Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Accommodations in South Korea : Hotel vs Hostel & Guesthouse

Sebelom itu...annyeong haseyo yorobun! my name is Hyun Ki Joon @ John! 내 이름은 현기준 @ 존... Be inspired ok guys!

Haa....korang boleh panggil aku dengan nama tu. Valid until 20th November 2011 sahaja. Pastu back to John balik. Hahahah...

Ok..bercakap mengenai tajuk kat atas tu. Kalo dah tau nak pegi travel negara maju, janganlaaa duk berangan nak duk hotel. Duk kat hostel atau guesthouse sudah memadai. Infact, aku rasa lagi best dan value for money invested. Aku lama jugak duk buat research dan survey hostel atau guesthouse yang mana satu untuk aku stay sepanjang trip aku ke sana. Kriteria yang aku pilih berdasarkan lokasi, murah, facilities, free breakfast dan design hostel @ guesthouse itu sendiri. Tidak lupa jugak...baca reviews yang diberikan oleh orang yang dah penah duk kat situ. Boleh baca kat Hostelbooker atau TripAdvisor. Betol-betol berguna! Jangan tak baca...you will know the real situation. Kadang-kadang yang tukang kasik review ni, banyak cekadak jugak. So, try to read from the positive perspective. Mostly, kalo hostel atau guesthouse tu betol-betol bagus, jarang akan dapat bad reviews. 

So, let's cekidaut hostel atau guesthouses yang aku dah shortlisted. Tapi yang first three adalah guesthouse yang dah aku booked untuk trip ke South Korea. Aku pilih DORM sahaja...sebab nk jimat punye pasal.


Location : Chungmuro Station, 1 stop from Myeongdong Station. 
What's included : Breakfast, bed linen, towel, and storage rooms
Facilities : Free internet, air-conditioning, free city tour, 24hour hot showers, tour/travel desk, credit-card accepted. 

Some reviews: 
1. "The hostel was in a traditional Korean area, very close to the metro station and a short walk to a shopping areas. The guy running it spoke limited english but was effective and friendly."

2. "everything is very clean, owner is really good character, and location is so good. i could go to myondong on foot just about 10min !!! i wanna stay here if i had chance to go korea again."

3. "Very friendly staff and the location is also very good. Suitable for travelers who dose not have high standards of living and want to save a little."





Location : Anguk Station, 5 minutes walking from Insadong
What's included : Bed linen, towel, and storage rooms
Facilities : Free internet, air-conditioning, free city tour, 24hour hot showers, tour/travel desk, free coffee and tea, and etc. 

Facebook : Doo Guesthouse

Aku pilih yang ni sebabnya still baru...so, antara rumah hanok style yang termurah. So, okla kot. Just stay sini untuk 1 malam sahaja. Untuk rasa pengalaman aje. Other than that...bila lagi kan? Hihihi 

 Bedrooms • Single room is 50,000 KRW (1 person)
• Semi double room 60,000 KRW (2 person)
• Double room is 70,000 KRW (2 person)
• Family room is 110,000 KRW (4 person)

Some reviews: 

1. "Doo Guesthouse is in a hanok or traditional house with rooms set around a courtyard. There are no private baths. But there are three bathrooms for, I think, eight guest rooms, so the place is pretty well-served with bathrooms. The rooms are tiny, but they have air conditioning and tv. Small rooms seem to be the norm in Asia unless you are prepared to ante up a lot more money than Doo charges. More important than space to me is whether a place is clean, and Doo is clean. This is all the more impressive, because right now, Doo is a one-man operation. Donny, the owner, mans the phones, cleans the rooms, and checks in guests all by himself, and he still finds time to make you a cup of jasmine tea and talk with you about your day. Doo is near the Changdeok Palace and Bukchon Village, on a street with shops that seem more local than tourist serving, which is strange given the number of guesthouses in the area. But that's good for local flavor and there are plenty of cafes and restaurants just a street over."






Location : Hyehwa Station Line 4, Take Exit no.4
What's included : Breakfast, bed linen, towel, and storage rooms
Facilities : Free internet, air-conditioning, 24hour hot showers, tour/travel desk, free coffee and tea, washing machines, self-catering facilities and etc 

Some reviews: 

1. "Mr.cho and his friends are too kind and ready to help- and also very generous! Had a great time - definitely my hostel for future Seoul visits!!"

