Soyou by Haeundae

The rooms are nice and the price is amazing, with a fridge, washer and dryer, kitchen, shower, towels, toothbrushes, and plenty more. But with all that provided, why was there no 110V outlet or adapter? I had to walk all the way to eMart to buy one. Finding the place was a hassle too. There are no visible Elbon the stay markings on the building, and I only spotted the sign on the elevators after walking all the way around. We also had to guess how the lights and HVAC worked for a while, since there were no English instructions. Almost great.

I spent a week here. The building looks pretty new, and the apartments are individually owned and rented by different companies, so it’s an apart-hotel. It’s right by Haeundae beach’s main tourist street, with a department store on the first floor. Every apartment has a washing machine, and there’s also con laundry on the first floor. The pool is up on floor 34, but it costs 31.000 krw per person as of May 2024.

1801 was nice and clean, and being right beside the beach and walking district was a bonus. Still, the Expedia room I booked wasn’t the one I was given, and that false advertising really irritated me. The listing for Premier Double Room, Sea View covers several different rooms, so you don’t know which you’ll get, and they didn’t send a photo beforehand. The rooftop pool appears in the pictures, but they don’t say before booking that it costs extra. Kakaotalk customer service had an attitude and spoke as if the customer was in the wrong. Also, 1801 has AC only in the living room, none in the bedroom.

We were told parking would cost 11,000 won per night, but then 40,000 won was unexpectedly charged to our card for two nights because of an alleged “Registration Error.” It felt misleading and disappointing. The owner apologized and said we’d get a refund, but hasn’t given us a timeline or explained how it will be paid back. Our emails and messages have gone unanswered, so we’re still waiting with no resolution. We reported it to Agoda, but the hotel hasn’t responded properly. When Agoda tried to reach them, they suddenly said they couldn’t speak English, even though all our communication had been in English. It raises concerns about their accountability and felt unprofessional.