JW Marriott Jeju is a sleek island beauty

With little fanfare, JW Marriott Jeju Resort & Spa has opened its first resort in South Korea's idyllic, largest Island. On every metric, it’s a sleek beauty. A brisk one-hour flight south from Seoul to Jeju, the 197-room retreat is the work of architecture studio WATG with interiors by the Bangkok-based and long-time Marriott collaborator Bill Bensley – anchoring the sprawling, but low-rise complex of plushly furnished rooms, indoor and outdoor lap pools, and gardens with a smart mix of tradition and modernity.

Stepping inside the JW Marriott Jeju

There is plenty to admire about the JW Marriott’s debutante. For starters, it doesn’t hurt that the 27,000 sq m resort is set high on a cliff on Jeju's southern coast, a particularly picturesque spot featuring sweeping views of the East China Sea, the sea-wet rock of Beonseom Island, and 27 walking trails that cut across nearly 440km of forests, bijoux villages, and craggy coastline.

A sense of place is established with the use of rough-hewn chunks of local volcanic basalt stone and pine. Light touches of traditional Hanok architecture in both guest rooms and public spaces are set off with modern artwork by way of Pierre Soulages’ abstracts, Jeff Koons’ crowd-pleasing balloon pieces, Lynn Chadwick’s raw bronze and steel installations, and Ugo Rondinone’s specially commissioned triptych of vivid yellow, blue and pink-hued rock boulders.

Speaking of yellow, the colour threads its way through the resort. In spring, the island’s canola fields fairly blossom with sunny bursts, the effect so enchanting Bill Bensley that he decided to brighten the hotel’s palette of grey, blue and black with judicious hits of yellow; he also added texture through quilted patterns on the walls, metal flying fish on the skirting of corridors, and ceiling lights that are meant to evoke traditional Korean scholars’ hats.

As resolutely plush as these trappings may be, the resort saves its biggest hurrah for its dining offerings. Here, executive chef Joon Ko orchestrates a moving feast from locally sourced, seasonal ingredients – including the island’s famed black pork – which are served every which way; think outrageously perfumed sesame seed oil, green barley and peanuts that show up in desserts and hot beverages, and sparkling lemons and oranges. 

If the culinary spread doesn’t tempt, then perhaps the mood-lit spa – stocked with Elemis and Thermes Marins, and flanked by an indoor 25m lap pool and oversized sunken Jacuzzi – just might. Keep an eye out, though, for the unveiling of the circular outdoor hot spring, which is due this winter in the resort’s west wing. 

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