advice please - hotels
 

Could someone please give me advice about hotels in Seoul? I'm pressed for time and need to book a room soon for the end of February, and I have no clue.
I can't do luxury, I need a reasonable price and something I can get to on foot
from a train station - or a shuttle bus. Which brings up another consideration - what areas are about halfway between downtown and the airport? Or must I go into the city proper for a room? Is the Metro Hotel convenient, reasonable? All advice gratefully accepted.

My father actually just stayed at the Metro Hotel. It's very clean and well kept. Friendly staff, good design. Reasonable price. Excellent English.

Staying halfway between the airport and the center of Seoul, there's only one area of interest - Hongdae. Hongdae is a great, youthful neighborhood, but that's it out there. You'd have to go into central Seoul for the sights and even furhter to the southeast for Gangnam area.

Just stay in Myeongdong. If you have a small bag, you can take the train (take the all stop AREX to Hongdae and transfer to Line 2, get off at Euljiro 1- Ga...which they call Euljiro Ip Gu in Korean).

The easiest thing to do is to take the Korean Air Limo Bus 6701 to Lotte Hotel Downtown. You just cross the street from there and you're at Metro Hotel. There's also another bus to Ibis Hotel Myeongdong around the corner (and walk from there), but it makes a few more stops, I believe.

Myeongdong is really where you want to be. It's in the middle, so all the subway lines are there for easy transfer to get around. You're in walking distance of all the major tourist attractions. Short taxi rides to get around.

I preferred US chains like Hilton or Hyatt but we are told that they are not located centrally. We wanted somewhere we could easily walk to a restaurant, shops stores and catch easy train rides. We booked Seoul Royal . Never been there and hope we like it when we get there.

We have 14 months old boy and we want to visit Lotte world and Everland. Don't know how to get there yet.

The only centrally located hotel that's an American chain is the Westin Chosun. The Grand Hyatt is technically central on Namsan, but it's inconvenient to reach because of it's mountain location.

Lotte World is better for small kids. It's very compact and is both inside and outside if it's cold/rainy. You'd just take Line 2 to Jamsil Station. Lotte World is the best for little, little kids because of the "Disney-esque" factor. Cute photo ops, their own characters, etc.

You could also go to Seoul Land which is located inside Seoul Grand Park along with the Seoul Zoo (lots of attractions in one place).

Everland is the furthest away and takes longer to get to. For you, as a tourist, you'd have to take the Everland shuttle bus which is like 12$. There are public buses and a subway that are cheaper, but not as simple for you as a tourist. Everland also skewers a bit older. It's much more of a process.

Let me know what other questions you have, I'm happy to answer any and all!

thanks for info. We are a couple with a baby. Is seoul a stroller friendly?

I have booked room at Seoul Royal in Myendong. How do I get water boiler? Need to boil water to mix with baby's food. I can use a baby carrier but stroller would be more easy since we might do little bit of street shoppings or eating and mall visits.
You mentioned, Seoul land, lotte world & everland Is it easy transportation round trip?tourist buses & trains that will take our stroller? We won't be taking taxis anywhere since our travel will be on budget. I love rice meals, spicy meals like rice and veg or rice and stir fried beef and veg. We don't eat sea food and don't like sweat dishes. Thanks for any advice and info

The hotel should have a water kettle in the room. If they don't just ask. They're used very, very, very frequently here.

To be honest, a stroller in shopping, mall areas etc. will be quite annoying. Seoul has tons of people and you're going to high traffic areas. You'll need a lot of patience to navigate a stroller. Also, for subways, you'll have to (sometimes) go out of your way for the elevator and end up at different exits from where you need to be. Having a stroller on the subway is no problem, though, as long as it's not crowded.

Taxis are very cheap here. And much more convenient for you with a baby. When you get a T-Money card, just load it up with a lot of cash. Maybe 50. Then you can pay for taxis with the t-money card as you take them. And continue to use T-Money on the subway.

For you, I'd just stick to Lotte World. You can take Subway Line 2 right there. I make this commute every day actually - just 35-40 minutes to Jamsil Station from Euljrio 1-Ga.

Well, with rice meals, you're in luck. Koreans eat rice 35 times a day. The best dish for you is ddeop bap. It's various meat sauteed with spicy sauce and pork, chicken etc. Also try Omu Rice, which is like rice inside a big omelet with donkatsu sauce on it. There are also a ton of soups in Korea. Their daily food is definitely not sweet. Think sesame oil and red pepper tastes.

You need to find a "kimbap shop." In Myeongdong, there are several. The hotel can direct you. They'll have pictures and an English menu. And they are the same price as normal kimbap shops throughout Seoul. This is where you can get the widest variety of Korean food. 40 dishes or so.

"kimbap shop" is a name of the restaurant? name of the chain? Like PF chang or Pei wei in US?
The korean currency is called WON but they come in like thousands right?

10k won is only worth about $10? I assume you get nothing there with 1000 won even though it sounds a lot?:rolleyes: We are staying there for a week. Wonder if we should take some cash from here in States? Credit cards are widely accepted there? Master card /VISA? May not be accepted in small restaurants there right? Any biz charges any fees for accepting credit cards? Thanks

In theory, $1 is more like 1,100W. But, to keep it simple, just think 1,000W to 1$ and drop the extra three zeros.

Kimbap shop is not the proper name of the restaurant. You're looking for something like this (pictures and menu information in the link below). There are many different chains, but this one is the most common name. Other chain names are Kimbap Nara and Pomato.

https://www.google.co.kr/webhp?sourc...bap%20cheonguk

I would not bring cash from the States, because the exchange rate always changes here. Sometimes the dollar is up, sometimes it's down. It's not unstable, but it just might vary by the time you arrive here. At the airport, you can withdraw cash at an ATM and get the best rate. The ATMs here don't charge as much as they do in America for sure.

Yes, VISA and Mastercard are accepted everywhere except by street vendors. Also, when you add money to your T-Money card, you must add with cash. The stores won't charge you any fee. Of course, your bank might for using it overseas. Don't count on AmEx and Discover working here.

Thank you. I'm at the metro now and it is good value for the money and easy to get to.
Thanks very much!,

How is the Seoul Royal? Good/Bad? I have booked several nights here. I booked executive room which says on 13to 15th floor but says breakfast for 1. Really? One of us is supposed to pay $30 US dollar for a breakfast? If they attempt to charge one of us, we might move somewhere else