Nox Boutique Hotel

The staff were courteous, professional, and helpful, and I enjoyed my stay a lot. Yeoksam felt very safe, though it's not really a tourist area and there aren't many food options close by. I was in Seoul for a medical procedure and stayed almost a month. I booked through a travel agency, so I understood that I might not get the exact room I'd requested. The room I did get was still very nice, with things I hadn't expected as an American, like a web cafe terminal. Housekeeping was my main frustration. They don't knock or ask you to step out, and if you're in the room when they come, they won't clean it. Since I could never tell when they'd arrive, I felt I had to stay out all day every day to make sure the room got cleaned.

The one thing that bothered me was the bright green light from the heater pad's wall screen. It lit up the whole room and made it hard to sleep if you're sensitive to light. Otherwise, we had a great stay. The staff were friendly and helpful around the clock, and coffee was available any time. Breakfast was pretty basic, with bread, gimbap, fruit, and cereal. We'd check in again.

We were able to walk to the Gangnam alleyways, and the Yoeksam subway stop was very close. The entry is discreet, and the Renaissance hotel was an easy walk for catching a cab or airport bus. Staff spoke great English and helped us get to the baseball game at Jamshil. We landed at 9 a.m. after a red-eye and got a room right away, with no extra charge, instead of waiting until the usual 2 p.m. check-in. It was clean and had everything we wanted, including free laundry in the basement. They even brought our laundry back to the room after we'd gone out for the day. Our Expedia rate was about $60 a day, which felt like a bargain. I'd gladly have paid twice that, and they kept the same rate when we added two nights. We had a king bed in the first room off the elevator. Our non-smoking room really was smoke-free, although the hallway wasn't. For us, this was a high-class, low-cost alternative to the bigger chain hotels nearby. I'm an American who travels for work a lot, and this was better than almost any Hilton I stay at on work trips. Highly recommend.

The lobby is on the second floor, and there's fast internet plus a desktop computer in every room. The bathroom also has a large jacuzzi. I really liked the hotel, especially being able to get hot or cold drinks free, 24 hours a day.