[Review] Finding accoms in Seoul
I realised I’ve never done a post recommending Airbnb before, even though I’ve used it a lot. Previously, I wrote a post on really cheap hostels in Seoul, though prices may have changed by now. This post is just a review of some of the good Airbnb places I’ve stayed at and in case you decide to stay at an Airbnb place, you can use my Airbnb referral link too.
Staying in Gangnam, Garosugil (currently SGD77/night for 2)
Among the many different hostels I’ve stayed at previously, I really liked this room that I found through Airbnb the best. This is a double room with a toilet and mini-kitchen and TV and aircon and fridge and washing machine like omg. It’s really as spacious as the photos looked and my friend and I even invited our bfs over for dinner. Yes! We finally decided to go down to Lotte Mart at Seoul Station and bought stuff to cook. (The only problem with Gangnam is that the big supermarkets are kind of far away -.- There’s a minimart just downstairs though.) Well, we cooked the pasta and veggies, but bought the pre-roasted chicken just to play safe. There’s a microwave oven too anyway. Like every single important thing you need is available, I’m serious.
It’s in one of the small alleys that branch out from Garosugil, Gangnam’s famous trendy/fashion street. Lots of cool cafes, brands, etc. IU’s sony gallery was on the street too, like I was just walking down the street and BAM! hello IU~ Currently, there’s a Line pop-up store there as well for those who like Line Friends.
The nearest station is Sinsa Station, which is 23 mins away from Seoul Station (subway map), so it’s not too bad, from Incheon Airport, you can just transfer at Seoul Station, then Chungmuro Station.
Staying at Hoehyeon Station (currently SGD 62/night for 2)
At first, you must be wondering, what’s Hoehyeon Station? Well actually it’s the station in between Seoul Station and Myeongdong Station, so you can get to the airport quickly (to see IU leaving/arriving lol no i’m just kidding) or go shopping easily, but this neighbourhood isn’t as noisy/crowded at night.
Similar to the room above, this one had a private toilet, mini-kitchen, fridge, TV, washing machine, but it’s a single bed with an additional roll-out bed. (When the bed is rolled out, you can’t open the washing machine.) I really like having the mini-kitchen with pots and pans and not just an electric kettle lol. Anyway, this room is a lot smaller and more cramped obviously, but the subway station is really near.
I also realised that if you go into the subway station and come out of the other side, you end up at Shinsegae Department Store omgg! Random yummy and pretty cakes (like that piggy cupcake that IU posted) and there’s.. Gong Cha bubble tea? lol. You can takeout lots of yummy pre-cooked stuff too. We bought back a bottle of wine and some pre-cooked ribs and tada! Christmas dinner settled. The department store closes pretty early though (about 8pm).
Final comments
Usually the Airbnb hosts are really nice and send you maps and directions and even instructions on how to use the washing machine lol! (cos it’s all in Korean) Do give them an estimate of your arrival time so they will be ready and waiting for you. It’s helpful to buy a Korean sim card to contact the host in case you get lost finding the place. I usually order the EG Sim Card online and collect it at Incheon Airport, cos you get a Korean phone number that you can actually top-up and reuse within a year. That sums up my (hopefully not too wordy) post on Seoul accoms. Do check out other rooms on Airbnb, but I think it’s more worth it if you’re sharing a room, cos the price usually doesn’t change when you add a person lol.
One other important reason why I use Airbnb is that there are often OCBC/DBS credit card discounts for me, so remember to check for any coupon codes you can use. Anyway, if you do decide to use Airbnb, do use my referral link #shamelessplugging Thanks! ^__^