Korean Job Discussion Forums

[dsmoore]

We are staying in Seoul for 4 days prior to orientation. Anyone know of a decent place to stay that isn't all that expensive? Just a middle of the road, nothing fancy hotel room for 4 nights.

Perhaps there is a good website I could try checking? Thanks in advance!

[dsmoore]

I guess another question would be where in Seoul to stay. Or better yet, where to avoid I have found a couple hotel booking sites, but without knowing the city it's hard to make a decision based on location. Don't think we need to be anywhere in particular (Will be doing orientation in the Gangwon Province).

[johnriley007]

Who will be staying at the hotel (i.e., will you be bringing a family)? What do you want to do in Seoul? What's your budget? As for booking something online, I am not sure what to tell you. If you want to do it cheap, I would recommend booking one night online and then walking around Seoul where you can easily find many "love motels/hotels" that run about 40,000W per night. I had to do this once and it was a pleasant experience: the room was clean, had internet, AC, a nice TV and a jacuzzi - not bad for $40 - definitely nicer than some hotels I have stayed at that were much more expensive. If you are bringing a family, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it (as it is basically a place where Korean couples go to have sex), but if it is just you, or you and a friend, I would recommend this option.

Any particular reason you want to stay in Seoul? The reason I ask is that depending on where in Gangwon Province you will be living, there are some nice towns with cheap accommodation.

[dsmoore]

It will be our family of 4 staying, 2 small children. I actually had another post asking about transportation to Seoul, but some have suggested staying in Incheon for a couple nights at first. I think we will do that, then move onto Seoul or somewhere else.

Since we are moving on to the Gangwon-do province, we just thought it would be nice to check Seoul out for a few days before leaving again and get an initial feel for the city before visiting at a later date.

Budget is thrifty, we saved a bit of money flying 3 days early and figured we could use it to stay overnight. Just don't want to end up somewhere sleazy to save a few bucks.

[johnriley007]

If it is you and your family, I would stay away from the motels I mentioned before (but for future reference, they are the best bang for your buck in Seoul IMHO).

I have never stayed at Incheon, but I imagine it would be rather boring (could be wrong about that, but like you said, you might as well see Seoul while you're here). However, since I take it that you have never been here before (i.e., I assume you don't know the city well and do not speak Korean), it might be better to stay there for a night and then go into Seoul. I am not sure where you are flying from, but being lost in Seoul after a 20+ hour trip is not something you want, especially if you are bringing children. At least you can get a good night's sleep without having to worry about finding your hotel. You can also take the bus into Seoul from Incheon for about $8 one-way.

Sorry I can't recommend a specific place, but let me know if you have any other questions.

Best of luck

[chickyabroad]

I've stayed at Jongnowon Motel (http://www.jongnowon.com/) in Seoul before which might be good for you. It's in a great location - walking distance to Insadong and some of the main tourist parts on Seoul. The only problem might be the size of the rooms - I don't know if they'd have a room big enough for four people. But it couldn't hurt to contact them to ask. When I stayed there, the English of the staff wasn't great, but it was adequate.

[jellobean]

If those are your kids in the picture, I'm guessing they are too young to notice the decor in a "love" motel. Hotels near the airport are going to put you in a highly uninteresting place for 4 days. If you are working in Ganwon-do, you might consider spending your 4 days in Chuncheon. Rooms at nice "love" motels are between $30-40 per night and Chuncheon has lots of parks and outdoor leisure facilities. There are direct busses from the airport to Chuncheon for a reasonable price and it's pretty easy to get to other places in Ganwon-do from there.