I stayed at Lotte Hotel Busan for 2 days while I was visiting family in September 2006. The hotel is located in a very busy area of Busan. It is huge, expansive, and has a huge Lotte department store attached to the hotel. As soon as you walk in, you have a great view of a rainforest like setting in the hotel restaurant.

Like Lotte Hotel Seoul, the hotel is mainly filled with business people and foreigners. At the time I was visiting, there was a Bowling Championship and the hotel was swarming with foreigners attending this event.

The rooms itself seems old and worned down, but I've noticed that in all of the Lotte Hotels I've stayed in (Busan, Seoul, Jeju), the staff does try their best to keep the rooms tidy and clean. The rooms were bigger in the Busan location than the Seoul location. The furniture was also newer than the

There are no double beds, it is 2 single beds which means it is fit for 2 people that do not want to share a bed. I had 3 people occupying our room so they were able to bring in a cot, but that's an extra charge of $30-40USD/night. This price wasn't too bad considering we booked the hotel in the USA for under $150/night.

Like the other Lotte hotels, everything has a price. Expect to pay a ton to use the gym, the pool or any of the hotel's amenities. I found the Lotte department store to be very expensive and the duty free shops were no better.

Eating breakfast is difficult in Busan, since it is a Western "tradition". I couldn't find any place within walking distance that served Western breakfast (ie, eggs/bacon). So, I ate breakfast buffet in one of the hotel restaurants - very expensive, approx $25-30/USD. The breakfast was not very good. They also have a live tiger that they house behind a thick, glass window in the restaurant. Beautiful creature, but I couldn't help but to feel so terrible for the animal b/c it was clearly fat and overweight from not being able to live outside of this very confined space.

Outside of the hotel were many bars, restaurants, internet cafes, little shops and "pochangmachas" - those orange tents/eaters set-up on the street where people can drink and eat. Busan is really nothing like Seoul - it is a bit grittier, dirtier and less flashy. I held off on souvenir shopping until I got to Seoul. However, if you will only be in Busan, you can find plenty of shops in the vicinity of the hotel.

Overall, I only come into Busan b/c I have family in the area. Otherwise, I would forego coming into Busan purely for vacation/pleasure purposes. If you do have to come to Busan for obligations like work/family, then Lotte Busan is an adequate choice, as long as you can book the hotel for a decent price (under $150/USD). Otherwise, it is a rip-off for the rack rate they offer. Expect a worn-down room, though clean. Do not eat in the hotel if you can help it, there are plenty of eateries right outside of the hotel, except for breakfast.

I have been traveling to South Korea for over 10 years now, and have probably made around 20 trips or so both to Seoul and Busan.

The Lotte is a Korean owned hotel, which can have it's downsides if you are a foreigner, as Koreans like to keep things, well, Korean. Like other reviews say, the lobby and entrance is beautiful but once you get into a room that changes. The rooms don't match the rest of the hotel as they are a bit old and stale feeling.

Another thing to note is if you are traveling on business (I don't see why you would go there for a vacation) then have your Korean business colleague book the room for you under a group or business rate, regardless if you plan on coming back. I stay there for around 140,000 won per night. I've been in the elevator and overheard people saying they are spending 350,000 won per night. That's downright ridiculous.

They have wireless internet which works OK, but the connection speed is always changing (some rooms have a computer in them). A little tech support help: If you have an Apple, call the front desk and they will send someone up to write down your Airport ID #, and then you are able to access it 24/7, without signing in or anything. Very nice.

If you are going to go there often then sign up for the Lotte Privileges program asap. They don't really advertise it anywhere, and when you finally do discover it, they won't retro your missing points. It gives you points to spend in the Duty Free store, where you can get high end products like watches, Louis Vuitton stuff, etc.

The restaurants are OK, but nothing too fabulous. They put a Korean twist on everything, which is fine though (since you are in Korea). If you want to eat in the nice restaurants (the top floor), then I suggest making a reservation by going up there. Calling it in may not work too well. The breakfast buffet is not all that great, and is way overpriced at 24,000 won or something like that. And yes, there is a tiger that is outside the one-way windows (the tiger cannot see you, unless you are wearing all white clothes - or wave your napkin at him to get his attention).

There are many shops and restaurants right next to the hotel, and Korea has a pretty friendly atmosphere when you are outside in the hustle and bustle of the busy street scene. The subway is right next to the hotel, and is pretty easy to use. Taxi's are everywhere, but you never know what to expect traffic wise.

The other hotel options are in Haundae Beach, but that's a bit further from most businesses. The other reviews here say it's about 20 minutes out, but that seems a bit optimistic. To be safe, plan on it taking 45 minutes by taxi (unless it's 2am or something). If you don't mind the extra time in a taxi or on the subway, Haundae is nicer. There is a Marriot and a Westin, located right on the beach.

Bear in mind that in Korea and especially in the "smaler" cities like Pusan there is not a great deal of choice when it comes to hotels. The Lotte Pusan is the only major hotel actually inside the city. The Marriott is not really only 20 mins out, as the traffic is so appalling at all times of day or night that it could literally take hours.

Anyway, Hotel Lotte Pusan:

PROS:
- Fairly new (built 98'), in spite of that already looking a bit tattered but stil not bad.
- Rooms and bathrooms are large, in spite of what other reports may say (I am European though, not American, and so probably have lower standards/expectations).
- Central location
- Good discounts available
- Great views of the city from the higher floors (43 in all)

CONS:

- The many many resteraunts that the hotel is so proud of are not really available for foreigners. We visited all EIGHT and were quite literally thrown out, despite being smartly dressed, quietand polite. There were many empty tables at each place, but we were told every time that the resterunt was full, would be full all night, would be full the whole of the next day and the day after that and the day after that. By the time we were thrown out with shouts from the 3rd resteraunt we picked upon the pattern, there was not one single foreigner eating in any one of them, only Koreans. After complaining loudly to the duty manager we were given a table at the cafe, where luckily we were served by a charming young waiter who was the only pleasant member of staff we had come across. A few other bemused looking foreigners were in there too, looking lost and confused.
- Room service food is quick, but pretty poor quality.
- Too few signs aroun this huge hotel in English, verey easy to get lost.

Pusan is a smaller city and I don't think there are much better options. It is within 5 minutes walk to the central subway station and access to numerous restaurants outside the hotel. Their restaurant is pleasant if you sitting next to their huge indoor garden.