Unlike previous arrangements for free and easy travel, i was not actively involved in the selection of accommodation in the recent South Korea trip; my younger sister had the full control as the sponsor!
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Beggars can't be choosers but knowing my younger sister, the hotel she booked should not be too bad as she is pickier than me when it comes to sleeping! Hence, let me introduce to you the four-star Hotel Manu!
Since the first night was for transit as we would be departing for Jeju Island the next day, i shall touch on the room that was assigned to us when we returned back to Seoul for two nights. In all honesty, i prefer the cozier "corner suite" over the tighter "triple room".
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The above would be the corner suite; size is the same as triple room at 28 square meters although the layout appeared to give us a sense of more space. I have no idea why they add in another single bed since there are only three of us! We not that fat what!
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Basic room amenities; flat screen TV (Korean brand of course) which we didn't even both switching on, electric kettle for my three in one Old Town white coffee, a mini fridge that had three bottles of mineral water, safe for our valuables, slippers etc. In addition to the aforementioned, you can also find bathrobes and extra pillows in the closet!
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3-pin plug!!! USB charger!!! Essential for our contemporary lifestyle involving loads of electronic gadgets! The standard power socket in Korea has a weird design that may not be suitable even with an international power adapter; therefore, i am really happy to see the above!
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A unique feature of the hotel is actually the jutted out windows which provides the hotel with a very artistic facade; if you thought they are merely for decoration and serve no other purpose, you are so wrong.
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My sister used it as a little space to drink her morning coffee and people-watch! I am not sure if the enclosed platform can take a human weight but since there wasn't any notice warning guests not to do so, we figured it would be safe.
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The heart skipped quite a few beats when i chanced upon this box later! Upon reading the text (which was thankfully in English), it seemed to be a mechanism for guests to escape from the windows if there is an emergency like fire.
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Now let's talk a look at the bathroom. There was a bathtub, unavailable in the triple room we stayed in, and a toilet bowl with bidet functions!
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*love* i really miss my toilet with the non-electronic bidet whenever i am overseas! Nothing beats the satisfaction of clean water washing my asshole!
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Bathroom amenities; besides the common shower gel, shampoo, lotion conditioner, long-haired individuals might also be pleased to note that it came equipped with a hair dryer.
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Louise is a gym fanatic - from my understanding, one of her priorities for selecting a hotel is the availability of a gymnasium! Though small, the gym in Hotel Manu had quite a good selection of equipment.
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I had a fun time using them and am seriously contemplating signing up for a gym membership to tone my body and get the abs that i have always wanted!
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An ironing room is located right next to the gym. Those who could not stand using conventional iron can also opt for the clothes steamer.
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Two laptops and local newspapers (only one was in English) were available at the hotel lobby for us to surf the web and read the local news respectively. For those who are using the hotel as a transit like we did, you can leave your heavier luggage with the hotel and bring along a lighter one.
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In our case; as our flight home was at midnight, we also left our entire luggage with the hotel upon checking out at 12 noon and returned to collect them at around 7.30pm.
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For a four-star hotel, i would have expected marvelous service from all counter staff. Sadly, there was hardly any smile in our three-night stay except for the lady on the last day who was extremely helpful to our request.
To add insult to the counter staff, the housekeeping staff were the ones who would cheerfully greet us at the start of each day; to which we responded with an equally great smile and a chirpy "annyeonghaseyo".
Location
84-16, Namdaemunno 5ga, Jung-gu,
Myeong-dong / Namsan,
Seoul, South Korea
Map
As above. The recommended way was to take exit 4 or 7 from metro line 1 (dark blue); 4 has an elevator which is helpful if you have loads of luggage and 7, despite being the nearest to Hotel Manu, is known for being a sleeping area for the homeless after sunset.
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I have a better suggestion; walk directly from the main entrance of Lotte Outlets (Seoul Station) to the hotel! You can even see Hotel Manu from where i took the picture (which was also outside exit 1 of metro line 1). Only problem; rain.
Website
Additional Information
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Too much luggage? Ask for Kim's airport shuttle service! Information as above; i am not sure if the price would be cheaper if you contact Mr Kim directly via his email reservation@kimsshuttle.com.
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Manu Therapy Massage services for those who have time.