Busan Haeundae Bay Hotel

The staff were welcoming, and the rooms were very clean with excellent views. We stayed at this cute little hotel on my first trip to Busan, near the main shopping and restaurant street. I'm planning to go back, and I'd definitely stay here again.

The location was the one good thing, but it didn't make the price and frustration worthwhile. They charged for free parking in exchange for good reviews, which could explain some of the high ratings. See attached picture. We picked this place because the listing said it had a fully equipped kitchen, and I have food allergies. The kitchen had only two cups, and when I asked, staff said guests couldn't cook. I felt cheated and asked for a refund so I could move elsewhere, but got no response to the request. They also messaged us on check-in day with several changes and restrictions. Cleanliness was poor: dirty floors, marks on the glass doors and bathroom, and slippers that hadn't been washed. Housekeeping came only every three days and did very little. Bath towels and soap weren't replaced, and we were told to leave rubbish in the hallway. Reception staff were rude every time, and need serious training. One night the automatic parking system stopped working. I asked for help while the receptionist was watching something on his phone, and he seemed annoyed to be interrupted. He tried the system himself without success, then told us to park in the EV charging space, which probably caused trouble for another guest. Internet in the room was unreliable, bath towels were missing, and checkout included a 20-minute wait for the bill. The property may look new, but it's poorly run and customer service is nonexistent. Worst hotel of our South Korea trip. Avoid it.

The room felt like it hadn't been cleaned in a while, and the slow lift didn't help. The hallways had an unsettling, bad vibe. They don't provide toothbrushes, so I had to go downstairs and buy one from the vending machine.

We chose this place through trip.com because we wanted to cook, and we bought our train tickets based on the listed check-in time. On the day we were due to arrive, they messaged us saying cooking wasn't allowed, changing the check-in time, and saying body towels were only available by special request, along with other issues. The listing was misleading, and they still refused to cancel our booking.