Benikea Hotel Noblesse

The location is good, but the rooms are old and they even leave bug spray out, which doesn’t feel like a good sign. I’d never had to unclog a hotel toilet myself before. If I hadn’t already paid, I’m not sure I would’ve stayed.

The beds were pretty stiff, and there was only one outlet in my room. But the bathroom was large, with a separate shower and bathtub, which is the main reason I’d stay again. It’s a decent hotel for the price and close to Yeoksam station.

We left after the first night and cancelled nights two and three. The hotel refunded one night, which was decent of them, but they wouldn’t have needed to if they’d just listened to our polite, repeated requests. The room was 27C, and I managed about an hour of sweaty sleep. Each time I called the nicely air-conditioned lobby, management refused to turn on the cooling, saying, “It's not air conditioning season.” The beds were hard as a rock, and the pillows under the neatly ironed cases were oddly covered in plastic. My head got very sweaty on them. We moved to another hotel with a much smaller room but a modern AC, and could sleep comfortably at 20 degrees C. The ads say the rooms have air conditioning, but they don’t. What they have is a centrally controlled air-cooling setup: a box with a radiator and fan that blows air over it. There’s no dehumidifying or filtering, and you can only control the fan. So this might suit people who don’t want AC and are fine sleeping at 27 to 28 degrees C. We expect and ask for air conditioning when we book a hotel, and this place didn’t provide it.

It’s four minutes on foot from both the subway and airport bus, and the staff are friendly. Breakfast is very basic, just things like boiled eggs and toast, and costs extra if you want to arrive earlier or leave later. The room is spacious for the price. I’d call it a premium motel rather than a hotel. Card access to the room is a nice touch.