J mini Hotel Jongno Insadong

The location is excellent, with tourist sights within walking distance, several subway and bus options, including night buses, and plenty of restaurants nearby. Directly across from the entrance is a traditional Korean fish restaurant if you want that kind of local meal with older Koreans, lol. Customer service was friendly and replied regularly. The second floor had a musty smell, though, and the hotel is clearly due for renovation. My room was basic and worn too. The door lock jammed repeatedly, so I had to wait and try several times to catch the right moment before it opened, or it would shut itself again. The floor needed a deep clean, the bottom of the bathroom was rusting, and the hard mattress was deeply uncomfortable. Cheap wallpaper covered dents in the walls, a Korean redesign special. The light system was handy, but it never switched off, leaving a bright control panel in an otherwise pitch-black room. My window faced the side of another building, which is unfortunately normal in Korea. This isn’t a luxury hotel and doesn’t claim to be, but it falls short in enough ways that I’d leave it as a last resort. For what I paid, 85k a night, I can’t recommend it. It’s old, not cleaned well, and basic. Do your research and you may find similar quality for 45-50k a night, even on weekends.

For the price, this was a very positive stay, with a great host, a very clean room, everything I needed, and an amazing location. The only letdown was the mattress. It was too hard, and I could feel the stiff springs through it. I’d still recommend the place.

The rooms are decent for the price, and the location is the main draw. It’s surrounded by restaurants, about a minute from a convenience store and a minute from Jongo-3-ga station. There never seems to be anyone on site, though.

The hotel was no longer in business when I arrived. I’d booked a week online, so I was very disappointed to find it had closed.