2-Star Hotels in Seoul

On one of the nights during our stay, the fire alarm went off at 3 AM. We sat on the curb across the street, shivering in the cold for half an hour before the fire truck arrived. During that entire half hour, no staff member came out to explain the situation. Staff from Hotel Skypark II across the street did come out to check, and after the fire trucks arrived, we also saw Skypark staff communicating with the firefighters. About an hour later, other guests started returning to their rooms, and we followed suit. Even at that point, no staff from this hotel had appeared. On our way back to the room, we noticed a large amount of clutter in the stairwell (see photo) — a hazard in itself.  A few minutes after we got back to our room, the fire alarm suddenly went off again, but just for a few seconds, which startled us so much that we immediately went down to the front desk on the 3/F. At that time, there were two foreign female sitting in the common area. We thought they were just guests and chatted with them for a bit, only to find out during the conversation that they were actually staff members here. According to them, they were something like international students or exchange students working here— not trained professionals you would expect to handle an emergency. We also figured out during the conversation that they had actually been standing outside with the guests the whole time while we were all waiting for the fire trucks to arrive — yet even then, neither of them had come forward to say anything or offer any reassurance. We guessed that they were probably working here in exchange for a place to stay, which would explain why no one seemed to be properly in charge when things went wrong. Putting this incident aside, this hostel is actually quite good.  The three of us stayed in a family twin room. We were able to open two large suitcases in the entrance hallway, and there was plenty of space at the foot of the beds and underneath them to temporarily store things we had just bought. The double bed was more than spacious enough for two people, and there was also lots of room on the shelf behind our bed to place personal items. The only minor complaint is that a smell occasionally came from the ventilation system on the bathroom ceiling. Also, there is no shower stall/ bathtub (see photo), so when you shower, the entire floor and toilet bowl gets wet, and there is no place to hang clothes to change into after showering. The room was pretty clean. The common area has a vacuum cleaner, a washer-dryer, and a luggage scale. There is also a microwave, an oven, and a stovetop available for use. For breakfast, bread, eggs, cereal, milk, and Indomie instant noodles are provided for you to cook yourself.   The hotel's location is very convenient — it's right across from Hotel Skypark II. It's a short walk to Euljiro 1(il)-ga Station and Myeongdong, and there are plenty of great restaurants nearby, as well as a convenience store right across the street. If it weren't for this incident, I would have no hesitation in recommending this hotel.

Oh my goodness! I was so lucky to choose this hostel. I originally booked a room with two single beds and a private bathroom, but the front desk upgraded me directly to a triple room with one queen bed and one single bed – it was fantastic! It was also very close to the elevator, and there's a luggage scale available in the hallway. Downstairs, there's a huge Olive Young (pharmacy/beauty store), right in the heart of Myeongdong. Across the street, there's a convenience store and the delicious Sinseon Seolleongtang, so everything you need is super convenient. The hostel offers a simple breakfast; personally, I didn't find it particularly delicious, but it was acceptable. You have to wash your own dishes after eating, and the hygiene conditions are excellent. The front desk service was also very enthusiastic and spoke English. I recommend booking two months in advance for more choices and better prices.

The room was a bit bigger than I expected. We booked a quad room on the top floor, and as soon as you open the door, there's a staircase, which felt a little dangerous. The stairs are quite narrow overall. You can only take the elevator to the 4th floor, which was a minor inconvenience since it's a service elevator not really for guests. Other than that, everything was great. The room had an international power strip, two shower heads at different heights, and a large balcony. The room was also very clean! The shared space on the first floor had a microwave, hot water, and a scale. Most importantly, the location is excellent! 👍 I'd definitely stay here again!

A very good option for staying for a week. Spacious rooms, an elevator, good in-room amenities, and pleasant staff. First of all, the area is excellent. It’s a lively, authentic Seoul, and just outside the neighborhood you’ll find postcard-worthy spots and major tourist attractions. Staying here allows you to experience the rhythm of daily life alongside local Seoul residents and really feel the city from the inside. Plus there's also many convenient metro stations nearby. As for the hotel itself, there are both positives and negatives. Starting with the downsides: maybe I was just unlucky, but the shower head was in very poor condition and barely worked. Hopefully, this will be fixed. There’s also no option to open the window for some reason — it has a strange four-layer window system, which is… okay. The tap water is quite hard, but as far as I understand, that’s common across most of Seoul. The room keys don’t look very secure, and the key fob is huge — about the size and weight of a solid, heavy iPhone. It’s easier to leave the key at reception when you go out and pick it up again when you return. Another downside is the poor sound insulation from the corridor. When the Korean and Russian cleaning staff start chatting in the morning, it works better than any alarm clock. In some places, you can see signs of the hotel’s “age” and wear over time, but it’s not too serious. On the plus side, in addition to the usual amenities like toothbrushes and basic hygiene kits, each room has large bottles of body lotion, cream, and something else I didn’t even have time to figure out. That’s a definite bonus. Next, despite the inability to open the window, the rooms aren’t stuffy at all — on the contrary, they’re comfortably warm. There’s also heated flooring. All the staff are pleasant, friendly Koreans who are always willing to help if needed. A solid 4 out of 5.

