TravelBuzz! - Hotel recommendations for Seoul

Hello,

I think this is going to be the first of quite a few requests for assistance as I start planning what I hope will eventually become a round the world oddyssey/sabbattical.

I am planning on having a couple of days in Seoul (a tour to the DMZ being very high on the list of things to do) in October. I am starting to take an initial look at hotel prices in all of my destinations and Seoul seems to be pretty expensive. In looking at the (limited) information in guidebooks, it seems to be a split between very pricey and relatively seedy.

Does anybody have any recommnedations for good, comfortable, central hotels in Seoul that will not break the bank. The Westin Chosun looks lovely but is currently running at about GBP 130 per night plus taxes. Do rates tend to drop over time at these hotels or is that pretty much the norm?

Thanks,

DJC

Are you okay with guesthouses? I had a really nice time in a historical and traditional Korean home. It has private rooms with and w/o their own baths. Free high speed Internet. The location was fantastic. A few minutes from a subway station and right between (walking distance) to the main sightseeing palaces. I would recommend this guesthouse without reservation. Prices range from 23GBP and up.
http://www.anguk-house.com/

The Westin Chosun ^

It is a nice hotel, with great staff, and a really great location. We stay there every time we a in Seoul. You can be checked in at the airport, on arrival- even if you are only using the general airport bus, and not the hotel car service.

The new W Seoul gets good reviews, but it is a little far out for tourists, IMHO
John

I also recommend guest houses as an alternative to hotels, especially if you like homemade kim-chi(sp?).

The Inchon airport Hyatt is very nice and the Hotel Lotte in downtown Seoul is ok. I don't think that either would fall under the definition of "reasonably priced" though :D

As far as the DMZ tour... good luck. I don't think that many people are able to get in on them, and even if you do they have a habit of getting cancelled at the last minute.

As far as the DMZ tour... good luck. I don't think that many people are able to get in on them, and even if you do they have a habit of getting cancelled at the last minute.
I didn't take a tour to the DMZ due to time constraints, but it didn't look like there were a lack of operators doing various tours to the DMZ. I grabbed quite a few little flyers on various companies. Did you have an experience where you had difficulty?

Hello,

I think this is going to be the first of quite a few requests for assistance as I start planning what I hope will eventually become a round the world oddyssey/sabbattical.

I am planning on having a couple of days in Seoul (a tour to the DMZ being very high on the list of things to do) in October. I am starting to take an initial look at hotel prices in all of my destinations and Seoul seems to be pretty expensive. In looking at the (limited) information in guidebooks, it seems to be a split between very pricey and relatively seedy.

Does anybody have any recommnedations for good, comfortable, central hotels in Seoul that will not break the bank. The Westin Chosun looks lovely but is currently running at about GBP 130 per night plus taxes. Do rates tend to drop over time at these hotels or is that pretty much the norm?

Thanks,

DJC

Go out of Itaewon and Gangnam and you have a wide variety of Motels to choose from. Seoul prices are at least double compared to any other city in Korea but you should be still able to find something in the 60-100 USD price range. An ideal place to look would be in the neighbourhood of Gimpo ( domestic ) Airport where demand and supply meet.

Korean Motels are very comfortable, have decent in-room-entertainment, minibar etc. and normally clean.

I've never stayed there and it's probably not cheap, but one of my friends in SH swears by the JW Marriott and claims it has the nicest gym he's ever seen (we've been to lots of nice gyms so I value his comments highly).

watch out though, DMZ tours run by the USO (I think it's them at least) to Panmunjon, to my knowledge, only go every other day or 2x a week? I'm fairly sure it's not a daily event so just make sure you can get a reservation.. space is fairly limited as well IIRC but my info is probably dated.. hadn't been to Korea since 2003

I didn't take a tour to the DMZ due to time constraints, but it didn't look like there were a lack of operators doing various tours to the DMZ. I grabbed quite a few little flyers on various companies. Did you have an experience where you had difficulty?

2 times actually. The first one was cancelled because of a summit being held at Ponmunjon. The second time was just "cancelled"... reason was given as security (I think it had something to do with good ole' Kim Jong Il shooting his mouth off again :rolleyes: ). Both of these tours were supposed to be with USO (mentioned above). I'm sure that some of these tours do wind up going, but I was just warning the OP not to center his/her entire trip around a tour that might get cancelled.

Recently bid on Priceline and got the Coex Intercontinental Seoul for $110 per night + fees.

Two of my co-workers went and were upgraded to a business style suite, loved it.

Recently bid on Priceline and got the Coex Intercontinental Seoul for $110 per night + fees.

Two of my co-workers went and were upgraded to a business style suite, loved it.

If you can get it through Priceline for under $120 per night, my vote is with the CO-EX as well. Excellent location, nice rooms & free use of fitness center. Best value if you are looking for something a bit more upscale.

The Westin Chosun looks lovely but is currently running at about GBP 130 per night plus taxes. Do rates tend to drop over time at these hotels or is that pretty much the norm?


If you insist on the Westin Chosun, it does participate in Starwood's current 3-for-2, 6-for-4 etc. promotion (http://www.starwoodhotels.com/promotions/promo_landing.html?category=PRGENNORES_AP), although this still won't make it competitive with the prices mentioned in the above posts.

2 times actually. The first one was cancelled because of a summit being held at Ponmunjon. The second time was just "cancelled"... reason was given as security (I think it had something to do with good ole' Kim Jong Il shooting his mouth off again :rolleyes: ). Both of these tours were supposed to be with USO (mentioned above). I'm sure that some of these tours do wind up going, but I was just warning the OP not to center his/her entire trip around a tour that might get cancelled.

Indeed, it is a tossup. It closes when the situation is good (which means they are having meetings at the Panmunjon site), and when the situation is bad (when they are ready to shoot at each other for sneezing). I wouldn't center a trip around this, unless you are willing to stick around for the right moment in the cycle, when things aren't too cold or too hot. But if you are lucky, it is quite an experience.