Four Seasons Hotel Broadens Appeal to Go Nerds

The Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Seoul, more accustomed to staid worthies and discrete rich travelers, played host to a radically different crowd this past week.

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The hotel has become a big attraction for baduk or go nerds after champion Lee Se-dol faced off against Google DeepMind's proto-artificial intelligence program AlphaGo in the ballroom there.

The match is viewed as a historic turning point in artificial intelligence.

A hotel staffer said queries have come in from baduk fans in Hong Kong, China and all over the world asking if they can book the room where Lee stayed and have the same meal he ate.

"We had no idea of the level of interest we would receive and we are grateful to grandmaster Lee", the staffer added.

Lee stayed in a suite overlooking City Hall and Deoksu Palace with his wife and daughter throughout the five matches. It costs a cool W770,000 a night and the hotel is considering naming it after him (US$1=W1,192).

The hotel was not informed about the exact nature of the event at first. "An event agency called us in December and asked us about hosting a major event. We didn't know at the time what sort of event it is and who would host it", the staffer said.

Hotel staff only learned about it when Google announced the match in January.