CMS-Inn Seoul

I don't understand why this place has 4.9 stars, it was a dump don't waste your time or money. This place was not "cozy" or "comfortable" or "clean" You walk down an alley next to the subway to find the place, then you inside the "front door" you are greated with a sign telling you that you have to leave your bags at the elevator then go up to reception to check-in. The elevator stops between floors so either way you have to climb a flight of stairs to get to your floor, it's also a tiny elevator along with the building itself. The room was super small, a bed and two cabinets for clothes. No other furniture to sit on and the bed was two twin beds pushed together, not to mention it's basically like sleeping on a soft marble floor, also our bed was clearly not washed after the last guest as it was dirty. Speaking of the floor... You aren't supposed to wear your shoes into the room, in fact there is a small entry floor that's lower than the regular floor in order to take off your shoes. The floors are heated and the only way to control them is using the Rinai water heater controller which controls the shower too so you have to be careful when you need to take a shower as it might be cold.. The towels they provided were basically wash cloths, you had to go to the front desk and ask for larger towels, also they stunk. They weren't fresh and clean either, like the rest of the room. The bathroom was also small and doubled as the shower, so plus one start for being able to go to the bathroom and shower at the same time, however be careful not to get your toilet paper wet!! I would say the bathroom and toilet were the cleanest part, only because i turned the water up very very hot and wash everything down. Other things to consider, we stayed with another couple and their room was next to ours at the end but we learned quickly that because the building and hallway are so small you can't open both doors at the same time... plus each door has a foot stop so imagine your neighbor opens their door and puts the foot-stop down and forgets... your trapped! They did provide a dental kit and soap, along with a used bar of soap from the previous tenant/guest (which verifies the above statement about the bed not being cleaned) Also you are responsible for leaving your towels in a small tub at the end of the hallway along with your own trash, I just left that in my room since they never bothers to clean the bed, then you have to go to the front desk and request more "clean" towels. Each room has it's own 20" flatscreen TV, so that's a plus. 20" ain't much but when you are only 4 feet away from the TV it doesn't matter. I found the room also had a distinct odor, which sometimes got better or worse depending on if I left the window open or not so I left it open most of the time, which became an issue as at around 3:00am as I was tossing and turning on the concrete bed, I was serenaded by the alley cats whaling for many hours. They provide wireless in every room, literally... Every room has it's own wireless access point under the bed. I don't like the idea of sleeping that close to a wireless access point so I unplugged mine. I would say the highlights of this "hotel" were that the staff was friendly and helpful and spoke english well. Also they allowed us to "take over" the lounge are to watch TV and even turned off the music for us, like I said the staff were very friendly. The other bonus was the price, $30-$40/night.. For that price it's no wonder how awful this place is to stay. Check was easy, basically you put your room card (just a business card with your room # and door code) in a basket and leave. Which I'm pretty sure they don't change the door code after each guest... which is pretty scary in my opinion I included pictures of the room and lobby to show that I actually DID stay at this dump for two nights!

Would not recommend, the room was small and smelled a bit but during our week’s stay we received very bad service from the staff. Not only were they not polite and helpful, the staff and hotel manager was rude and one of the staff was even drunk laying in the lobby. Definitely would not recommend this hotel to anyone, not worth the price at all

Take a subway to Hoegi station and head to exit 1 (turn left from the gate), turn left once outside the station building, walk straight till you see Benikea Hotel sign then turn left, the hotel is right on the corner of the alley. Though it is ran by a family, I enjoyed my stay in the hotel. The family speaks some English and really helpful. Breakfast is from 8-10, consisted of fresh bread, cereal, instant ramyeon, eggs, and various drinks. You can leave your luggage temporarily so it is possible to have a brief sightseeing after check out. There is also umbrella rental, washing machine, and hanbok rental. Toiletries are available by the hotel as well as a couple bottled water inside refrigerator. Do remember to close all window (included small window in the bathroom) since it can be noisy at night (the hotel is close by food hawkers and restaurants so it is no surprise that there would be drunk people). Sleeping on higher floor (5-7 floor) is not recommended since wifi signal got weakened. You do not need a room key since it is secured by a pass code given to you by the time you check in