Banana Backpackers

Good cheap hostel - clean and located a short walk away from Sookmyung train station or a bit further to Seoul Station, which is useful if going on day trips to places outside Seoul. Had a private room on the first floor - it was clean and had window screen to keep the giant Korean mosquitoes out, though 1-2 always find their way in somehow anyway. Some minor gripes - the walls are quite thin and can hear both my neighbors' conversations, phone, and snoring. And the bathroom, although large relative to the room, is a bit weird with no shower curtain and no shelving or towel rack, despite a lot of space. Also agree with the previous reviewer that it's not really a bavckpacker's hostel - looking at the pictures on their web site and the (dated) floor plan showing the fire exit in my actual room, it looks like there used to be a lounge/common area, but this was converted into another room.

I stayed in this hostel during the (very cold) winter months on the second floor in a single room. Location: Near the women's subway station, about a ten minute walk. I personally thought the walk was easy and prefer to stay in a place that's a bit more quiet to have a good night's sleep. There are a ton of buses everywhere too. Room: Small but that's Korea's standard. It was fairly clean, minus the fact there was a hair on each pillow when I arrived and I asked for my sheets to be changed. Although I know it's likely to just get caught, I felt better changing the sheets. The private bathroom was clean as well, but a bit strange for western standards. I overall thought it was fine. Other considerations: - It was very cold and although they turn the heating at night (the floor) I was cold waking up at 6:30am to a tour. They did bring me a heater to my room and it made it cozy. - They charge you 10,000KRW to clean your room. I stayed 6 nights and they still wouldn't clean it even once for free. This is strange because I could've just made a separate booking and gotten the service for free. I mentioned this to the owner and he insisted that because of the price I should be fine paying for it. I think it's a bit of common sense to clean it after four days. - This is called a backpacker's place but it's really not. You don't really have a place to meet people in the hostel as there is no meeting space and simply doesn't have that atmosphere. If that's what you're looking for, it's not the place for you. If you want to be left alone and do your thing, it's the right atmosphere. Overall, I did enjoy my stay and would recommend it.

Overall, it was a good and clean hostel. The staff were helpful and they have a lot of tourist information for you, if you need. The bathroom were clean and the beds were comfortable enough. Note: It doesn't have elevators and the stairs are a bit steep and narrow. Be careful when you carry your luggages through the stairs.