Sono Hotel

Breakfast was stunning, and we had an excellent lake view from the 8th floor of the East wing. The hotel has been refurbished recently and looks very nice both inside and out.

For a luxury hotel, it was decent, but it oddly lacked some key facilities, like a gym. I stayed during a major international event, and the room hadn’t been cleaned properly.

That view from our room at Sono Belle was just wow. We stepped onto the balcony and saw Bomun Lake spread out with the mountains behind it. We arrived at sunset, when the sky went golden and the lake and hills turned soft orange and pink. Gyeongju World was visible in the distance too. Such a peaceful, beautiful moment. If a room with a view is what you love, this place delivers.

The view was the one decent thing about the hotel. The rooms are very old and have two rooms, but only ONE has a bed. Both bathrooms stay wet after showers because water leaks onto the floor. At night, the motion sensor switches on the lights whenever someone uses the bathroom and wakes everyone else. The waterpark feels like a ripoff too: an adult and child cost ₩75000, and that doesn't include the life jacket required for the wave pool. Most attractions are for kids, with just a couple of hot tubs for adults. The pool bathroom was disgusting, with urine on the floor, a terrible smell, and toilets that hadn't been flushed.