2. "The rooms are really nice and complete. It has in floor heating system. Shampoo, conditioner and body wash are provided. I liked the fact that Mr Cho takes the time to prepare our breakfast. They go out of the way to help. The common area is pretty and complete with all the facilities we need. They also offer free use of washing machine. We will come back to stay here when we return to Seoul next year."

3. "The place is very accessible by subway and buses. The staff are very friendly, helpful and Mr. Cho, the owner even went out of his way to bring me to the shuttle station in Insadong where I had to join the tour by 0900 hrs. He also brought me to the airport bus stop without any additional pay. One night he gave me dinner when I was so tired from my day's tour."





Kat bawah ni pulak...link untuk hostel atau guesthouse yang aku dah short-listed kan untuk panduan kita bersama....aku pilih untuk dorm sajork sebab dah sangat-sangat ok plus nak tido je pun. Btw, every guesthouse ade free internet which is sangat-sangat laju mengikut kata orang yang dah penah ke sana...awesome!  








Till then.....bye! 

 

23 comments:

  1. Saya tinggal di Namsan Guesthouse. Highly recommended tapi awas, dia ada 3 Namsan. I stayed in 1 and 2 whereas my other 2 other friends stay all their guesthouse. Hahaha...

    Namsan Guesthouse is located directly at Myeoungdong. Everynite kami pergi Myeoungdong cari makan, shopping. Tapi jangan tinggal di Namsan 1 sebab kena naik bukit. Namsan Guesthouse juga terletak di belakang The Seoul Tower. :D

    Tapi yang kau recommend juga boleh tahan. Masa sya mau buat booking accommodation, saya pun pening kepala. Saya terstumble upon 1 website and dia bagi saya 40 of Korea guesthouse.

    ReplyDelete
  2. @Diana,
    yeahh i know. namsam GH is really famous among malaysian. plus the rate is quite high compared to others. mybe becoz it's becoming more popular nowadays. that's why i want to try new places. can recommend to others as well. why not rite? hihihi

    hahaha...quite hard to choose actually. there are a lot of GHs that we can choose...

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  3. Fuh aku tertarik betul degan Doo Guest House tu! Klasik sangat!

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  4. @Janggel,
    tau takpe bro...aku bc reviews pun cambest je. tu yg terus booked! utk kawan aku tak sempat sbb dah penuh. aku booked utk dorang yg WWOOF tu jela. nasib baik je among each others.

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  5. Best best! Merasa macam dok kg dolu2 la kalo tengok dari luar hahahaha. Hadoi jeles betoi la!

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  6. perghhhhhh cantik la hanok style tu! jgn lupa pakai cheogori and paji (hanbok versi laki). uuuuuu i loike! mesti ko nampak cam anak ikan nok! hahaha! *terus cari contact nak jual hayam baru nama hyun ki joon*

    john, tahap ni ko kata murah?! aku bakar duit ko kang hahaha! ko mmg curlasssss la bebeh bab2 penginapan cun2 serta makanan2 yg lazis! aku sukak! aku sukak!

    amiga motel aku pun buruk lagi dari ni hahahaha! tapi murah la...

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  7. @Janggel,
    hayohhh...ramai lak yg jeles ni. aku pn tak sampai lagi korea nih. dush...dush!


    @Biqque,
    tau xpe!!! aku suka tau! tp mahal sgt, so, duk 1 mlm aje. nk rasa kan. kalo tak, bila laaa lg boleh smpai korea nih. yg nk try baju cheogori tu mesti laa...mmg dlm wish list aku nk bwt nnt. hopefully dpt ler. anak ikan montel ke? LOL....

    murah la kot...aku tgk harga rate sume lebih kurang je. depends kat location, amenities yg dorang kasik. mmg mahal lor kat sana....tp sbb nk rasa jugak. redha jela. duit takde cmne nk bakar? duit monopoly boleh? kehkehkeh...

    motel ko duk dlu tu...mcm tak penah nmpk pun kat hostelbookers sume tu. mane ko jmpe? tp ko punye motel aku tgk notbad jugak.

