Astar Hotel

The hotel itself is pretty average, neither especially good nor especially bad. The other staff were okay, and the foreigner working in restaurant service was especially kind and showed that good service still exists in Jeju. But our experience with the Korean staff, particularly night-shift Mr Kang Hyung Seok, was shockingly rude. At 11pm we called because the air conditioner seemed to be acting up. We were told that in winter they commonly turn off air conditioning and use central heating, and were advised to open the window. It was noisy with the window open, so we called again. The air conditioner had been blowing cold air shortly before our first call. Mr Kang Hyung Seok raised his voice, called us rule breakers, and claimed he had already told us that morning not to turn on the air conditioning. We had been out all day, this was our first call, and we can't read Korean. If the system was shut off, we didn't understand how changing it could mean we broke a rule. He sounded abrasive and threatening, and told us to come to the front desk at 11pm. We went down and asked for his manager. He made two calls, but when we asked to put one on speaker there seemed to be nobody on the other end. I asked him to hand me the phone so I could speak to the manager, but there was no response. When he asked for the phone back and I set it on the counter, he said he would call the police. The police did come, and the whole thing went past midnight. They tried to explain to him that his attitude, not the air conditioning, was the issue. We asked for an apology, and he agreed. About 15 minutes later, the phone rang and a manager finally appeared. I wasn't sure he was actually the manager, since his card said team lead. He gave a brief apology, said they couldn't provide one in writing, and suggested I leave a review. I said the hotel already had lots of reviews mentioning rude staff, without anything seeming to change. The only resolution was Mr Team Lead's assurance that Kang Hyung Seok would be retrained. If the GM reads this and cares, they should check the CCTV. Calling the police over such a minor issue was wild. The officers seemed appalled that nothing had happened requiring real mediation. The staff also didn't seem worried about consequences, since there was no real way to escalate the behavior. We were traveling with a child and an elderly person, and he knew all our information, so I don't think we were overreacting. Future guests might want to watch for Kang Hyung Seok. Maybe he'll greet you in his untucked shirt with food stains, staring and shouting accusations. He only put on his coat and freshened up after the team lead came down. We were traveling with a kid and elderly family member. The foreign restaurant staff member deserves special praise, but otherwise I'd stay in an Airbnb and save yourself the hassle.