Penatess Pool Villa

We had a large apartment with a kitchen corner, a good bed, underfloor heating, and a Korean-style bathroom with a jacuzzi. It was very clean and well maintained. Breakfast was a fresh Korean meal delivered to the room, with personal requests taken into account. You have to order it when booking. The resort is tucked among apple fields by an offshoot of Lake Chungju, about a 15-minute drive from Chungju city. We spent five nights there during a three-week road trip, and the apartment also had its own pool, terrace, and BBQ area. It’s quiet and works well as a base for nearby national parks like Woraksan, Chiaksan, and Sobaeksan, or for a walk along the lake. Penatess does BBQ with sausages, pre-baked sweet potatoes, salads, and corn, and Chungju has some pretty good restaurants, especially around the northeastern part of Gaengogae-ro. Nothing needed improving. We’d definitely come back.

The view over Chungju Lake after sunrise is breathtaking, and the facilities themselves aren’t bad. The indoor whirlpool has glass walls and enough room for one swimmer. It seems to have been built around ten years ago. I found this place while looking for Suanbo Hot Springs, but it isn’t a hot spring. Getting there was a dizzying experience for me. If you’re not confident driving, don’t go: there’s a cliff with no railing, and it seemed like getting back after sunset would be impossible.

The access road is narrow and a bit stressful to drive, and we couldn’t wash properly because the bathroom water came out pale yellow. The view wasn’t much, and the facilities weren’t clean either. If you’re hoping for kids to swim in a small pool or to have an outdoor barbecue, you might like it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t recommend staying here. We visited in Autumn 2025.

We had a lot of luggage, but had to carry it for two minutes to reach the accommodation. They only came to pick us up when we were about halfway there, and I wish they’d told us in advance. The pool is right by a walkway, so it doesn’t feel private since you never know when someone might pass by. For two hours, a cat cried noisily next to the pool, which was especially unpleasant since I’m allergic to cats. There were mosquitoes, winged ants, and larvae in the pool water. The place is very old, and the service was terrible. The bidet was broken, and the tank didn’t fill, so it wouldn’t flush. The freezer door was missing, so it didn’t work and all our ice cream melted. The BBQ area was too dark and uncomfortable, and there was no terrace light. With four of us, we needed more gas for the barbecue, but when I called, they told me to come get it myself. They gave us one tiny shampoo and one tiny conditioner, each about two fingers in size. I wondered how four people were meant to manage with that, especially women washing their hair. The overnight stay cost 80,000 won, but hot water was 100,000 won. I stay in accommodations two or three times a month for work, and this was the worst facility I’ve ever experienced. They’d written almost three A4 pages of precautions and told us to read all of it, instead of just explaining what was in the accommodation. When I asked about something I’d missed, they asked if I hadn’t read the guidelines. Check-out was at 11 AM. Everywhere else I’ve stayed has called an hour ahead to confirm. My charger wasn’t working, so I couldn’t set an alarm. When I called at 11 and said I understood and would get ready to leave, they told me to clean the BBQ area and said I could extend by an hour and a half for 30,000 won. We finally got through to them, and they said they’d call right back, but then they banged on the door and shouted for five minutes. I spent an hour and a half tidying everything and left no trash behind. I saw four missed calls and called back, thinking we might have left something behind. They said we hadn’t washed the dishes, so I apologized. Then they lectured me for five minutes about having no basic manners. They said they’d been considerate by charging 30,000 won for the extra hour and a half, and that I’d acted this way despite their consideration. They even said they couldn’t take early check-in guests anymore because of us. Ugh.