Brown Suites Busan

The apartment was lovely, and being so close to Busan Station made it handy for a short visit. The problem was the smell inside when we arrived. It was so strong it reminded me of a fish market, and it took over two days with the place aired out before it cleared. By then, we were checking out. Such a shame, because without that, the stay could have been perfect.

The views of the port from the 44th floor were panoramic, and the apartment felt much more spacious than a cramped hotel room. It had a separate bedroom, a full kitchen, a washing machine with laundry powder, and enough room for a short city stay. The place was clean, quiet, and comfortable. Getting to the train station takes a short walk, though most attractions meant taking a bus. Check-in went smoothly with the detailed step-by-step directions, which were useful for the multi-step entry. I did miss having tea, and finding the way out involved two lifts and some trial and error. It’s a good fit if you’re comfortable with an independent stay instead of hotel-style service.

The service was extraordinary, and the room was beautiful with a lovely beach view. It had modern features, including a heated toilet seat, automatic cleaning, an air purifier, and laundry facilities with a dryer. 10/10.

I would never stay here again. The room was supposed to have a king bed and an ocean view, but we got neither. Our view was the empty lot next door and the port car park. When we complained about the queen-sized bed, they said that was the size of a king in Korea. We travel there often and haven’t had this issue before, and the website lists single, double, large double, and king options. They offered no solution. The decor also feels oddly dated for a fairly new building, like it’s 30 years old. The shower had weak water pressure and mould. The windows don’t open, so the air conditioning had to stay on all day just to get some air into the room. There’s a washing machine but no laundry powder, instant coffee but no sugar, and the listing mentioned a hot tub that wasn’t there. We had only eight hand towels and no bath towels. When we asked for bath towels, the staff seemed surprised we didn’t want to use the small ones. There’s no cleaning service for stays under four nights, so we had no fresh sheets or towels, or toilet paper, for days. The location is terrible, behind Busan train station in the port’s industrial area. There’s nothing nearby and no road access. You can only enter from inside the station by skybridge, then walk about 500m to the road. Check-in is extremely complicated, and you need a YouTube video to find your room. The route means crossing to another tower via level 3, going down to the basement, passing through the carport, crossing to a third lift, then going up to your floor. You have to do that every time. The whole experience was awful. I don’t know where the good reviews came from. It doesn’t really feel like a hotel, more like a managed Airbnb without hotel service. Avoid it, and choose somewhere else.