I had a bit of hotel emergency before I headed to Seoul recently. I was keen to stay at the Ibis Hotel Myeongdong which Nikki had raved over, but I left my booking too late and there were no rooms available for the time I was visiting. Needless to say, I panicked 😛 With just 2 weeks before I was leaving for Seoul, I still had no hotel room and no idea where to stay.
View from room window
It was while I was scouring Agoda (where I place most of my hotel bookings) that I saw a new offer pop up for The Plaza hotel. A quick check on Tripadvisor told me it was recently refurbished in 2010 and people who had stayed there recently said it was nice. It was a Buy 3 Free 1 offer – perfect for my length of stay so I booked it.
Part of the reason I booked it also was because there is a direct Airport Limousine bus operated by Korean Airlines to the hotel. It drops you on the hotel doorstep! Well, the back door but right at the hotel nonetheless, which is very convenient for arrival and departure. Turned out, I did not need that service because I had a friend there who insisted on doing the airport run which was very very sweet.
I arrived at the hotel at about 9am and the room wasn’t ready. I wasn’t very upset because from previous experience in Japan, these countries are quite strict about their check in times which was at 2 or 3pm. I could leave my luggage however, and I was told to return at 11am when a room would be ready. So, I took a short 10 minute walk to Myeongdong for coffee and to check out the place.