Commodore Hotel Busan

The service was pretty good, and the hotel is not too far from Busan KTX station. I really liked the architecture, which made the place feel like an old Korean kingdom. With the red colors and design, I first thought it was inspired by Chinese buildings. It is a bit far from the bus station, though, and there aren't many restaurants nearby.

The place looks glamorous from outside, but one night was enough to show how far below standard it is. In winter, the front desk told me, they deliberately set the temperature to 28-29C. I'd thought the controls were broken. I've never stayed at a hotel that does this. They gave us a small fan, but it barely helped, and the window only opens a little. This was by far the worst hotel of my month-long trip in Korea. Don't waste your money.

The room was in a dilapidated state, despite the nice-looking exterior, and badly needs refurbishment. Cleanliness was unacceptable: hair on the pillows, dirty bathroom grout, a half-painted bathroom door, and, worst of all, blood stains on the floor and walls. Sleeping in what looked like a crime scene wasn't part of my travel plans. We also had to carry our own luggage upstairs, even after asking for help. When we requested an extra night, which we paid for, staff misunderstood and changed our original two-night Booking.com reservation. Then they asked us to pay again to keep the second night we'd already paid for. The manager treated us with contempt and wouldn't take responsibility for the staff's mistake. No gesture of goodwill was offered, and there was no sense of service. We weren't told that using the pool would cost extra. And what a pool. I don't know how the star ratings work in Korea, but this place was nowhere near a 4-star hotel. Avoid it at any cost. It's the worst hotel I've ever stayed in, despite having traveled a lot.

Being unable to control the room temperature is ridiculous. It was locked at 28c, so hot it was almost impossible to relax. I've never seen a hotel do that. I can't sleep unless it's at least 22 degrees, and it soured the whole stay.