Monai GuestHouse

I stayed in Monai Guesthouse for a few weeks from December 2015 until January 2016. It is very conveniently located near the No.2 subway line, providing easy access to all areas of Seoul and popular shopping and tourist attractions like Hongdae, Dongdaemun and the 63 city observatory. Other places of interest are only ever a short subway trip away. The management is extremely helpful and welcoming, and the rooms provide value for money being in downtown Seoul. Staff are more than happy to assist with booking tours, providing directions / suggestions, ordering food or anything else to make your stay an enjoyable and hassle-free one. Joseph also has a good standard of English, making it a breeze for business travelers. Rooms are always clean and all the necessary facilities for a longer stay are available: laundry, internet, luggage storage and other services. I can strongly recommend this guesthouse, as it really does feel like a home away from home. I would be happy to stay there again, either short or long-term.

It is super close to the Dangsan station (lines 2 & 9). Its a quick 2 stop ride from Hongik University/ Hongdae. It made it very simple to travel all over Seoul. Joseph is a great host who did everything to help us during our stay. I'm so happy that I found this guest house it has made our month long trip more enjoyable being here at the Monai! I will be coming back here again when I come back to Seoul! I can not praise this place highly enough.

Joseph, our host, is always around to assist us with our needs. He helped us booked our DMZ tour, he helped us do our airline web check-in (and printed boarding passes) and always around when we need extra things (extra towels, bedroom slippers, hangers and metal rack for our laundry). He also helped to keep our baggage in the guesthouse when we traveled out of Seoul for 2 nights. When you are not visiting places, sit with him at the 'lobby area' over cup of tea/coffee and you may be surprised to get travel info that you'll not get from travel books. He told us short-cut travelling by subway from guesthouse to Myeongdong and from guesthouse to Times Square. If you follow the subway apps, it shows you a long route, with transfers (apps claimed that it is the fastest route). The short-cut route are also not mentioned in KTO website. Guesthouse is extremely clean. The Deluxe Family Room has a TV, small fridge, hair dyer, wall mirror, shelving unit, a round table and a chair, a double decker bed and another single bed. The downside is room is small. During our stay, we kept our luggage bags under the bed. That saves us a lot of space. The toilet is very big. It has a bathtub. There is a free flow of hot and cold water from water dispenser at the 'lobby area' on the ground floor. Packets of tea and coffee is always available in the basket for guest. There is a small area for cooking and laundry at level 3. Guesthouse is very near Exit 13 Dangsan Station Line 9 and Exit 1 Dangsan Station Line 2. If you take the Airport Limo service, please alight at Line 2 Dangsan station bus stop (not Line 9 Dangsan station bus stop). We alighted at the wrong Dangsan station bus stop and had to walk quite a distance to guesthouse. Sit on the right side of bus and look out for McDonalds at a junction. Alight at bus stop after you see McDonalds. Bus stop is also near a Fire House. The other point to note is guesthouse is within the Yeongdeungpo area - south of Hangang and on the western part of Seoul. Area is not as busy as Hongdae/Sinchon/Edae area nor Myeongdong area, but there are still many people and road side activities at night. Walking from Dangsan station to guesthouse at night is also bright (take via main road). Travelling to various places are also easy as guesthouse is very near both Line 2 and Line 9. Line 2: Direct to Hongdae/Sinchon/Edae area, City Hall, Myeongdong (alight at Euljiro 1(il)-ga station. Direct to Times Square (Mullae station) Direct to Dongdaemun (Dongdaemun History & Culture Park station) Easy transfer at Euljiro 3(sam)-ga to go to Anguk (Insadong) and palaces. Line 9: Direct to KBS, IFC mall, Noryangjin Fish market, Express Bus Terminal.