[INTERVIEW] Ananti at Gangnam offers characterful hideaway in trendy downtown area

Ananti at Gangnam's lobby lounge "Salon de Moby Dick" / Courtesy of Ananti

Resort developer-operator presents urban hotel with literary imagination

By Lee Hae-rin

Tucked away in the bustling heart of Seoul’s vibrant Gangnam District stands a lofty gray building that bears no sign, yet gives off a sense of serenity and undisturbed tranquility upon walking into the entrance.

It is Ananti at Gangnam, a hotel in the middle of southern Seoul’s Apgujeong and Cheongdam areas, the first urban hotel launched last June by Korean luxury resort developer and operator, Ananti.

“Like New York City’s Soho, Ginza of Tokyo and London’s Mayfair, we searched for a location that would be symbolic of Seoul itself,” Ananti CEO Lee Man-keu said during a recent Korea Times interview at the hotel.

“And we nestled here,” he said, explaining the property is conveniently located around the shopping and culture-oriented attractions in the upscale district but also stands just a few blocks away from the busiest corner of the forest of nearby skyscrapers and office buildings.

Ananti CEO Lee Man-keu / Courtesy of Ananti

Since launching its first resort in 2006, the company has grown to run seven properties in key travel destinations in the country, including Busan, Jeju Island and Gapyeong of Gyeonggi Province.

Its first property Ananti Namhae, located in the southernmost seaside town of South Gyeongsang Province, was also the first vacation club membership resort in the country and still remains one of Korea’s top accommodations, winning Korea’s Best Golf Hotel by World Golf Awards multiple times.

The company saw continuous growth while the hotel industry was hit hard by the pandemic and achieved over 540 billion won in sales by the first half of this year. By year's end, Ananti expects to meet its trillion won sales projection.

Urban hideout

Indoor swimming pool with red brick arches at Ananti at Gangnam, Seoul / Courtesy of Ananti

Built and operated from the experiences of hotel and resort management, Ananti at Gangnam is also what an “ideal home” would look like for Lee.

“This is the home of my dreams … somewhere for a quiet hideout in Gangnam’s bustling downtown,” Lee said. “We wanted to build a place where anyone would feel at home and looked after,” he said.

The hotel’s interior and suites are uniquely themed around a medieval monastery and a yacht, both of which are places of complete, undisturbed silence.

Revolving around those themes, the hotel features layers of red brick walls and arches in its lobby, private terrace, swimming pool and fitness center to resemble an old abbey, while all of its 118 two-story rooms are named “cabins” and feature built-in furniture woven into the rooms like in an actual sailing boat.

Two-story room at Ananti at Gangnam, Seoul / Courtesy of Ananti

An avid reader himself, Lee made sure each space featured a shelf of curated literature of various themes and authors to suit the place’s purpose and ambiance.

“Rooms at Ananti at Gangnam feature books mostly with the motifs of travel and sailing, while the hotel’s European-style bakery has books about baking and cooking on display. Guests are welcome to read these books at any time … and we believe small details like this can make our guests’ time more valuable,” he said.

Ananti village

Lee’s future vision for the hotel is to develop its neighboring area into its “village” as the company has done with other regional resorts in the past.

“I always work on projects thinking I’m creating a village … For example, I imagined Ananti Namhae to become a beautiful southern seaside town and imagined Ananti Cove would turn out to be a dynamic waterfront village. Village de Ananti in Busan is where the oceans and forest, urban and natural landscapes, past and future coexist.

Meanwhile, Ananti at Gangnam is a downtown village in the city center. People can shop for groceries, books and clothes … or read a book, or meet someone at a coffee shop, all within a two-minutes walk,” Lee said, referring to Ananti’s select shop and bookstore “Eternal Journey” and private lounge “Salon de Ananti,” both located closely around the hotel.

Ananti's select shop and bookstore "Eternal Journey" near Ananti at Gangnam, Seoul / Courtesy of Ananti

Once you step outside the house, we invite you to our town. It has so much to offer. There is Cheongdam, Dosan Park, Garosu-gil and Nonhyeon-dong within a three-kilometer radius that we invite you to explore,” Lee said, adding the hotel offers free ride service within the three-kilometer radius while also offering special promotions jointly with neighboring restaurants and cultural establishments for its guests.

“We invite all travelers to come to our village and take all kinds of rest they need,” Lee said, “Our goal is to build a place and lifestyle where people can get the most value out of their time.”