Circle Hotel Seoul

The hotel is in a great spot, about a five-minute walk from the metro and within walking distance of grocery stores and shops. I stayed four nights, and as someone who works in service and is pretty picky, I was impressed by the reception staff. The two receptionists, one with glasses and the other a guy, went out of their way to make me comfortable. They handled a small concern really well and were helpful throughout. As a foreigner, I especially appreciated their help booking a taxi to Seoul station and carrying my bags. The hospitality at Circle Hotel was excellent. Highly recommended! I’ve included a few room pictures.

The room was comfortable, with a nice bed, and reasonably clean, though I found used tissues and trash tucked into hard-to-reach spots around the circular bed. The location was pretty good, close to great restaurants, the river, shops, a mall, and the subway. I didn’t smoke, and there wasn’t much smell, though smoking is allowed in the rooms. For English speakers, a heads-up: the AC only turns on with a small button on the TV remote. The hot water went out for a day, possibly because they were fixing a water issue. After that, the sink would randomly shoot out a burst of water, like it was coughing, and get my pants wet. Late checkout costs 10,000 per hour. All in all it was a good stay, but I’ll probably use an Airbnb next time.

The subway is an easy walk away, with Exit 8 just a few minutes on foot, and there’s a GS25 right beside the hotel. The bed was really comfortable. They also left free water and instant coffee, though there wasn’t breakfast. The room had a desktop computer and chargers for both Android and Apple phones.

Every time I came back to the room, there was a puddle of water. I’m sure the staff had noticed it before I checked in, but they still gave me that room even though another one was empty.