Ramada by Wyndham Songdo

I can’t say what the hotel is like in person, since I had to cancel after a local labour strike and an incorrect passenger count caused problems with my plans. I emailed two nights beforehand to ask about payment and check the customer number, but got no reply. There are plenty of other hotels, so the cancellation itself wasn’t a big deal. Their customer service could’ve been much better.

There’s plenty of parking, and the location makes it easy to walk to lots of good restaurants with a wide range of cuisines. The rooms and shared areas need a proper cleaning and some updating. Our room was dingy and dirty, though it looked like the hotel might once have been a much nicer place with high-end accommodations. I’d put it at about 2.5 stars now. We didn’t need much service, but check-in was frustrating. We arrived ten minutes early and were pre-checked in and assigned a room, yet the front desk wouldn’t hand over our key until after 3, even though only five minutes remained. Around ten other groups were waiting too. I’ve never had that happen at another hotel in Korea.

The bed sheets didn’t feel clean, almost as if there were bed bugs, and I was itchy all over. There was mold on the walls, the air conditioning wouldn’t work, and cold air came out even when it was off. The lights also stopped working at times. A horrible stay.

We needed two beds because I was traveling with my parents, and the hotel did provide them. But they were much smaller than I expected: one twin and one single, rather than a queen and a twin. My parents had to be careful not to take up each other’s sleeping space. The hotel was generally clean and comfortable, though it clearly showed its age. It seemed to retain the look it had in the 1970s or 1980s, with no recent renovations. The photos on Google looked promising, and Ramada’s reputation made it seem like a safe choice, but I’m not sure it really qualifies as four-star. I don’t know how Google or the hotel classifies it. I booked it for an early flight and used Chase Ultimate Reward points, which came to about $99 a night. The hotel isn’t on the same island as the airport, though, so you still have to cross Incheon Bridge. The trip to the airport takes around 30 minutes. For the same kind of stay next time, I’d choose somewhere on Yeongjong-do (island), even if it costs more.