Kensington Resort Chungju

We were at this resort for 5 days and 4 nights in May 2014. The hotel was located in quite a remote region of S.Korea. Getting to this place was not easy. We had rented a car from Avis and an English GPS to get here. It is important to note that you should be careful with the English GPS rental in Korea, the GPS we rented was prone hanging which caused us to miss a few crucial turns along the highway, my suggestion is to constantly monitor the GPS and restart it everytime it starts to hang. The drive from Incheon International Airport to the hotel took about 2 hrs plus. The resort is situated at the top of a hill with a large winding road leading up to it. There was a kitchen, a bedroom, a living room and a dining area in the resort room. We had 4 adults living in there and I felt that there were ample space. However, there is only 1 queen size bed for 2 adults and the other two had to sleep on the floor on korean bedding mattresses (kindly note). We didnt eat in the restaurant at the hotel but we saw a signage showing that they had one. There was a convenience store (C&U) for any last minute purchases that you might require. We used the resort as a base and drove around to other places of attraction in Korea (i.e. Danyang- Gosu Caves, Jeonju- Roman Catholic Cathedral; Hanok Village, Chuncheon - Namiseon Island, Chungju - Mount Songnisan) Due to its remoteness, you need to spend some time on the road to get to this places. The longest being about 3.5 hrs to Jeonju. Being from a small city state, this took some getting use to ;) Staff at this hotel was generally helpful with limited abilities in English, be prepared with some basic translations or Korean words of the places you want to go should you have any questions. bests

As a RCI member, we exchanged to stay at Kensington Resort Chungju for seven nights during 26 April – 3 May 2013. The resort is located about 100 km from Seoul, and about 30 km from Chungju. We arrived to Incheon International Airport about 5.00 PM on Friday April 26, then we rent a car with an English navigation from AVIS. If you planned to stay at this resort, I strongly suggested you to rent a car. Our family, we cannot speak Korean AT ALL, but traveling in South Korea is possible. Korean people are nice and friendly. Driving in Korea (with English GPS) is not difficult. There are good signs and direction in both Korean and English. Everyday I drove about 70 – 100 km. to tourist destinations such as Everland, Korean Folk Village, Danyang, Nami Island, Beopjusa Temple and Songnisan National Park, and Seoul. My room at is resort is a one-bedroom suite, which is very big, clean, and comfortable. There is a queen-size bed in a bedroom, and a Korean-traditional bed type in a wordrope. So, enough bed for four people. There is no restaurant on site, but there is a convenience store (CU) at the B1 Floor. There are some local restaurants not far from the resort (unfortunately, we didn’t try). Kensington Resort Chungju is different from full-service hotels. There is no bailboy nor make-up room services. However, the room is much bigger, and more comfortable. In addition I would like to mention the lady staff at the lobby. They are so nice and lovely, and very helpful. Although their English may not be perfect, but quite good English. I asked for her help (especially to set destinations on my GPS) several times, and I am impressed with their willing to help and great service mind. In conclusions, my trip to South Korea is great. We have great time together, and Kensington Resort Chungju is a good base for our South Korea trip.