Golden Tulip Haeundae Hotel & Suite

The English Garden lounge was my favorite spot. With beanbags, hammocks, and little cafe tables, it was easy to settle in there for a rainy afternoon when I didn't feel like heading outside.

The rooms were nice and clean, but I had a bad stay. The air conditioning was the worst part: my room was 29.7 C when I arrived, and they said the central system hadn't been switched on yet. Looking at the system, that seemed like a blunt lie. Staff were unfriendly, there was no flexibility around check-in or breakfast, and they showed no sense of service. I strongly recommend avoiding this hotel.

There was no food or drink available after breakfast, and even the limited options only appeared for limited periods. That's a real problem when many guests arrive late after midnight, since finding anything else can be very difficult. Breakfast itself was very poor, perhaps fine for Nationals but not for international visitors. The room temperature is centrally controlled, so I couldn't adjust it myself. The TV also had no English-language news channels, which is vital for a hotel that accepts international visitors.

The staff were really friendly, helping us with directions and sorting out transport plans to the airport on departure day. There's also a convenience store downstairs for things like toothbrushes and phone cables. We'd been to South Korea before, but Busan was new to us. We chose autumn to escape the heat back home, and it was a great call. Staying at Golden Tulip Haeundae was another good choice. Our Deluxe room wasn't the biggest, but it felt spacious and carefully laid out. The bathroom alone was nearly three quarters the size of the room. The in-room setup was surprisingly apartment-like: a washing machine, induction cooking stove, microwave, large flatscreen TV, heated toilet with automatic spray, motion sensors, automatic climate control, room service, and an LG Tromm Styler. There was a lot packed into a small space. We'd never used a Tromm Styler before, so we looked up how it worked and tried it on our jackets. It smoothed out the wrinkles nicely. Having the washer in the room was great too, since we could do laundry whenever we wanted.