Hotel New World

I was here on holiday with my family, and the rooms were old and in poor shape. The wallpaper was damaged, everything smelled really bad, and I could hear noise from other rooms. It was untidy and far too expensive for what you get. I wouldn't recommend it.

The location is a big plus, with a train or bus just a three-minute walk away. My room was simple but had what I needed, and the wall-mounted AC kept it cool. It was very clean, and room service came daily. The staff were incredibly nice. I'd highly recommend the hotel.

The room itself was gross, and the price made it worse. There was mold in the bathroom, a rusty shower drain, shared bar soap, and water that changed temperature while I showered. With no curtain, water covered the floor. Screws stuck out of the doorknob and toilet flush handle. There were holes in the tiles, deep floor scrapes, missing switch covers, wall smudges, and other easy cosmetic fixes that nobody seemed to care about. The sink was cracked and held together with duct tape. I haven't seen that kind of state since a refugee camp I was unfortunately in when I was young. The staff member who spoke English, presumably the manager, was somewhat apologetic but wouldn't deal with the problems or reduce the price. I paid a lot and expected a decent room, and the hotel failed on that. This was the most expensive place on my trip, even though I spent a week in Tokyo, and the New World Hotel was the worst of the lot. It's somewhat central, but the area felt dirty and gross, with shops selling junk and scrap metal. The listing looked cheap because it showed a shared bathroom, while other listings had private baths. Once I selected a room with its own bathroom, the price jumped a lot. It also promised a free airport shuttle, so I figured the high room rate at least included a ride. When I asked, staff called it a "misunderstanding." They wouldn't drive me the 30km to the airport, cover the shuttle, or give me the 80K Won shuttle fare. Instead, they offered a ride to Seoul station, only 1.5km away, and claimed that a taxi would cost 85K Won, so I was being compensated well. That's the biggest lie I've ever heard. I wouldn't stay here even if I were paid.

I left after less than an hour and found a better hotel. This felt more like an inn than a hotel, and the bed was extremely hard and uncomfortable. While my room was being prepared, they put me in one by the lobby. The staff spoke no English and never replied to my emails about the reservation. There was no airport pickup or transport either. Parking meant four spaces across the street, blocked off with empty gas cans. They want you to leave your keys at the desk when you go out, and valuables there too. I hadn't realized when booking from another country that this was a hostel, and I'm well past the age for that to be appealing. I switched to a modern five-star hotel.