Shilla Stay Mapo Hongdae

Good spot for getting around, with the metro, restaurants, and a convenience store close by. But I’d call this a 3-star hotel, not the 4 stars it claims. The facilities and furniture are old, and at around US$129 a night, it doesn’t feel worth the price. The air conditioning has scheduled breaks, so it doesn’t run around the clock and can’t keep up with Seoul’s hot weather. The night staff’s English wasn’t enough to answer simple questions.

Getting around Seoul is easy from here. The metro is right nearby, with shops and restaurants in the area, and its connections put most places within roughly half an hour. The room was nice, and for the price the quality seemed good. At first, I would’ve recommended the hotel. But the traffic noise was so constant that I kept waking up, even at 3 or 4 a.m., despite being on a high floor. The room’s sound insulation is surprisingly poor for such a nice hotel, and regular earplugs weren’t enough. I ended up needing active noise-cancelling earplugs to get any rest.

We booked through Booking.com, where the listing said the rooms had air conditioning. There was no working AC when we arrived, and the room stayed around 23.5 degrees during the day and 25 at night. It was really uncomfortable for sleeping. Staff didn’t fix it or offer reasonable compensation, and they’ve ignored follow-up messages from us and Booking.com. Booking.com told us it had tried calling the hotel several times without success. On some calls, the hotel answered and then hung up once they realized it was Booking.com. Be careful, because advertised facilities may not actually be there. I’d avoid staying unless you’re okay with having no control over the temperature and dealing with staff who don’t respond or help.

The bathroom had a persistent smoke smell, and the room was pretty dusty. An air purifier would’ve helped. Casting wasn’t possible because the TV wasn’t connected to the internet. The staff were very nice, though, especially the cleaning team, who spoke excellent English and helped us a lot during our four-day stay.