The place we stayed at was a gold mine. We don't know much about Korea, but we know that one of the most famous Korean brands is Lotte (yes, the chocolates and gum). Lotte Co., Ltd. is a South Korean conglomerate. It is one of the largest food and shopping groups in South Korea and Japan. Lotte Group consists of over 60 business units engaged in diverse industries such as candy manufacturing, beverages, retail, publishing, entertainment, hotels, etc. Such a big company that they even have their own duty free called Lotte Duty Free.
Before I moved on to telling you about where we stayed at, let share with you this Lotte Duty Free video. When we arrived at the Lotte City Hotel, I saw this catchy and entertaining advertisement playing non-stop on their Lotte channel, I was in awe because they are endorsed by the hottest actors, singers and Kpop group in South Korea. Everytime I see this ad, and I mean always, I can never take my eyes off the tube. As in I feel-- "Ahhhhhh, I'm inlove." LOL. If you like watching Koreanovelas, have found a Korean actor cute or like a Kpop group, please WATCH THIS! I'm sure you will like it too. This is not cheesy. You might even like the Lotte Duty Free song. It's so catchy, it made me want to dance haha.
Did you like it?
Anyway, back to my post. Let me tell you first how we ended up staying at Lotte City Hotel Mapo. Please note that all our preparations were mostly done online. We researched, planned and organized everything thru the use of the internet.
One's accommodation in South Korea need not be expensive. You have the option of staying in a Guest House (their version of Bed and Breakfast) or in a Hotel. Guest Houses are definitely cheaper and you can easily find them by making a search online.
My Husband and I are quite particular when it comes to accommodation. Although we know that we're mostly spending our time outdoors because we will be exploring all day, we still want to be comfortable during our time of rest. So we ruled out staying at a Guest House.
In choosing a place to stay during travel, we take note of the following:
(1) Travel time to and from the Airport
(2) Access to public transport
(3) Safety and security
(4) Establishments in the area such as restaurants, malls, etc.
(5) Convenient location (should be near places will plan to go to)
(6) Clean rooms with basic amenities
Given these basic considerations, we studied about 4-6 hotels/apartments we can find online. We've had bad experiences with a hotel or two before so choosing a place for lodging is a process for us. It takes us a week to decide because we do a lot of research when it comes to things like this (I know, we're such geeks!).
For our Seoul accommodation, we initially had five hotels, then it narrowed it to three. In the end we chose Lotte City Hotel Mapo because:
(1) it's Lotte and a 4-star hotel (so we had a bit of high expectations)
(2) if there's no traffic, the airport is about 45 minutes away
(3) it's conveniently located nearby popular places like Myeong-dong, Seoul Station, Hongdae and Yeouido (the places where we plan to go!)
(4) it's accessible to public transport: the bus stops are right infront of the hotel and Gongdeok train station is just underneath the hotel.
(5) there are cafes and restaurants that surrounds the hotel
Now for some photos.
Before I moved on to telling you about where we stayed at, let share with you this Lotte Duty Free video. When we arrived at the Lotte City Hotel, I saw this catchy and entertaining advertisement playing non-stop on their Lotte channel, I was in awe because they are endorsed by the hottest actors, singers and Kpop group in South Korea. Everytime I see this ad, and I mean always, I can never take my eyes off the tube. As in I feel-- "Ahhhhhh, I'm inlove." LOL. If you like watching Koreanovelas, have found a Korean actor cute or like a Kpop group, please WATCH THIS! I'm sure you will like it too. This is not cheesy. You might even like the Lotte Duty Free song. It's so catchy, it made me want to dance haha.
Did you like it?
Anyway, back to my post. Let me tell you first how we ended up staying at Lotte City Hotel Mapo. Please note that all our preparations were mostly done online. We researched, planned and organized everything thru the use of the internet.
One's accommodation in South Korea need not be expensive. You have the option of staying in a Guest House (their version of Bed and Breakfast) or in a Hotel. Guest Houses are definitely cheaper and you can easily find them by making a search online.
My Husband and I are quite particular when it comes to accommodation. Although we know that we're mostly spending our time outdoors because we will be exploring all day, we still want to be comfortable during our time of rest. So we ruled out staying at a Guest House.
In choosing a place to stay during travel, we take note of the following:
(1) Travel time to and from the Airport
(2) Access to public transport
(3) Safety and security
(4) Establishments in the area such as restaurants, malls, etc.
(5) Convenient location (should be near places will plan to go to)
(6) Clean rooms with basic amenities
Given these basic considerations, we studied about 4-6 hotels/apartments we can find online. We've had bad experiences with a hotel or two before so choosing a place for lodging is a process for us. It takes us a week to decide because we do a lot of research when it comes to things like this (I know, we're such geeks!).
For our Seoul accommodation, we initially had five hotels, then it narrowed it to three. In the end we chose Lotte City Hotel Mapo because:
(1) it's Lotte and a 4-star hotel (so we had a bit of high expectations)
(2) if there's no traffic, the airport is about 45 minutes away
(3) it's conveniently located nearby popular places like Myeong-dong, Seoul Station, Hongdae and Yeouido (the places where we plan to go!)
(4) it's accessible to public transport: the bus stops are right infront of the hotel and Gongdeok train station is just underneath the hotel.
(5) there are cafes and restaurants that surrounds the hotel
Now for some photos.
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| LOTTE CITY HOTEL MAPO |
Check-in is at 2pm but since we arrived early in the morning and would like to rest, we informed the hotel that we will check-in at 7:30AM. We arrived at almost 8:00AM and they let us checked-in. No questions asked.
They don't have bellboys or porters so be ready to carry your luggage to your room.
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| IN THE LOBBY OF OUR FLOOR |
Upon entrance to our room, there was a glass that works as a divider and decor.
Our room is minimalist and modern with a bit of zen.
An office in the corner.
The bathroom in white. The usual toiletries and bathrobes are available for guests.
The clear sink. Stylish (I like!).
They have bidets!
And a hairdryer which I believe every hotel should have in every room.
On my bedside table is the all-in-one controller for lights, clock, aircon, etc and even an emergency button (if you are too stressed to pick up the phone and dial a number).
Each room has two pairs of slippers.
Safety is a big deal for the Koreans, hence each room has this...
and this.
Our view is not spectacular because we are in one of the business districts of Seoul but that was fine by us. We enjoyed watching the cars and buses passing by.
The street infront of us has 10 lanes!!!!! They have wide roads here.
Our coffee table by the window. Here I was spending a few minutes journaling what transpired during our day.
We don't have internet connection inside our room. We didn't asked to be connected because we wanted to just relax and watch Korean TV (although we can't understand and there was no subtitles LOL) before we sleep. If we needed the use of the internet, we can always go down to the Business Center where WIFI is free.
Can you see our reflections on the Business Center divider?
The basement area of Lotte City Hotel Mapo has a supermarket (where we bought lots of Lotte chocolates), cafes and a bank (where we had the rest of our money changed). The basement is also connected to the Gongdeok Train Station. Very convenient for tourists like us.
We loved our stay at the Lotte City Hotel Mapo. The rates were reasonable and staff were very accommodating. Check-out time was 12:00noon but since our return flight was schedule at night, they safekept our luggage until it was time for us to go.
LOTTE CITY HOTEL MAPO
http://www.lottehotel.com
Gongdeok-Dong, 467 Mapo-Gu
Seoul, South Korea 121805
UP NEXT: Exploring the streets of HONGDAE
