Hotel Modak Namdaemun

The location worked well for me, with a CU right outside and Myungdong less than 10 minutes away. I stayed seven nights on a business trip and had no complaints. The reception staff were kind, the room was spacious, and the bedding was comfortable. Housekeeping kept everything very clean, and they provided complimentary water. The floor heating and water heater were great, and breakfast had a good range of choices, including Korean food. I was surprised by the negative comments about Ramada after my stay. I’d gladly recommend it to tourists or locals.

I had a business reservation followed by a private stay, and asked to keep the same room so I wouldn't have to move. The hotel said no because the bookings were in different categories. I even offered to downgrade the first booking, but they still wouldn't accommodate the request. I had to check out at 11am and wait until the 3pm check-in, and they didn't try to get a room ready sooner. It felt like they simply didn't care or want to be flexible.

The location is great, and at first I wasn't going to leave a review. The bed was rock hard and the staff weren't very warm, but those things alone weren't enough for a bad review. Then the hotel tried to charge us for a missing key card after we checked out at 5am. I'm certain we checked out: my partner and sister saw us speak to the man at the front desk while we had all our luggage. I asked why only one card had been returned, since I assumed the front desk would have noticed the other one was missing and asked us about it then. Instead, they said we hadn't checked out, and that staff only found one card in the room when they went up because we had missed checkout time. I told them exactly when we checked out and asked them to check the security cameras. They said footage was kept for only two weeks. I initially thought our conversation was on Dec23, but after checking the Booking.com message thread, it was actually December 20, so it was within two weeks of our Dec9 checkout. I still found that short retention period unusual for a big chain hotel. I've worked at two hotels and venues that kept footage for 30 days or more, and I think hotels keep it for 30-90 days for security. They eventually said they'd take my word for it and refund the fee, rather than admit they might have made a mistake. I believe they knew they were at fault, and that response felt like a poor way to handle it. If you're okay with a hard bed and staff who don't speak to you when you come and go, the location may be enough. I wouldn't say not to stay, but make sure you get confirmation that you've checked out and returned every key card. I don't know if they do this to other guests.

The construction noise was unbearable, and the response from reception made the stay even worse. We booked eight days, but before we'd been there 24 hours, loud work started in the room next door before 9am. We couldn't even hold a conversation. When we reported it, nobody apologized. They casually told us the work would run from 10am to 5pm every day, but couldn't say how long it would continue. I don't understand why guests were put beside an active renovation. We had an important appointment that day, so we arranged to change rooms the next morning at 10am. The noise started before 9am again. After we complained, they moved us, but the new room looked nothing like the photos and felt like a much lower standard, with a totally different layout. We were initially prepared to let that go. From the start, though, one receptionist had been cold, dismissive, and unhelpful whenever we asked about the noise, the missing information, or the room move. There was no real apology or basic courtesy. When we raised the room concerns, the response was just “It’s different,” in a condescending, indifferent tone, with no explanation. This kept happening, and made us feel like a burden for asking for what we paid for. With a little understanding from the staff, we could have been more patient. The service has been so bad we don't want to stay the remaining six days. I definitely wouldn't recommend it. There was no accountability, hospitality, or peace here.