The Island Blue

The location, room size, and bed were good, and the shower head had strong pressure. We also got two small bottles of drinking water. Housekeeping only took out rubbish, replaced the hand towels, and left two more bottles. They didn’t make the bed. A few basics were missing: no kettle or coffee and tea, and only hand towels, not bath towels. The toilet doors wouldn’t close properly, letting cold air in. Hot water was limited to 100l for a shower; after that, we were told to wait 30 minutes for it to heat again. The parking was some distance from the hotel.

We were on the top floor. Some bedside power points would be useful, and they should provide bath towels. We only had hand towels.

The reception staff were helpful and kept opening the CU door for us. It’s connected to the hotel on level 1 and open 24 hours, though if the cashier isn’t there you need a Korean credit card to get in and use the self-checkout. The cashier seemed to work from 5:30pm to 11pm. The location was convenient for walking to attractions and the market, and it seemed to draw a lot of Korean travelers. I had room 601, which didn’t face the sea. There’s a stretch of rooms that do. For the price, the room was quite large, probably around 50-60m2, with one double bed, two singles, and a small couch, enough space for a family. The kitchen was open plan, but had no utensils, just two cups and a kettle. The toilet and bathroom were separate and looked fairly new compared with the rest of the room. They were on par with a four-star hotel. There were eight face towels, but no bath towels, since Koreans usually use face towels at public hot baths. I wasn’t impressed by the mattress. It felt more like a three-star hotel bed, with hard spots where you could feel the springs. The sheets, though, were lovely Egyptian cotton like you’d get at a five-star hotel. A decent place to stay overall.

The main issue was the service. The front desk staff seemed disengaged and didn’t help with our questions or requests. I’m not counting the language barrier, since Google Translate usually works. We booked for five people but got only four sets of amenities, and they wouldn’t give us an extra cup. There were no shower towels either, which should be stated when booking. We would have brought our own instead of trying to make do with face towels. For exploring the trails and Seogwipo, the location is a great choice. The rooms were spacious, clean, and bright, with a decent view.