2 ROOM NEW OPEN SALE [Yeonnam Wave House]

I liked the neighbourhood - it was quaint, with lots of cute shops and cafes/bars scattered around. It is about an 8-min walk to Hongik Univ Station and about a 15-min walk to Hongdae Shopping Street.

One con is the lack of cleanliness of the place. When I first arrived, the apartment had many flies and bugs (luckily, the apartment had some bug spray and I killed at least 20 bugs). The bedroom floor was also dirty (they don’t clean the floor under the beds and it is filled with dust and other litter from previous guests). The bath towels provided had yellow stains on them and also kinda stunk so I would recommend using your own towel.

Also, by the looks of the size of the apartment, there is no way that 8-10 people can stay comfortably (as indicated on the listing). I would estimate the maximum to be 4 pax (there are 2 queen-sized beds in a bedroom), 1 small toilet, 1 kitchenette and 1 dining room (with a dining table and 4 chairs). There is also a small sofa which can seat 2 pax at most.

During my stay, I was also interrupted under very short notice (the host literally texted me to open the door and they were outside waiting already) by the host and some other man who said something about a leakage from the bathroom to the apartment downstairs and made some checks for repair. So just be aware that the apartment may require some maintenance here and there and your stay may be disrupted.

Another thing of note.. I was under a quarantine order and the hotel I originally booked did not allow me to stay there and I had to check out at 11am. As such, I requested for an early check-in. However, please note that if you request for early check-in or late check-out, you will have to pay extra. Initially, it was indicated to me that the cost would be 15,000 KRW each which I paid but then the host asked for extra payment and I ended up paying about 60,000 KRW for early check-in at 1pm and late check-out at 1pm. I also made a mistake of missing my check-out time (this is admittedly my fault as I mistakenly thought the check-out time was 2pm) and I apologised to the host and explained that I was stuck in traffic and she simply said “It's the weekend, so of course the road is closed. You have to pay an extra fee.” I don’t think foreigners would know that on weekends, the road is closed in Seoul, at least I didn’t. So in the end, I checked out at 140pm (40 minutes late) and was asked to pay an additional 33,000 KRW. In total, I paid an additional 93,000 KRW on top of the standard accommodation cost (which was 772,800 KRW for 5 nights).

The host also informed me that if I do not separate the trash / recyclables properly, I will need to pay extra.

Essentially, be prepared to make extra payments for any additional requests or things that you may not be aware of as a foreigner and the host will not be sympathetic towards you at all.

The price of the stay is also more expensive than the hotel I originally booked (i.e. Hotel28 Myeongdong) even though the stay at the hotel was much more comfortable with way better service and a convenient location in Myeongdong. For comparison, the apartment costed 772,800 KRW for 5 nights (about $170 per night) while a night at the hotel costed about $140.

I would only recommend this place if you have no choice and are placed under quarantine as many places in Seoul don’t allow for quarantine stays. Personally, I will not choose to stay here the next time I am in Seoul.