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  8. wah cantik nye Doo Guest House tu... mmg betul2 rase mcm Korean...;)

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  9. hyun ki joon

    kalo aku, aku tido sejid je..haha

    eh nak tix free pi japan dak?

    cek sini..

    http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/lifestyle/2011/10/10000-free-round-trip-tickets-to-japan/

    ReplyDelete
  10. http://ezine.takemetotravel.com/japan-plans-free-flights-to-10000-tourists/

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  11. aku suka Doo guesthouse tu.. tapi time aku book dah penuh sbb tu ler aku stay kat WWOOF tu.. tapi sempat jugak la aku melawat Doo Guesthouse tu.

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  12. wah dh study nampak. Bagus la tu, ko study Korea, aku tgh study Japan aku nih kehehehe..nanti kite share2 yek..

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  13. Lepas ni ko tlg update gak pasal transportation kat sana. Kot2 ada railpass/subway pass yg khas utk tourist ke..hapdet ok..

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  14. @Muna,
    kannnn...mmg sy sengaja pilih nk stay 1 mlm. sbb nk merasa. tmbh2 GH ni still baru lagi.


    @Kemang,
    ko sanggup ke? kalo sanggup...silakan. hihihi.

    tix free? kalo btol2 dpt mmg alhamdulillah...tp aku bab lucky draw ni mmg hampeh skit dan tak penah bertuah pun. try ler kalo2 ko dpt. aku sokong dr blakang. ^_^


    @Fid Abdullah,
    kannn..aku pun suka bila 1st time tgk..thanks utk ko jugak sbb suggestkan duk sini. tp aku dh booked utk kwn aku kat WWOOFF sbb DOO dah penuh. aku sempatlah duk DOO, just dorang jela.


    @BlueEwoke,
    mestilaaa kene stdy. dah tak lama dah ni...cuakkkk!!!! japan ko ni pun dah tak lama kan? bulan march next yeaR?

    insyaALLAH...nnt aku update slow2. skung ni tgh busy...huhuh

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  15. @Lina,
    tu laaa..tgk gaya cambest je. mcm dalam cerita pulak! hahaha

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  16. anak ikan montel? hahahahahaha comel okkkkkkkkk!

    ye betul kemang, kalo ko nak, silakan sbb orang travel ni macam2...ada yg nak merasa, ada yg nak save, ada yg nak thrill, so terpulang pada orang nyer :D

    john, bab lucky draw, AKU TAK PENAH LUCKY TAU! hadiah tupperware pun tak penah dpt! apetah lagi tv, keta, duit...ceh...

    na, masa i kat sana i tak guna apa2 pun, t-money pun tak, aku blasah je beli kat station :D mmg terkepot2 la memula, tapi lama2 cewahhhhhh mcm local uuuuu! (i tak start pape lagi japan!)

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  17. bagus bagus.. i'll be going next march.. nanti boleh refer sini :)

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  18. hei tido sejid bagus pe..insof skit..hehehe...aku saje nk cuba mcm2 jenis pglmn setiap kali trip..instead of normal way, aku buat abnormal way. tp bajet ko mmg agak high utk accommodation, but as long as ko mampu...why not!

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  19. @Biqque,
    hahha....montelll!!!!!!

    yup..lain orang lain pandangan. sume tu terpulang. biqque, benci giler kalo nk suruh masuk isi borang utk luckt draw sbb mmg tau takkan menang punye lah! erghhhh.....buang karat ngn buang dakwat je.


    @Rara,
    wahhhh...enjoy your trip nnt rara! ^_^


    @Fatt,
    hihi...insaf kan fatt? ade heater tak kat masjid tu? sejuk kan time tu....

    tinggi ke bajet accom aku ni? sebab aku amek jenis dorm je. lebih kurang 20k-22k won je untuk semlm. ade yg lagi murahh...tp reviews tak brape nak ummpph! ^_^

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  20. Hi..slm kenal..nk tya..deluxe 4beds tu with private bathroom kan?

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    Replies
    1. hurm.... fully house tu mmg ade private bathroom dlm bilik tu.

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  21. Hi....im from Indonesia. Ur blog is nice and very helpful for first time visit in korea. I have plan to go to korea and im interested with the Doo house u mention above. I have a several question if u dun mind to answer it :
    1. Is it expensive? Cause from ur review it looks like not that expensive but i also read ur comment, u said that Doo house is quiet expensive. And that's the reason u just spend 1 night there?
    2. Is Doo house near from subway?
    3. Which one is best (according to the distance from subway or bus shuttle/muslim food/supermarket?
    I'm sorry if i had alot of question to be answered by you. I'll wait for ur reply soon and once again thanks alot.

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