We still do not know how many hotel rooms there will be, what the room categories will look like or what Aman will charge. Aman has also not yet confirmed an opening date. There are dates being reported elsewhere, but until Aman starts talking about reservations, we would not plan a Seoul trip around them.
What we do know is that Aman is making a serious commitment to Seoul. The residences and Aman Club are a big part of that. This is clearly being designed for wealthy Seoul residents as much as international guests flying in for a few nights.
Why is South Korea suddenly so popular?
This is the question we have been asking ourselves because the change in our enquiries has been noticeable.
There is obviously the Korean music, film and television effect. Then there is Korean food, fashion, skincare and beauty, all of which have become much more visible internationally. But when you speak to people planning these trips, it is rarely one of those things on its own.
A lot of our clients have already traveled extensively around Asia. Many know Japan extremely well and are now looking at what else they can do in the region. South Korea is increasingly coming into that conversation as a destination in its own right rather than an add-on.
And the trips are getting longer. Clients who might once have considered three nights in Seoul are now asking about Busan, Gyeongju and Jeju Island.
Jeju is particularly interesting to us. We have been watching demand for the island build for the past couple of years, but from a luxury hotel perspective it is still poorly served by the major international brands. That feels like an obvious gap in the market.
Jeju has the ingredients for a very good high-end leisure destination: dramatic coastline, beaches, volcanic landscapes, hiking, food and golf, with enough distance from Seoul to make it feel like a second part of the trip rather than another city stop. What it does not yet have is the depth of luxury hotel choice many of our clients expect.
We would be surprised if that remains the case for long.
For now, this is exactly the type of trip we are seeing more often: Seoul is the starting point rather than the entire destination.
What we have also found interesting is that people are prepared to spend on these trips. They are asking for the best rooms, private experiences, restaurant reservations, private transfers and guides. Skincare and wellness are coming up regularly too, which was barely part of the conversation a few years ago.
The official numbers back up what we are seeing. Seoul welcomed 8.23 million international visitors in the first half of 2026, up 21.3% from the previous year, while international visitor card spending increased 56.8%.
Seoul's luxury hotel scene is changing
Aman is not arriving alone.
Rosewood, Mandarin Oriental and Capella all have Seoul projects in the pipeline. Suddenly some of the biggest names in luxury hospitality are putting serious money into the city.
And Seoul could use them. We already have luxury hotels in Seoul that we like and book regularly, but if you compare the choice at the very top of the market with Tokyo, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Paris or London, it is relatively limited.
For years, we have had clients willing to spend at the highest level in Seoul without the same depth of hotel choice they would have in Tokyo. That gap is finally starting to close.
Aman is probably the announcement that interests us most because Aman does not open city hotels everywhere. Its urban portfolio is still small, and when it chooses a city for a full Aman hotel, residences and private club, it is worth paying attention.
When will Aman Seoul open?
For now, Aman has not confirmed an opening date for Aman Seoul.
We also do not yet have the number of hotel rooms, room and suite categories, opening rates or a date for reservations to begin.
We will update this article as Aman releases more information. If you are considering staying at Aman Seoul when it opens, Clements Travel can also keep your interest on file and contact you once we have confirmed booking information.
That is probably more useful than trying to guess an opening date now.
Should you wait for Aman Seoul before visiting South Korea?
Absolutely not.
If you want to visit South Korea, go now.
There are already excellent luxury hotels in Seoul, and one of the things we can help with is working out which part of Seoul you should stay in. It makes a surprisingly big difference.
If it is your first visit and you want easy access to the palaces and older parts of the city, staying north of the Han River can make much more sense. If restaurants, fashion, shopping, beauty and modern Seoul are higher on the list, Gangnam starts becoming more interesting.
And if you have the time, we would increasingly look beyond Seoul. Gyeongju gives you a very different side of Korean history, Busan works well for food and the coast, while Jeju gives you the opportunity to finish with a few slower days away from the cities.
The hotel choice becomes thinner as you move outside Seoul, particularly at the very top end, but that is part of what makes South Korea interesting to watch right now. Demand is moving faster than the luxury hotel supply.
What Aman Seoul tells us about South Korea
We will reserve judgment on the hotel itself until we know more. Aman still needs to tell us about the rooms, suites, restaurants, spa and opening date. Eventually we will see the rates too, which will be interesting.
But as a signal for Seoul, we think the announcement is significant.
At Clements Travel, we can see South Korea moving from somewhere clients occasionally ask us about to a destination we are discussing every week. People are staying longer, spending more and traveling further into the country. At the same time, Aman, Rosewood, Mandarin Oriental and Capella are preparing to enter Seoul.
Those two things are probably not unrelated.
For now, the Aman announcement feels like another sign of something we have already been watching happen from our side of the desk. People are not just discovering Seoul. They are starting to discover South Korea. The hotels are now catching up.
Planning a luxury trip to South Korea?
You do not need to wait for Aman Seoul. Clements Travel can plan the whole trip, from choosing the right hotel and neighborhood in Seoul to arranging private guides, transfers, restaurants and experiences, as well as extending the trip to Busan, Gyeongju or Jeju Island.
We work with many of the world's leading luxury hotels and preferred partner programs, which can give our clients additional benefits including daily breakfast for two, hotel credits, upgrades subject to availability and other benefits depending on the property.
Once you have booked, our dedicated Guest Experience team works on the after-booking side of your trip, dealing directly with our hotel contacts on room preferences, upgrade requests, transfers, restaurant reservations, celebrations and other arrangements before you arrive.
There are no Clements Travel booking fees. You pay the hotel directly through its secure payment system at the same rate as booking direct, and we never see your card details.
Interested in Aman Seoul? Contact Clements Travel and we can keep you updated as opening and reservation information is released. Or, if South Korea is already on your list, get in touch and we can start planning your trip now.
