Box Hotel

The only thing I liked was the outdoor bathtub on the terrace. The rest of this stay was the worst I've ever had. I booked a terrace room for 180,000 won, after being drawn in by what I saw as manipulated sponsored reviews on Naver, because I needed to stay overnight for a wedding in Cheongju. I couldn't sleep at all and ended up awake the whole night. I'd like a refund, but the process seems too much trouble, so I'm writing this in the hope no one else has to go through it. They even block reviews on Naver. Haha, oh my. Owner, please run your business with some conscience. The bathroom was filthy, with yellow water stains, and the cleaning was clearly sloppy. Yellowish marks covered the floor, while the sheets and pillows had black grime and yellow stains. The room was spotless in the sense that it was bare, but not clean. The cigarette smell was worst of all. It filled the whole place and hurt my nose. My wife and I couldn't sleep, so we left the terrace door wide open even in midwinter and shivered, but traffic noise made that impossible too. There was practically no soundproofing. We could hear the neighbors, and everything from upstairs, downstairs, and both sides, almost as if they were right beside us. Even the toilet flushing carried through, and the noise kept me up until 3 a.m. I finally turned on my phone and seriously searched for another hotel. The bathroom door was translucent glass, didn't block sound, and wouldn't even close. Why charge 180,000 won a night and not fix it? The terrace door also wouldn't close properly, had no lock, and let cold air blow in.

The internet is fast, and there's plenty of ramen. The room temperature wouldn't get above 17 degrees Celsius.

There is parking on the first floor and in the basement. I'd suggest using the basement for a compact car since the space is quite small. At check-in, I was told food and drinks are available for guests in the second-floor cafeteria from 8:00 PM until 10:00 AM the next day. The receptionist on the first floor greeted me warmly and gave me a small perfume as a gift for leaving a review. My assigned room was clean and comfortable.

I had a very unpleasant stay and wouldn't recommend this place or come back. The management didn't feel trustworthy, and the issues around the property made that clear. The poor soundproofing also left me uneasy all night and kept me from sleeping well. I especially wouldn't recommend it to foreign tourists. Before and after booking, communication and service were extremely disappointing. I asked about parking two cars when I reserved but got no extra details. When I called just before check-in, they said only one car could park there. They offered extra parking, then firmly claimed they'd already told me and directed us to public parking without clearly explaining it was roadside parking. I brought friends on vacation and was charged an extra 10,000 won per person on site, despite no maximum occupancy being shown on the booking screen or website. After I complained, they offered to remove that charge but then said there'd be another fee for a campfire. I thought the heated pool was included when booking, but on arrival they said they'd provide it as a favor, claiming they planned to close it for the rest of the week. I also thought the fire pit was included, then was told it cost extra. It all felt deceptive. Someone who works in the industry or isn't careful could easily fall for this. The bedding was another problem. They had promised bedding for two extra guests, but it wasn't ready when we arrived. They asked us to wait and said they'd bring enough for two, but perhaps because I objected to the extra charges, they only provided bedding for one person. Not having enough bedding for the number of guests felt like a failure of the most basic standards. I didn't want to argue any more, so I made do with single bedding.