[Korea 2018] The beds we slept on (aka the hotels we stayed in)

During our trip in Korea, we stayed in 4 different hotels. Three in Seoul, and one in Busan. All of them were booked through Agoda and we had no issue with anything upon check-in and check-out. Some were paid in USD and some in Korean Won (KRW). Neither of us spoke Korean, though language was never an issue for us when communicating with staff. English and some body language worked out just fine 😄

這趟韓國之旅  我們總共待了4家飯店. 其中三家在首爾 一家在釜山. 所有飯店都是透過Agoda訂房, 在辦入房和退房手續時都沒有遇到問題. 有些是美金支付 有些是韓幣付. 我們都不會說韓文, 不過語言並沒有造成甚麼和飯店職員溝通上的問題. 英文跟肢體動作就夠囉! 

 

✅ 1. The first hotel we stayed at was Nine Tree Hotel Myeong-dong. We were here for 4 nights (Nov 29 - Dec 3) for about $425. The room came with 2 single beds. This was the most expensive hotel of the four that we stayed in. The in-laws had a list of room/amenity preferences and asked us to find a hotel that met their preferences and wanted us to all stay in the same hotel. After much internet searches, Nine Tree was what we chose. It's conveniently located in Myeong-dong and there were plenty of eateries and shops around the hotel. There's also a little shop (kinda like a convenient store, also like a little grocery store) that sells just about everything from snacks to household items in a basement just across the hotel. The pictures below are of the room we stayed in. 

第一家飯店是 在明洞 的 Nine Tree. 我們在這邊一共待了4晚 (11/29-12/3) 總共約$425美金. 房間備有兩張單人床. 這家是我們這趟旅行裡住的最貴的. W的家人(公婆還有W的弟弟)有些對於住宿的要求跟偏好 在做旅行準備時有請我們幫忙找符合他們需求的飯店 也希望我們能都住同一家飯店. 網路上看了很多資料後我們選了Nine Tree. 飯店位於很方便明洞, 附近有超級多的吃得逛的. 飯店門口正對面地下室還有一家甚麼都賣的小店 從點心到生活用品都有 (有點像便利商店 不過也像個小超市). 下面的照片是我們那時待的房間.

  

 

In-laws had a corner deluxe room that was bigger than ours with a separate sitting area which my father-in-law used as his study for computer use. Their room was located at a higher floor which the elevator didn't accept our room card for access. What I mean is the elevator at this hotel requires the use of the room key (card) before pressing any button inside the elevator. During our time there, we noticed we could only press the buttons for the floor where our room was and the subsequent floors underneath our floor. We were denied access when we tried to go "upstairs" to meet up with inlaws on their floor. Inlaws had no problem to access our floor from their floor, but the reverse wasn't allowed. So the elevator only allowed "downward direction" but not "upward." This seems nice because that's just additional security, though I'd think why not restrict access to only the floor where the room is (so that those staying in an upper floor can only access that floor but not the ones under, except for lobby).

W家人的房型比我們的大,又剛好是角落, 還有一個騰出的空間公公用來當小書房用電腦辦公等. 他們房間的樓層在我們的房間的上面, 刷了房卡電梯就是不讓我們上去他們的樓層. 我的意思是飯店的電梯都必須使用房卡先感應過一次才能操縱. 當時我們注意到 我們能按的樓層按鈕只能是我們房間那層以下. 當我們試著按我們房層的"樓上"去找公婆他們時, 電梯不裡我們. 不過公婆他們可以從他們那層下來到我們的那層, 所以電梯只能從上往下 不能以下犯上👀 乍看似乎不錯, 因為有種多的保全感覺 不過我覺得乾脆讓房卡只能操控電梯到房間那層更好(住哪層樓房卡就只能到哪層樓, 而不是樓下幾層也能去 當然接待大廳那層例外)

✅ 2. The second hotel we stayed at was Western Co-Op Hotel & Residence Dongdaemun. We stayed here for 5 nights (Dec 3 - Dec 8) for around 349k KRW. We stayed in a "Superior Twin Room." We took a taxi from Nine Tree to get here for check-in, not because the hotel was hard to find, it wasn't. We took a taxi because I wasn't feeling well after coming out of a procedure from a beauty clinic (a couple of injections on my nose 👀) and actually had trouble walking so we decided to not take the subway. I remember this hotel was about 5 minutes walk from a subway station and within walking distance from the shopping areas in Dongdaemun. The only thing that stood out in my memory for this place is I remember one of the windows couldn't shut entirely and could feel the "breeze" throughout the night. This was fine for us as we were used to the cold (December in Seoul was not that cold to us as we were accustomed to the snow & blizzard from Utah/Colorado) but that might not be ok for guests from warmer areas. To us, it was just refreshing and maybe even helped us to sleep better 😊. Our room came with a basic kitchenette (induction cooktop, microwave, sink, mini fridge, electric kettle, cutting board, cups / plates), though we didn't use it much.

