Sokcho Chonpines Beach Hotel

The location is good, but it wasn’t made clear that this is a self-service place, with no cleaning included.

We booked through Expedia the morning we arrived, and getting there from the bus station was an easy walk. The beach is so close, and our room on the fifth floor had a full ocean panorama. The manager gave us a “good room,” which we really liked, and having a washer in the room was a nice bonus. Check-in was simple, much easier than what I’m used to in North America. Staff changed the sheets and brought fresh towels every day, which isn’t common in South Korean hotels. There are chicken, coffee, dumpling, beer, 7-11, and steak businesses on the ground floor. With the beach a two-minute walk away, I’d pick this hotel over somewhere farther from the water.

Couldn’t sleep at all. The rooms look onto a parking garage entrance, and every car leaving sets off a signal horn, even at night. Windows shut and earplugs in, it was still impossible to sleep. Never again.

I didn’t pay enough attention to the details before booking. The room was small, though that was okay, and it had Wi-Fi, a refrigerator, amenities, and two bottles of mineral water. No ocean view, but the beach is fairly close. The missing microwave was a big problem for me.