Time of stay: April 2024 (peak cherry blossom season)

Room booked: Standard room (one double bed)

Price: ~$89 USD/night after taxes, nonrefundable rate

I booked via Capital One Travel (I have the Venture X credit card, so booking through Capital One Travel Portal gives me 10x points). At the time I booked, January 2024, the hotel was already fully booked for the week I was planning to go. I consistently checked the website for cancellations (which also updated on the Capital One Travel portal).

Room

The room itself was fairly spacious. The main things to point out are:

Although there was a thermostat in the room and you could “adjust” the temperature, the temperature (and therefore the air conditioning) seemed to actually be centrally controlled by the hotel. The room definitely ran a bit hot, and I had to open the windows to air out the room. There is a bug screen when you open the window.

However, on hotter days during my stay, I noticed the cooling set by the hotel was lower and therefore the room felt cooler than previous days. (Not being able to control the AC seems to be a common thing in Seoul.)

There is a mini fridge, however it was not very cold and I would not trust it for storing food that actually needs to be refrigerated (such as meat or dairy).

There is a small closet space beside the TV, but you could not remove the hangers from the bar.

Bathroom

There was a division between the shower and toilet in the bathroom (not always the standard in Korea). There is an electric bidet. The hair dryer attached to the bathroom wall was convenient and saved space. Only body wash was provided.

The bathroom sink space was very small, so I stored most of the toiletries outside of the bathroom.

The flooring in the bathroom was wood, which did not feel sanitary.

Hotel Amenities

• Breakfast is available for an additional fee.
• There is a gym available (though I did not use it).
• (Communal) Microwave and a filtered water dispenser was available on a certain floor only (not every single floor).
• There are laundry machines available for a fee (I think it was 4,000 won for a wash cycle only, 1,000 for detergent, and 4,000 for dry cycle).
  • I did one load of laundry (I brought my own detergent sheet from home), and encountered no issues with the laundry machines. It was not busy in the laundry room so I did not have to wait for any machines to open up.
• The staff spoke proficient English and were overall very friendly.
• I received daily housekeeping and 2 bottles of water were provided. The towels seemed to be changed everyday as well. I was out of the room everyday by 9am, and sometimes came back to the hotel by the afternoon and the room was already made up.

Location

Getting to/from airport

Using public transportation, the easiest way to get to the hotel from ICN is using the Airport Limousine Bus. I do not recommend taking AREX and transferring at Seoul Station, as navigating with luggage will be extremely difficult because the exits from the subway stations are long. You can take the 6011 Airport Limousine Bus and get off at the Changdeokgung Palace stop and the walk will be around 5 minutes. The walk from the bus stop to the hotel is mostly flat (there might be some cobblestone depending on the route you take).

Proximity to subway station

The nearest subway stations are Anguk 안국역 (Line 3) and Jongno-3ga 종로3가역 (Line 1/3/5, you can enter the station at any of the entrances for all 3 lines). I will admit I frequently got lost trying to find the recommended exit by Naver Maps when exiting at Jongno-3ga.

When you’re walking from Jongno-3ga <-> hotel, the area is super busy and you’ll have to go through the narrow alleys and avoid tourists every time you walk back to the hotel/subway station.

Nearby to food, essentials

• There is a 7-11 and GS25 right across the street from the hotel.
• There is a Daiso ~13 minutes walk away.
• There are no major grocery stores within walking distance.

Nearby attractions

• This is located right near the very popular Insadong area.
• You can walk easily to Bukchon Hanok Village.
• There are many popular cafes in this area, such as Soha Salt Pan, Jayeondo Salt Bread, Artist Bakery, Cafe Onion, or Cafe Layered.
• Insadong has the largest concentration of vegetarian/vegan restaurants (such as Vegan Insa, Maru, 오세계향, Maji, Balwoo Gongyang)
• Gyeongbokgung Palace is a 30 minute walk
• You can technically walk to Myeongdong in 30 minutes, Dongdaemun in 30 minutes

Conclusion

Overall, if you’re looking for a lower-priced hotel in the heart of Insadong, this hotel is going to be your best option. For the price and location, the room is pretty good. If you want anything more modern/newly renovated, especially in other popular locations (Hongdae, Gangnam), the rooms are going to be much more expensive.