Hotel Grammos

The hotel is in a nice, relaxed part of Seoul, with good restaurants and cafés nearby. Bus and subway stations are close too, if Google lets you find them! There's also a nice rooftop pool.

We had a spacious, comfortable room with an overhead shower and bidet toilet. It was less than a 10-minute walk to the metro, with restaurants and convenience stores around the block. There was a kettle in the room, plus free tea and coffee in the lobby. Sue was especially helpful and friendly. Her English was the clearest and most fluent we encountered, so it was easy to explain what we needed. She went out of her way to help, including ordering food when our apps weren’t working. Since Sue works evenings and is the only female front desk staff member, having her there made me feel safer as a woman traveling abroad. My friends and I would stay here again.

A small, charming hotel within walking distance of everything we wanted, while still a little away from the busiest part of town. Just be ready for the hill on the way up, especially if you're carrying a lot of luggage. Our room was clean but had only a small window, so it felt dark. That was fine for us since we were out exploring most of the time, and only came back to drop off shopping, freshen up, or take a quick rest. The front desk staff were nice, though not everyone spoke English. Sue and Justin were both easy to rely on. Sue deserves a special mention: she was friendly, knew her way around the eateries, gave us lovely recommendations, explained how to get to different destinations, and helped with several online food orders. One thing we hadn't realized is that online purchases like food or clothing require a Korean phone number. We later read you can only get a SIM card with a Korean number at the airport. We’ll be back!

For my first trip to Korea, I picked this hotel for the price, location, and transport links, and it worked out well. The place was clean, had all the amenities, and shops and places to eat were an easy walk away. I visited in June when it was hot, and it was nice to sit by the pool after a long day. A great mid-range option in Gangnam.