I actually didn't take pictures of our room?! Though I found pictures of the type of the room we stayed in on the hotel's website.

第二家待的飯店是位在東大門的 Western Co-op Hotel & Residence. 我們在這裡待了5個晚上 (12/3-12/8)共約34萬9韓幣. 我們住的是"superior twin room"房型. 我們是坐計程車從Nine Tree去的, 倒不是因為飯店難找. 搭計程車去是因為我當時剛做完鼻子的微整(鼻子打了幾針)整個人很不舒服 甚至正常走路都覺得難 所以決定不要去搭地鐵. 我記得這家飯店離地鐵出口才走路五分左右, 離東大門的百貨商場步行都不遠. 對於這家飯店我唯一印象深刻的記憶是房間的其中一扇窗戶不能完全關起來, 所以晚上有感到"涼風"吹進. 這對我們還好因為我們很習慣Utah/Colorado的冰天雪地, 12月的首爾對我們並不冷, 不過對於從比較溫暖地方去的旅客可能就不太好了. 對我們來說, 很清新 還可能幫助了睡得更好哩! 我們的房間有簡易小廚房(電磁爐, 微波爐, 廚用水槽, 小冰箱, 電熱水壺, 沾板, 杯子盤子), 只是我們沒有怎麼利用.

我竟然沒拍房間照片?! 不過官網有找到當時住的房型內部樣子照片

 

Photo credit: hotel website / 照片出處: 飯店官網 (https://western.coopresidence.co.kr/eng/eng_room02.do)

There's a convenience store just next to the hotel which we frequented for drinks and snacks. There's also an airport shuttle stop just outside of the hotel, though we didn't use it but we saw it and thought "how convenient." Ironically this hotel was where we stayed the longest but I have the most vague memory about. I think it's probably because I was on the prescriptions for 3 days straight, or was it 4 days? I remember feeling tired and wanted to sleep most of our time in Dongdaemun until that last day before we left for Busan. Toward the end of our stay there, after the meds were done, I was feeling all great & ready to roll!

飯店正旁邊就有一家便利商店, 我們還滿常去買飲料和點心. 飯店門口還有機場巴士的站牌, 不過我們沒有使用, 就是有覺得"ㄟ~滿方便喔." 有些諷刺的是這家飯店是整趟旅行裡待最久的飯店, 不過也是我最沒甚麼印象的飯店. 我想大概是因為從入住第一天開始連續三天, 還四天, 我都是個藥罐子的關係吧? 我只記得在東大門那段時間總感到很累很想睡 直到要去釜山的前一天. 快離開這家飯店的時候, 藥都吃完後, 我就又生龍活虎了!

✅ 3. The third hotel was our only experience outside of Seoul. We stayed at Best In City Hotel in Busan for 2 nights (Dec 8 - Dec 10) for almost 133k KRW. The location was convenient for us - less than 5 minutes of walk from Choryang Station. Busan Station was just one stop away. It was easy to get to places we wanted to visit in Busan, like BIFF Square, Jagalchi Fish Market, and Haeundae Beach. This hotel also surprised us (in a good way)! We booked a premium deluxe room and it did bring that "extra comfort" kinda feeling. Our room came with a queen bed and a full bed. The beds were comfy, and most importantly, the room was very clean. Oh, and that jacuzzi tub was a nice treat! The room had a half bathroom toward the entrance of the room, and an "open" jacuzzi and rain showerhead next to the tub toward the back. I enjoyed my half body soaks there and W utilized the tub to its' fullest 😄 

第三家飯店, 也是唯一離開首爾的經驗. 我們在釜山Best In City Hotel待了兩晚 (12/8-12/10) 當時兩晚房價約13萬3韓幣. 飯店的地點對我們很方便-走度不到五分鐘就可以到草梁站. 而釜山站就是下一站. 真的是很方便去我們計劃要拜訪的幾個地方, 像是BIFF廣場, 札嘎其海鮮市場, 海雲台沙灘. 這家飯店有帶給我們驚喜喔! 我們訂的房型是premium deluxe, 也確實有感覺到"特別舒服." 房間附有一張queen尺寸的床跟一張full尺寸單人床. 兩張床都很舒服, 而且最重要的是, 整個房間真的很乾淨. 喔, 還有那個按摩浴缸很棒! 房間靠門口處有一間半套的廁所, 跟一個"開放式"按摩浴缸, 淋浴設備在按摩浴缸旁邊. 那個按摩浴缸裡我享受了幾次半身浴, 而W是徹底享受了整個全身按摩.

