Customer Reviews

Hotelier

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Contains Spoilers

The only Korean movie I had seen so far was "A Tale of Two Sisters" and I just loved that film. The acting in Hotelier was good as a whole and the story was quick and well paced. The guessing game of who Suh Jin-young would end up with, the General Manager Han Tae-jun or Frank "Dong-hyuk" Shin, aka "300 Roses" kept me in suspense until the last few minutes of the story. As for how he got the nickname three hundred roses, is a treat to see.

The story is about the people who work at the Seoul Hotel and those who try to take over. The hotel is in financial trouble having over extended their budget in constructing a new wing. When the hotel president dies of a heart attack, he leaves a note asking that a former manager, Han Tae-jun, who resigned three years earlier due to a scandal be reinstated and promoted to the head/general manager position. The late president's wife, who is temporarily taking over control sends Manager Suh Jin-young to Las Vegas to try and bring Han Tae-jun back. But it's not that easy since Han doesn't want to go back, having his pride and reputation damaged by the scandal.

A depressed Suh Jin-young, eats out one night and ends up complaining to the restaurant manager about the terrible service and horrible food she is served. Sitting at another table, Frank "Dong-hyuk" Shin, a Mergers and Aquisitions expert over hears and seeing the lovely Jin-young, his interest is caught. Thus, one of the two love triangles is created as the characters head to Korea and the Seoul hotel. So who will Suh Jin-young choose, the very kind, old boyfriend, Han Tae-jun, who left her three years ago and who doesn't seem to object to her suggestion they can just be friends or will she pick Korean-American Frank "Dong-hyuk" Shin, the Harvard educated, ruthless M&A expert who has been hired by the Seoul hotel's enemy, Chairman Kim Bok-man, to help him in the takeover.

While Han Tae-jun goes out of his way to help people, Frank "Dong-hyuk" Shin appears cold and business like. Add to this triangle is Kim Yun-Hee, the enemy's daughter who falls for General Manager Han after he twice saves her. It gets pretty sticky working at that hotel after a while as the two men compete over the hotel and the woman they both love. Supporting characters add to the appeal of this series. From, jealous Assistant General Manager Oh, to head of Housekeeping (or as they call it, mouthkeeping) Manager Lee who sulks as she envies the love triangle Jin-young has gotten herself into. We also have the loyal Head Chef Noh and his second in command, Assistant chef Kap-su as well as Frank's partner and attorney, Leo Park. The late president's irresponsible son Choi Young-jae adds more to the romantic entanglement as he falls for the beautiful Chairman Kim's daughter, Yun-Hee

One draw back was in the incredible coincidences that occur in this story. Just too many to be believable. The American actors were pretty bad too. I think one played two roles. Still I would recommend this very much. Another point concerns the DVDs, I purchased a 11 Disc set. The twenty episodes are on the first ten and the last contains bonus material. In the subtitle/language option, there was an error. if you want the English subtitle, you actually have to choose the Korean one. I finally discovered this after pressing to choose the English subtitle around fifty times before discovering it was mislabeled. What a headache that was!

Since purchasing this movie, I have become a "Bae Yong Joon Fan". This movie has a good story line, many solid supporting actors and kept my interest to the very end. This movie was excellent, very well produced and I have enjoyed viewing it more than once. I hope there will be many more Bae Yong Joon movies available. Thank You for the great entertainment.

Am a greenhorn to Korean DVDs and Hotelier was my first order. I am so happy and satisfied that I will surely order more in the future especially projects of the actors Bae Yong Joon, Kwon Sang Woo, and the lead actor of JUMONG (his name escapes me now. Difficult to remember as I am non-Korean. I just wish there will be more available DVDs.

IF YOU LOVE IN LOVE IN HARVARD YOU WILL LOVE THIS ONE AS WELL. BAE YONG JOON IS NOT ONLY SO VERY HANDSOME BUT HE IS ALSO ONE OF THE VERY HOT ACTORS. IT IS ALL ABOUT LOVE AND POWER, BUT IN THE END WILL LOVE WIN? WILL IT BE HAPPY OR SAD ENDING? YOU MUST SEE! THE BACKGROUND MUSIC IS SO BEAUTIFUL . THIS IS ONE SET THAT I WILL ENJOY AGAIN AND AGAIN.

Any BYJ fan worth her salt has seen this one at least a couple of times. The story is about a hotel in financial trouble and in the process of being acquired and sold off for a profit. The hotel staff are all interesting and flesh out through the storyline...giving a lot of credence to their long work/friendships. Relationships that are not always smooth, but stand the test of time.

I found it interesting that they really wanted to show a realistic picture of running a hotel and almost immediately lead you from posh hotel lobbys to utilitarian staff hallways... The characters are also brought to life by their non-perfect lives, and how not everyday is shining and pretty, but that the Korean staples of hard work, humility and loyalty help them to enjoy their work/lives.

Being a big BYJ fan, my favorite scene is probably the almost kiss...dont miss it! Also like the incorporation of religion into the mix, as it really fleshed out Frank's character and gave him his first real hint of humanity. Before he was a prince, but you weren't really sure of how much he really felt about Suh Jin-young. The female lead is also not the normal missish character, but a strong woman that can and does takes care of herself and others. Its fun to see her react to Frank's romancing, giving you a glimpse of how it touches her heart.

Overall, the storyline was interesting, and a bit more realistic than fairytale. Guaranteed to make you a BYJ fan if your not yet.

Having finished watching BYJ in the Legend, aka TWWSG, I wanted to see him in other roles and stumbled upon this series. This was a beautifully written and dramatised romantic drama amidst high powered mergers and acquisition in the hotel industry. I enjoyed this very much, needless to say that BYJ was awesome, the blurb describes it as his finest performance, but I think it is one of his finest performance as he was awesome in the Legend, winter Sonata and the others. I recommend this series whole heartedly for the sheer quality of the romantic lines and dialogue from BYJ.