G’day all and here I am again with another patented ‘Accommodation Review’. I don’t know why I say that, honestly.

Today let me take you the place I stayed at in Busan back in May this year. It was called (and presumably still is) ‘Hotel Almond’, I paid roughly $80AUD for it or $53USD per night for this decent room a stone’s throw away from the Busan Train Station (with its sign ‘Busan is Good’). So location was excellent. I arrived in Busan as the rain tumbled down via ferry from Fukuoka, Japan. I found there was a covered walkway all the way to the train station from the ferry terminal, and then from the station it was less than 200 metres from the side exit.

It felt like a business hotel. Very simple reception area on the ground floor. Generally the reception staff were actually pretty cold I felt. I don’t know if that was because I’m a foreigner, or they hate their job, but after coming from Japan where everyone is bright and bubbly and there is a real emphasis on customer service, it was noticeable. As I spent more time in Korea, I didn’t feel that the disinterested treatment from the reception here was normal, people were friendly and warm on the whole, if more reserved than in Japan.

Actually I came back to the hotel in the evening on the first night after grabbing dinner and around the front door where dozens of little cards which appeared to be for escort services stuck to the glass. The receptionist didn’t care. So this may say something about the area of town or the hotel itself.

It describes itself as a three-star hotel “Korean Quality” – whatever that means. But yes I would say it’s a 3-star place to stay. The room was surprisingly spacious. There is even a small spot between the corridor and the room proper you can drop your shoes, like a small entrance hall. And then you come out to the main room. The washbasin is behind a glass wall from the bedroom, but not blocked off completely. The toilet is separate as is the bathroom itself.

The bed was big and comfortable. There’s a smart TV but it was all in Korean so I didn’t really use it. A small fridge, a small window. I was on the fifth floor – there was no fourth floor AT ALL. This is because the number four in parts of Asia is bad luck and you probably won’t see a building with a fourth floor anywhere in Korea.

The window as I said was small, and overlooks a carpark. There was quite a bit of noise floating up to the room overnight until around midnight, although it wasn’t too bad. There was a bit of a desk and a kettle and a choice of teas as well. I got good sleep on the big bed.

The bathroom though is the highlight. Actually, the shower wasn’t great, and there appeared to be a few repairs done which weren’t smoothed over. However, the bath was MASSIVE! It was like a small jacuzzi without the jets in there! It took time to fill, but you could almost do laps! Okay, maybe not laps… My main criticism of the bathroom is that they give you this disposable fibre towel thing which was small to dry yourself. Honestly you’re better off using the hand towels! I hadn’t seen that kind of thing in a hotel before and I have to be honest – I prefer me a proper towel. I actually thought they’d forgotten to pop one in my room and asked for a towel and they just gave me another fibre thingy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5ZQNOBxniQ

All in all, there were some quirks about this place. Negatives – towel situation, receptionists and noise. Positives – good WiFi, amazing bath, big comfy bed. For me the positives outweighed the negatives.

Andy’s Ratings:

Location : 5/5

Value for Money : 4/5

Service : 2/5

Noise : 2/5

Cleanliness : 3/5

Total: 16/25 [64/100]

Thanks for popping by! May the Journey Never End!