Hostel Korea Original

First of all.... good luck for those who decided to book a room here. First of all, it won't be easy to find it. Only if you are really good with making routes. Then, when we arrived, the fun begins. The check-in machine wasn't working, and there were NO ONE on a registration board :). We waited for 10 minutes until some granny that doesn't speak English showed up. We explained our need with translator and she finally gave us a key... ...from an already occupied room :D Yes! That room was already occupied! Moreover, it was a room for women. For me as for a man it was really shameful to suddenly break in the room of a mother and her daughter. Even from here i could see that the rooms here are way worse than the photo show. Then we waited some more time until the english speaking admin came. For that time we also heared some more problems from its guests. At this point we were ready to ask for a refund. And after we were told that we can recieve our money back.... it was nothing :) No good placement No good personal No good rooms No much space No comfort No refund No reasons to stay here You can book this place only if you are masochist that wants to suffer.

Terrible place. Dirty, disorganized and it was difficult to find even with Google Maps. Some guy shows up at the front desk willy nilly based on my experiences. That's nothing, however. I would not trust the people who run this place. For example: I need wifi for my part-time assignments. Everybody needs wifi. Suddenly my wifi disappeared in my room. A guy tried telling me it was my computer - no, my computer was and is fine. Another guy told me the router was in a room recently occupied and "they must have done something to it". I was told I would just have to deal with not having wifi in my room. <--- Imagine them telling you that. Because that is what I was told. So I switched hostels immediately. I needed to keep doing various work-related assignments. My room was dank, ugly, had no real ventilation and I moved into a beautiful hostel for just a little more money. I then asked for a refund of the money for the period I was not in the room. Initially, I believe after Expedia contacted the guy, he e-mailed me and said I would get my money back. But then, nothing but silence. He went back on his word!!!!!! He was just playing with me? He's got problems? I don't know. What I do know is that I had a problem and 1) they did NOT help me resolve it and 2) they did not act honorably by refunding money when I had to leave. Sunrise Inn Dongdaemun is right around the corner from this place. Go there!!!! Cleaner, kinder, free and reliable wifi - good people!!!! I am concerned that if you go to Hostel Korea, your problems will not get fixed either, you will be forced to move and they will not have the integrity to give you the money back that you deserve. I just do not trust these people. They almost ruined my entire trip.

I've lived in better hostels than this for about the same price. I'm also not one to leave reviews, especially damning ones, but I really think this should serve as a warning to others. For reference, I booked the private room with an en suite bathroom. Location: It's a short walk to the main road but it's in a dark and quiet alley. It doesn't feel safe coming back late at night or leaving early in the morning before the sun rises. Cleanliness: I'm a very frequent traveller and this has got to be one of my worst experience ever. I'm not a picky traveller, and I can make do with hostels or 2 star hotels, but this place just makes me dread going back after a full day out. Luckily, I was only staying here for 2 nights. It was so bad that I was contemplating finding another accommodation but I decided to tolerate just 1 more night. The reception area is messy. We are expected to change out of our shoes and wear their slippers. Slippers that other people have worn. We don't get our own slippers. We pick one from the shoe rack. The room itself smells musty and there were so many moulds on the floor, the walls, the bedsheets, and the furniture. The bathroom has the worst smell of all and it makes me dread using it. Not only is it very smelly, but it's also very dirty and narrow (it's not even an arm's length). The sink is literally the size of your hand. Moving around the bathroom, especially while showering, is very challenging, and I'm a petite Asian girl. Neighbourhood: Even though the location doesn't feel safe, the neighbourhood as a whole is pretty good. Many convenience stores and eateries. Transport and airport shuttle is just a short walk too. Service: The front desk is nonexistent. They only have a phone which you have to call, and then someone will come to help check you in. Other than that, you don't see them. The lady who tended to me was nice so that's one positive thing about this place. Amenities: I didn't use the common space and laundry area so I can't comment on that. But I do notice they have an ironing board between floors 2 and 3. There's also no elevator so if you're carrying heavy luggage, there's a good amount of steps to climb. For the private room, we were given a table and chair and a pole with hangers to hang our clothes. No towel is provided but there was a hairdryer and body soap. There was a mini fridge too but I didn't open it or use it. The blanket is thick and warm enough but the pillow is so flat that it leaves me with a sore neck. Honestly, I don't even know if this place breaches and safety violations see how filthy it is. The filth is very evident in all the moulds and stench. I understand that this is a budget hostel but it's very rundown and I was questioning the whole time if this place can pass living condition inspections. I wouldn't recommend this place. Either find somewhere else or top up a bit of money and get a cheap hotel.