Korean Job Discussion Forums

Stormy · Joined: 10 Jan 2008 Location: Here & there

My mum is coming over in August & I'm going to meet up with her in Seoul, spend a couple of days sightseeing before heading off to another part of Korea. I've spent no time at all in the city - can anyone recommend a decent area to stay? I've been looking through the Lonely Planet etc for good hotels but there's too much info!
We want a nice mid-highish range hotel (not a love hotel) where we can get a twin room. A nice area would be good - don't think mum wants to have to pass through any red-light districts when we venture out for dinner etc!
Any decent areas for a respectable(ish) elderly woman to stay, and me of course, that aren't too far away from transport & so on? Cheers.

Faunaki · Joined: 15 Jun 2007

My friends stayed here: Hotel
NOVOTEL Ambassador Gangnam
603,Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
02-5671101
http://www.ambatel.com/gangnam/english/index.php

You can walk from Gangnam st. to the hotel in five minutes. I didn't stay there myself but my friends had no complaints. There's tons to do in that area.

qwerty · Joined: 10 Sep 2007

Novotel Gangnam is alright. Its more like 20mins walking to Gangnam station though and some hills.
Ibis Myeongdong is better for sightseeing I think.
and less than 100,000won a night.
http://www.accorhotels.com/gb/home/index.shtml

or check the reviews of hotels in Seoul
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g294197-Seoul-Hotels.html

Stormy · Joined: 10 Jan 2008 Location: Here & there

Excellent, thankyou so much for the help guys! Smile

Atavistic · Posted: Mon May 26, 2008 8:59 pm Post subject:

When my parents were here, all three of us stayed at the Vabien II near....um...Seodaemun. It was less than 90,000 won a night (AFTER taxes) for a huge place with two king sized beds, a kitchen as big as the one in my last apartment (OK, not saying much), etc. Really comfortable, nice place.

samd · Joined: 03 Jan 2007

I don't know if this will suit your parents, but if they are looking for something different from the usual hotel experience, this might be good.

There are a few Korean guesthouses very close to Insadong and Gyeongbokgung clos to Anguk Station on the number 3 line.

Go out of Exit 3, take the first left, and head up that road for a couple of hundred metres.

This is one of them:

http://www.seoul110.com/html_en/1.html

It was booked out by a movie shoot when my parents were here, but we found a couple of simliar ones close by.

The location is perfect, the staff at these places are usually nice, and the price is decent.

zappadelta · Joined: 31 Aug 2004

valkerie · Joined: 02 Mar 2007 Location: Busan

The Provista hotel is good too. Couple of minutes from SeoulNational Uni of Education (Green line 2/Orange line 3) and 10 minutes walk from Gangnam.

There are no taxes for foreigners staying there and they offer a free membership deal that will get you a room rate discount.

PM me for the website if you can't find it on Google. I can look in my email.

Decent prices.

Stormy · Joined: 10 Jan 2008 Location: Here & there

Thanks so much to everyone who suggested good places to stay in Seoul - I'm currently checking them all out via their websites (and valkerie I located the website for the provista cheers).

My next question is this....do any hotels generally pick guests up from the airport? It looks like mum will be arriving in Seoul a day ahead of me & will have to find her way to the hotel alone. I've emailed a few hotels to ask them directly but no dice as yet.

Is it realistic to get a taxi from the airport to these areas?

Mum is very well-travelled & fit for her age but she is in her mid-sixties & will probably be lugging a suitcase, I just don't want her to have to haul it around on buses etc. on her own.

bassexpander · Joined: 13 Sep 2007 Location: Someplace you'd rather be.

Also check out www.metrohotel.co.kr online. They are really nice, and my family felt it was a good deal. I think a queen and single together cost about 80,000 won. A lot of these places have cheaper prices in person than online. If you go there, ask for "sky" at the front desk. She's a good person, and speaks English fairly well. She lived in Canada for a time. They also have 2 free computers in the lobby. The Ibis is a bit more expensive, and smaller, but also new. Metro was remodeled about 2 or 3 years ago, and looks great too.

samd · Joined: 03 Jan 2007

Why do so many people recommend Gangnam? It's a terrible place for tourists to stay - all of the best sightseeing is north of the river, the traffic is terrible, it is more expensive in general, and the not very walkable.

Stormy,

Find a place close to an airport bus stop, and get good directions from the stop to the hotel. Taxis from the airport are a rip-off.

icicle · Joined: 09 Feb 2007 Location: Gyeonggi do Korea

Depending on where she ends up staying you may find the Airport Limosine buses are an option ... I found them when I was trying to find a way to get to the airport ... and most of their pickup points were hotels ... there may be a pickup point close to where she ends up staying ...

The distance from Incheon to Seoul is a main reason why the cost of a taxi is probably not a good idea ... It would end up costing a small fortune .. and probably not a good reason for that ...

I would suggest investigating the different bus options from the airport ... much much cheaper ....

And make sure that your Mum has the hotel details in hangul as well as English ... because if she does happen to get lost for any reason ... it will make getting directions/help ... or finding a taxi to take here there much easier (Yes .. I do know that the taxis have translation options available ... but from practical experience a hangul address has been the single most useful thing for getting there .... )