Hotel Wall

We were called at 11:30 and told to leave, even though checkout was at noon. In the Business Twin, a spider I couldn’t identify kept showing up on the bed, and the bathroom door was broken and wouldn’t stay shut. I had to prop a trash can against it just to shower and use the toilet. I wouldn’t recommend staying here.

The 2 PM checkout was unusually late for Seoul, and they kept my luggage after I checked out. Getting around was easy, just a three-minute walk from Exit 3 of Koto Station. The double room had plenty of space, with a sofa and table that worked well for meals. The bathtub was long and narrow, so I could stretch out. The downside was that showering left the whole floor, toilet included, wet, though bathroom slippers were provided. The building still has a motel feel inside and out, even after the remodel, and it continues to offer short stays, so cleaning happens at various times. There were useful extras: a hairdryer, hair straightener, plenty of amenities, and three kinds of charging cables. On arrival, the fridge had two bottles of mineral water, orange juice, and sikhye. Those weren’t refilled during my stay, but you could take as much as you wanted from the fridge by the first-floor front desk. The coffee machine there had unlimited Americano, weak Americano, espresso, cafe latte, and cappuccino, and there was a microwave too. The double-glazed windows blocked light very well, but didn’t keep out noise. I heard footsteps from upstairs and doors opening and closing on my floor, faintly even through earplugs. The underfloor heating kept the room warm despite the outside temperature being -10 degrees Celsius, and a wall switch let me adjust it. One remote controlled the TV, lights, and air conditioner. The only Japanese-language channel was NHK World Premium. I could choose movies on the room computer and watch them on the TV, though the selection was limited.

There are quite a few amenities, and for this area the hotel is fairly nice. But sometimes the room is missing basics, like soap, a footstool, or even toilet paper. There’s no bidet either, which was inconvenient for me since I use the bathroom a lot.

For a room labeled VIP, the condition was awful. The floor was dirty with shoeprints, dust, and hair, including a huge clump of very long women’s hair beside the phone charger. It gave me the creeps. There were lots of bugs too, and even in October I got bitten all over and was itchy. The pillows, duvet, and sheets were yellow, and the bathroom was in terrible shape. The lights kept switching on and off by themselves. I couldn’t adjust the console light, which flickered constantly, so sleeping was hard. The air felt stale, and the soundproofing was dreadful. I could hear people upstairs, next door, and downstairs, while motorcycle noise outside woke me every ten minutes even with the windows shut. I couldn’t sleep at all. I don’t know if the environment can be helped, but the cleaning staff need to be dealt with. Calling this a VIP room and giving someone this kind of room is awful. I feel terrible about the stay and will never come back. I hope people read this before booking.