Upflo Hostel

The shared kitchen was my favorite part, with all kinds of cooking equipment provided. The room was spacious and clean too. Nothing to brag about, really, except that the stay was absolutely wonderful. I'd come back next time!

The room and bathroom had a strong mildew smell, and the odor wouldn't go away even with the air conditioning and bathroom fan on. There was also mold in the bathroom, and that’s what really shaped my rating. My friend and I were new to hostels. We liked the location, with grocery stores, convenience stores, and public transport close by. The upstairs kitchen on the 5th floor looked clean and lovely, though we didn't use it. We only saw it while stopping by reception with check-in questions and later asking about a cab. A little before four, we still hadn't received our room details, though booking had said we'd get them around 4 p.m. My friend called customer help, who sent us to the 5th floor, where they gave us a room straight away. When we checked out, nobody was at reception to help hail a cab. There was a note by the landline, and when my friend called, they said no one was working that day and couldn't help.

The location made it easy to get things, with Seoul National University of Education Station nearby, along with Olive Young, daiso, and Nobrand. Gangnam is the next subway stop. There’s also a free washing machine and dryer, though you need to bring detergent, plus a self-serve kitchen on the 5th floor. The free food there was expired, so you'll need to buy your own. I rented a room for a month, and it wasn't the best. Check-in at 16.00 is ridiculous. The room wasn't cleaned well either, a wipe with my white towel turned it black. They didn't provide basic hygiene items like shampoo, body wash, towels, or a toothbrush, so I had to buy them myself. There was no garbage bag or cleaning supplies, and cleaning service costs 20k. For stays of only a few days, they do provide those items, so don't worry. The place is fair if you need somewhere cheap to stay. The staff aren't very fluent in English, but they really tried to help, and I appreciated that. If you need to ask them something, use the Kakaotalk channel.

The room itself was modern and clean, and there’s a cafe on the ground floor with restaurants and a convenience stall nearby. It runs as a self-service hotel: head to reception on the 5th floor, call the manager, and they'll give you your room number and password. There's nobody there to serve you. For fresh towels or extra toilet paper, you need to request them through Kakao talk. There are no cups in the room, so you'll have to pick them up at reception.