SLH stands for Small Luxury Hotels and groups over 500 small establishments that specialize in upscale accommodations. They are not part of a chain or banner, but are rather independently managed and have each their own character. That is what intrigued me most about them so I gave it a try.
Hotel28 Myeongdong fits well the above description of individually-minded and quirky establishment. It felt like a contemporary art museum when I first entered, but quickly realized that the theme was rather Seoul’s cinematography world.
THE ROOM: We had booked a Semi-deluxe double room which included breakfast. The hotel opened only a few months ago, hence the building and its amenities were all new. The furniture and decor inside the rooms definitely had a luxurious finish to them. The designers of this place were able to incorporate a touch of raw industrial feel in their choices without compromising utility. Cleanliness is obviously not an issue, everything was spick and span. The bed was plush and comfortable but the linens were a tad rough. The room included a safe, toileteries, fast internet, an espresso machine and complimentary drinks.
AMENITIES: The hotel provides a gym, a library and an art gallery which I didn’t really use, so cannot comment. The rooftop garden is a nice touch of green in the middle of a busy city and gives a small view of the city skyline, including Namsan Park and Seoul tower. Part of the rooftop is also a parking, which unfortunately took away from the serenity. At the time of visit, the opening of a bar was planned in future months. Let us hope it will take the place of the parking area. The in-house kitchen, 3 Birds Trattoria, is where breakfast was served every day. Selection was limited but every dish was exceptionally tasty, ranging from croissants and breads to a selection of salads and noodle dishes. Try their fresh grapefruit squeeze with a hint of lavender, a very fresh start to each morning.
Extra perk: Din Tai Fung is on your second floor! Amazing surprise to find the famous Taiwanese chain right underneath our room.
LOCATION: The hotel is in the heart of MyeongDong, the shopping district of Seoul, on a pedestrian-only road. I was reluctant at the beginning to stay in such a neighbourhood, fearing the noise and lack of cultural insights, but finally decided to try. I’m very glad we did because apart from being lively day and night, there are endless eating options in the area. The rooms facing the food street did get some noise until about 2 am. It was the case for our room, but that didn’t prevent us from sleeping soundly after a long day of sightseeing. However, I would advise someone with light sleep to avoid lower floors, or ask for a room facing the opposite street. The closest subway station is Euljiro-1-ga, which is a 5 min walk away. This station is on line 2 which does not connect to Seoul station, hence prevented us from taking the Express train to and from Incheon airport (usually takes 45 min). The non-Express train transfers to line 2 at Hongik University station, the trip takes about 60 min one way. Otherwise, I’ve found the hotel to be conveniently located to visit most other attractions in the city.
SERVICE: The staff can converse in basic English, although not fluently. Their strong desire to help definitely contributed to a pleasant exchange nevertheless. The service was courteous and check-in, check-out were efficient. A mistake happened during booking and their system showed our reservation was made for only one person, hence breakfast only for one person also. The clerk at the front desk quickly corrected the mistake and provided us breakfast tickets for two.
Another incident happened during our last night at the hotel. I was woken up in the middle of the night by a terrible sewage smell. It came directly from the vents above our bed. I inquired with the front desk and they had us move to the room next door, which had the same problem. We moved three rooms in total, finally finding one without the nasty smell on the other side of the building and two floors up. It was very inconvenient to pack all our luggage and move in the dead of night, but I have to applaud the staff’s quick management of the situation. We were also upgraded to a deluxe king room (just for the half night left) which was a nice thought, but also the very least they could do after such an event.
I’m not sure what the source of the smell was but hopefully they can fix the issue so no-one else has to endure such a negative experience on their vacation time. Since it only happened during one out of the four nights of our stay, I do hope that it was an exceptional case. It’s sad that this event has taken away from the almost perfect stay at Hotel28. I will consider giving them a second chance given the opportunity to go to Seoul again, but will definitely check all the reviews then for any sign of the terrible rotten egg smell.
Hotel28 Myeongdong [7.0/10] (9.0-2.0 because of the stench)
13 Myeongdong-7-Gil
Jung-gu, Seoul
04534
South Korea