I used to enjoy hopping between different hotels during our vacations. It gave us a chance to experience different hospitality brands and explore different neighbourhoods.
The novelty of trying out new places comes at the expense of convenience though. We would have to pack up, check out, transport our luggage and then check into a new location after just a few days.
That process can become quite tiresome, and we find ourselves increasingly warming up to the idea of staying put in just one hotel.
Especially in cities that we’ve visited in the past, where we’re already quite familiar with and have a good idea of where to stay.
For Seoul, that home base for our future trips will be the Novotel Ambassador Seoul Dongdaemun Hotel & Residences (Google Maps, Naver Maps).
Booking & Pricing
During our previous stay in 2019, we booked a cosy 29 sqm Superior Room Queen. When we went back again for our recent vacation in May 2023, I chose a spacious 53 sqm Residence Deluxe Room King.
The room photos on the Novotel website looked really nice, and the long list of available facilities was quite impressive. It was effectively a serviced apartment that could be booked for short stays.
In addition to what you’d find in a typical hotel room, there was also a washer/dryer, small refrigerator, well-equipped kitchenette, induction stove top and microwave oven.
Five months before our check-in date, I booked a fully flexible rate with no prepayment required. After applying the standard Accor members app booking discount of 10%, our four night stay came up to ₩1,025,145 nett, inclusive of all fees and taxes.
At around ₩256,000 (S$256) per night, it was a very reasonable price given the size of the room and the amenities included. I think it helped that I booked it several months in advance, for a stay during the travel shoulder season.
Getting There
The easiest way to reach the hotel is by taxi, which is what we did coming from the Ryse Hotel in Hongdae. It only cost ₩15,000 and saved us the trouble of lugging our luggage while navigating the subway.
If you’re coming directly from Incheon Airport, grabbing a cab is also an option but it would expensive. Depending on traffic, the fare can range from ₩80,000 to ₩100,000 for the hour-long ride.
A much more cost-effective choice would be to take Airport Bus 6001. For ₩17,000 per adult (₩12,000 per child), it will ferry you straight from the terminal to almost outside the Novotel. Simply alight at the “Novotel Ambassador Seoul Dongdaemun / Euljiro Co-op” stop, which is less than 100m from the hotel entrance.
Because the route runs in a loop, the trip back to the airport starts from the very same Novotel bus stop, making it convenient and easy to remember. The bus fare can be paid using cash or by tapping your T-money card. Just make sure to have sufficient balance before boarding.
Location & Connectivity
First time visitors to Seoul will most likely choose to stay in Myeongdong, which is what we did during very first trip in 2016. Dongdaemun, despite being a famous destination for fashion shopping, is typically further down on the list.
One upside is that hotel rates tend to be lower than the more popular Myeongdong, Hongdae or City Hall. And given the excellent public transport system in Seoul, it’s as easily accessible as the other neighbourhoods.
Specifically, the Novotel is just a 4 minute walk away from Exit 12 of the Dongdaemun History & Culture Park subway station. Be careful not to confuse it with the Dongdaemun station one stop down, or be prepared for a substantially longer trek.
The station name is quite a mouthful, and it feels like a missed opportunity that it wasn’t renamed when the adjacent Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) opened in 2014.
It’s a striking piece of architecture, with a brushed aluminum exterior and smooth spaceship-like lines. The futuristic façade of the DDP makes it a natural venue for a continuous rotation of modern art installations.
Being an interchange station for Lines 2, 4 and 5, the connectivity of the Dongdaemun History & Culture Park subway station is unbeatable. Here are examples of stations you can reach directly without having to change trains:
- Line 2 (Green): City Hall, Hongik University (i.e. Hongdae), Gangnam
- Line 4 (Light Blue): Myeongdong, Seoul Station
- Line 5 (Purple): Jongno 3-ga, Gwanghwamun, Yeouido, Gimpo Airport
Residence Deluxe Room
Entering through the door felt like stepping into a well-furnished apartment. There was a dining table with comfortably padded chairs, and a large sofa complete with a coffee table and an ottoman.
To the left of the sofa was an induction stove and small sink. Pots, pans, crockery and cutlery could be found inside the cupboards, more than sufficient for whipping up a homecooked meal. For simple re-heating of takeaways or leftovers, a microwave was also provided.
We were tempted to buy a dozen fresh whole abalones from Lotte Mart, and use a frying pan to sauté them in butter. But since we were still struggling to visit all the restaurants on our list, that eventually didn’t happen. Next time perhaps.
What we did end up using was the large 8.0kg capacity Samsung washer/dryer. Printed English instructions were provided and Papago real-time image translation helped decipher the machine settings.
Having a washer/dryer opens up the possibility of travelling very light and packing less than half the clothes needed for a trip. Which frees up more space to haul back more souvenirs, snacks and groceries.
Bedroom
Photos on the hotel’s website showed a Studio layout a large combined space. Our room, on the other hand, was a 1-Bedroom configuration, with a door separating the living and sleeping areas.
Both blackout and day curtains were installed, allowing us to adjust the amount of natural light entering the room. A separate thermostat controlled the temperature and aircon setting for just the bedroom.
The bed itself was comfortable, with a relatively firm King-sized mattress that was to our liking. Unfortunately, the pillows were too soft and we had to stack two of them to achieve the right height.
One small inconvenience though was the tiny bedside shelf on both sides of the bed.
The entire left side was taken up by the smart home console, which was immediately unplugged and moved away. I know it’s an in-thing nowadays, but we still find it spooky that an AI is always listening.
On the other side sat the hotel landline, which also got unplugged and stashed to make space for my mobile phone and the TV remote.
Bathroom & Toilet
If you’re a bathtub person, then sorry, you’re out of luck. There’s only a shower stall available. So, leisurely bubble baths will not be possible.
Which was perfectly fine with us, since we prefer showering and find it awkward to do it standing in a tub. The area is roomy and the door does a relatively decent at keeping the outer floor area dry.
Fans of Japanese-style bidet toilets will be glad to know that one is installed. It seems more and more common to find it in higher-end Seoul hotels which, in my opinion, is a welcome development.
The bathroom is connected to both the bedroom and living room via two separate doors. This makes access more convenient regardless of where you’re entering from, but it did make the toilet seat placement a bit awkward.
Hotel Facilities
Front desk staff were professional and everyone we interacted with spoke fluent English. If you’re worried about the language barrier, it’s definitely not a concern at the Novotel Dongdaemun.
We didn’t make use of the common facilities, but the hotel has all the usual suspects including a restaurant, bars, fitness centre and two pools (indoor & outdoor). For a more detailed list, the official hotel website is the best source of information.
Our 2019 room rate included breakfast at the hotel restaurant, and I recall it being quite impressive. It had extensive Korean and Western options, including many hot food sections serving dishes like bulgogi and freshly-made omelettes.
For our recent stay, we opted not to include the hotel breakfast in order to save precious stomach capacity for all the delicious K-food that we had planned to eat. All we had was black pour over coffee and small bites like rice cakes or roasted sweet potatoes.
Until Next Time
The ten day vacation we had was great. One big contributing factor was having a comfortable place to come back to, after long and continuous days of walking, eating and sightseeing.
We’re not night owls and don’t stay out late anymore. So, a nice home-away-from-home to spend our nights relaxing definitely enhanced the travel experience.
Judging from the frequency of our past trips to Seoul, our next flight there is likely going to be in 2025. No prizes for guessing where we’ll be staying then.