I really liked this hotel. The bathroom with frosted glass was a nice touch, and the room was cleaned daily with fresh towels replaced every day. Toiletries were also replenished daily. The overhead shower was super cool! The hotel's location is fantastic, situated between two metro stations, making it easy to get to central Seoul. There are also plenty of shops, a market, and cafes nearby. Plus, there are mountains close by if you fancy a hike. They even have signs in Russian, and the owner speaks a bit of Russian too! 😊

It was nice that they let us take one drink per person, and the room was spacious and clean, which was nice😍 The staff were all very friendly! It was such a great experience that my Japanese friend said he wanted to stay here again when he comes to Korea❤️ I'm glad you made good memories.

Checkin starts at 3, I ended up there at 2:30, asked to wait very sternly, I said ya no worries I will and I sat on the sofa. But the guy who was supposed to check in, he was late and suddenly the women was now polite. The guy eventually came at 3:30. And was apologetic. Funny how people can be apologetic if its their mistake , but ask them 1 more question hours later they become rude. He spoke broken English which was hard to grasp as he was going really quickly on the do’s and dont’s but he was irritated at me for that. Next day I saw him all in smiles and laughter to a westerner. And calmly explaining everything. Rest, liked the location because its away from Myeongdang main street, so its calm while close enough to walk for stroll.

The hostel is conviniently located between Naebang and Bangbae stations. I got the private room which is spacious but the wallpaper has molds. The T&B is also spacious but water pressure is a let down. Bed and pillows are okay. They have a water dispenser, good thing i brought my tumbler. Very convinient getting around.

We were able to locate the guest house easily using Naver Map. However, our first struggle was how to reach the destination itself. The guesthouse is located in an uphill area, almost near Namsan Cable Car (600km/20min walk). A great tip we discovered (after struggling of walking uphill for 2 days 😂) was using the escalators/elevators near the Ihoeyeong Memorial Hall. Go straight from there and you’ll find a 7-Eleven convenience store upon crossing the street. Go left then right at the first wide alley way you see, it should be uphill. Keep on walking until you see a signage of mama guest house on your right side. We booked a day before our arrival so we could immediately check-in in our rooms. A note welcomed us and our keys were found at the reception area. Pls don’t forget to remove your shoes and change into the slippers they provide found in the shoe cabinet at the left side of the entrance. Our rooms were next to each other, but differ in size. Bathroom was okay, but I hope they’ll fix the sink’s pipe problem in room 104 since it leaks on the floor upon using. I suggest buying shower filters (5,000 Won) since the water in SK is quite harsh. I suggest to test how you’ll adjust the temperature when showering. There were no bidets in our bathrooms. Always bring your keycard with you whenever you go out. They don’t go into your rooms like hotels would. If you have any requests, just leave a note on their desk (ie. New towels, tissue, etc.) They also don’t have laundry machines. Do not eat inside the rooms, only in the kitchen which is in the basement. If you feel like your trash bins are getting full, trash bins are found in the lobby and segregate everything according to their waste category. Just think of it as you’re staying on your own room. Walls are thin, made of light wood materials so I wouldn’t suggest talking nor listening to your phone loudly. Breakfast menu were cereals with milk, bread and flavored jam, and instant noodles. You can only consume what’s inside the fridge unless there’s a note that a room guest owns it. You can cook and buy your own food, just make sure you clean up after. You can also fill-up your water bottles here. Going to different areas are easy too since it’s near Myeongdong Station exit 1. If you’re planning to go shopping in Myeongdong, just go straight after exit 1 and you should see E-Mart across the street then cross on the first crosswalk you see. If you want to enter the “main” street, go left until you see the bug HBAF building. Overall, I think our stay was a good since the staff we get see was very accommodating to our requests. I just hope they’ll fix some of their bathroom leakage.

It's only two minutes' walk from the nearest station and has excellent access. There is a convenience store right next to the hotel, and there are 24-hour restaurants nearby, so it's convenient. A refrigerator, dryer, and smartphone charger are provided in the room.(i-phone&type-c only) If there is no staff at the front desk when you check in, you will need to obtain your room number using sns. As others have written, the cleaning situation leaves room for improvement. However, you will be able to stay at a very reasonable price, so I think it would be a good idea to bring slippers and other things to make up for the parts of the floor that are not well cleaned.