Sono Moon Danyang

The location is a big part of the appeal. Danyang is lovely, set beside a narrow lake, and easy to explore on foot. There are paths across the street down to the shore, plus routes along the road. We had great city and lake views from both the living room and balcony. Parking is plentiful and free, and the basement has restaurants, shops, games, and karaoke rooms. There’s also a small water park and a very good bakery, which offers a big discount after 7pm. We spent a week in a family suite. It had a kitchenette with a roomy refrigerator and a small two-burner stovetop, a table with four chairs, and a large living room couch. The main bedroom had a half bathroom, with a full bathroom by the suite entrance. The second bedroom was ondol style. Sono has several hotels in Korea, and this is one of its oldest. Like other Sono properties we’ve stayed in, the rooms could use renovation and a refresh. Still, there’s plenty to like here, especially the location.

The rooms are spacious, the building is large, and the views are great. The staff were nice enough. But the way they handled basic comfort was ridiculous. The room was stuffy from the heated floor, and they wouldn’t give us an air conditioner remote. They told us to “open the door.” I might normally have been fine with that, but the air quality was poor, so we didn’t want to. We ended up turning the unit on manually and just suffering through the heat. We also asked for an extra pillow and got treated like we were asking for the world. Apparently the cheapest room booking didn’t qualify for another pillow. I pointed out that it was just a pillow, and they eventually gave us one. It felt like they didn’t care about guest comfort because they know people will stay there anyway, since it’s the only hotel. This place is a joke.

The pool kept my kids happy, though it wasn’t anything amazing. The package I booked included two free pool passes. Danyang is a nice spot for a trip, and the location was convenient, with restaurants on site. They all shut between 7 and 8, but there’s a convenience store. Good price overall.

The river bend is the focus from the front of the building, and the view is spectacular. The resort has restaurants, a convenience store, a Cafe, a chicken shop, and an arcade on site. It’s an aging 4-star hotel, though: the building is nice but old, with physical keys for the doors and dated restroom hardware. My main drawback was the price, and it’s a long way from the market and city center area.