Le Collective Haeundae Paragraf

The rooms were nice, but the self-service check-in was awful. There's a communal luggage room anyone at the hotel can access if you want to leave your bags. We asked for early check-in because our room was open and cleaned in the app, but were told we'd be charged about $40 to enter the unlocked room. In the end, they didn't charge us, I think. The coffee machine upstairs didn't work, so there was no coffee. The infinity pool wasn't heated and was cold, and there was no toilet paper in the bathrooms near the “lobby”. With no customer service, this feels like a sad excuse for a hotel. I can't believe it has such good ratings, and would choose somewhere else.

The location is fantastic, very close to Haeundae Beach, and the room was clean. Having laundry available was great, although the washer-dryer combo runs slowly. The chat service responded when our room got too hot and changing the temperature on the smart panel didn't work, but it took about half an hour of messages to get answers. The controls are all in Korean and difficult to navigate. An unmanned hotel may be a new concept for me. If you're visiting South Korea from another country, you might prefer a place with a person available to answer questions, book a taxi, or bring more coffee pods than the single day's supply. Foreign travelers may have trouble arranging taxis, takeout, or delivery to their location, so this setup seems better suited to South Korean guests. There are no bells and whistles, and you pay as you go. A heads-up that construction was happening right next door would've been nice.

We were happy with our four-night short stay. The room was clean, quiet, and had most of what we needed, with hardly any foot traffic outside. The location was very good, about a ten-minute walk from Haeundae Beach, the station, and the busy, noisy tourist strip. Messages to the "host" were answered quickly, usually within ten minutes. Having a washer/dryer was especially useful while traveling light. A few things to set expectations: this is basically an unserviced stay, with no towel changes or rubbish collection. Midway through, I couldn't find a waste room on our floor or downstairs. The "host" said to sort the rubbish and leave it in three room for the three checkout cleaners. They were usually around in the morning, on our floor or downstairs, and the lovely ladies were happy to help with disposing of three. There were lots of outlets, but they were all South Korean sockets. The USB charger and the one in the headboard both charged sloooowly. I couldn't find a universal adaptor at Daiso or the convenience shops, so my "electric" toothbrush became a manual one, and I just grew an untidy beard and moustache instead of using my "electric" shaver.

Being able to walk to Haeundae Beach and other nearby spots was a big plus. Le Collective Haeundae Paragraf is newly built, with modern furnishings, and ended up being the best place we stayed on our South Korea trip.