   

Strong internet connection because the room came with its' own router.
網路超穩 因為有自己的配備

Staff were friendly and helpful. We did encounter an incident on our second day there. We woke up to seeing water leaking from the ceiling in our room (rained overnight). The tile floor already had a puddle that was slowly building up. We informed the front desk of this on our way out and they offered to clean up another room and move us to another room but it had to be an hour later. Since we already had plans made that morning...and it was just 1 more night...we decided to just stay in that room. Later that night, we saw a bucket under where the ceiling was leaking upon return to our room. It did the trick. 😌

飯店的職員都很友善也很快速回答我們任何問題. 住在那第二天的早上, 我們有遇到了一個狀況. 第一天入住的晚上似乎連夜下雨 然後我們起床時發現房間的天花板有一處漏水了, 磁磚地板已經有一個小水積在慢慢擴大. 我們在出飯店的時候跟櫃台告知了這個情況, 飯店的人也很快地提出可以幫我們換房間幫我們移東西, 但是要等整理大約還要一小時多. 當時考慮過後, 因為不想耽擱當天的行程...而且也只剩一個晚上住那邊...所以決定待原本的房間就好. 當天晚上回到房間時, 步入眼簾的畫面是 一個水桶在漏水的天花板位置底下 接著那些漏水. 恩, 這招有用.

✅ 4. The last hotel we stayed in was in Sinchon - Hotel Lassa, situated just 2-3 minutes of walking distance from Sinchon Station! We stayed in their "standard room" for 3 nights (Dec 10 - Dec 13) for around $150. Our stay here was pleasant, despite the fact that the room we stayed in was very small - the smallest of all that we've stayed in throughout this trip, but it had everything that we needed! This was a boutique hotel so we expected it to be small but it offered so much convenience for us. Lots of restaurants nearby and I remember there's a youthful energy in the area - probably a natural thing because Ewha Womans University and Sogang University are just very close by hence the youthful ambiance.

最後一個待的飯店是在新村的Hotel Lassa, 位置是離新村站走路只要大概2-3分鐘! 我們在這家的"標準房"待了3晚 (12/10-12/13), 價錢是$150美金左右. 在這邊住的經驗滿舒適的, 雖然這邊的房間是整趟旅行裡住的最小間, 不過也五臟俱全! 這是一家精品酒店, 所以原本的預期就是會比較小 但是他也提供給我們很多的方便. 附近有超多的餐廳 還記得飯店的周遭有股"年輕風格"的調調 - 大概因為附近有梨花女子大學和西江大學 所以很自然的散發青春洋溢的味道.

  

  

  

Staff were friendly. There were a couple of mini fridges conveniently located just across the elevator in the lobby free for guests - juice, bottled water, and milk. I loved the thoughtfulness! We always grabbed a box of juice or a bottle water on our way out or in.

飯店職員滿友善的. 大廳旁的電梯正對面有裝著果汁礦泉水和牛奶的小冰箱供房客隨意取用. 我很愛這個貼心的舉動! 我們每次出入電梯都必拿罐果汁或礦泉水.

So, fast forward to now, almost 2 years later, which of these four hotels that we stayed in is our favorite? 

Well, considering everything including location, service, and price, our favorite of these four was Best In City Hotel in Busan! Even though Busan in general is just not as "busy" as Seoul is, even though the ceiling was literally dripping water while we slept, we still enjoyed our stay in this hotel the most. A close runner-up is Nine Tree in Myeong-dong for its' superb location and easy access to so many yummy food, endless street food and shops. The only reason I choose Best in City over Nine Tree is because...well it boils down to price 😵 Superb location in a busy metropolis of course comes with a higher price tag 😅 However, with all things considered our experience with Best in City was slightly > Nine Tree!

那麼, 時間快轉至今, 已經幾乎兩年過後, 這四家待過的飯店裡哪一個是我們的最愛? 

當考慮了所有包含位置,服務,跟價錢, 這四家裏面, 我們的首選是在釜山的Best in City Hotel! 雖然釜山沒有首爾那麼繁榮, 即使我們睡覺的時候天花板還在漏水, 我們還是覺得在Best in City Hotel的時候感到最舒適. 我心中很接近的第二名是明洞的Nine Tree, 因為超方便的位置和附近也太多好吃好逛的了. 唯一讓Best in City超越Nine Tree的理由是....價錢😵  在繁華都市裡要有超優的地點當然價錢會相對的上升😅 無論如何, 所有東西考慮下去後 我們覺得在Best in City的經驗>Nine Tree!