Review: Four Seasons House (Seoul)

Name: Four Seasons House
Address: 39-5, World Cup-ro 5-gil, Mapo-gu, Mapo-Gu, 121-885 Seoul, South Korea
Website: Booking.com

I spent 3 nights at Four Seasons House when I was in Seoul this april and this is my short review of the place.

 

Room & Bed

The rooms are very simply furnished with just bed frames and a dustbin. There are some hooks for you to hang your coat but that’s about it. Big luggages might have a bit of problem inside the room. The beds are nothing to rave about. A pillow and a soft blanket is given to each bed. The size of the bed is a regular single and creaks slightly when you move. 
Free toilet is available for use.
 

Toilet / shower room

The toilets are nestled with the shower rooms. So going to toilet can be a messy business because the floors are almost always wet. Because there is no staff stationed there, I found the toilets to be pretty dirty most of the time. The toiletries are only available in the bottom level but where I was staying (level 2), there weren't any (they were empty) and I was pretty disappointed.  
 

Cleanliness

Cleanliness was mostly subpar, with exception of the common room. There were a lot of dust on the floor and the toilets look very dirty by the end of the day.
I stayed in a 4 bed dormitory with a few ladies. They checked out a day before me and left a lot of rubbish behind and the rubbishs stayed until I check out. The floors were almost always dusty, but at the very least, slippers were given to wear. 
 

Location

A waking distance of roughly 5-8 mins from the Hapjeong train station. Finding the hostel can be a little difficult as it is well nestled amongst the housing estates and you need to go through a really dark alley to reach it. Henceforth the journey back can be a little creepy at night. 
Hapjeong train station is slightly out of Central Seoul (Seoul subway map) and getting around might require more train transfers. Since the area seemed to be a Neighbourhood district, there are a few eateries, convenience stores and food vans. I didn't have any luck with the restaurants there as they didn't have any English menu and I was usually too drained by the end of the day to play a game of charade. There was a fried chicken and beer pub around the hostel but they only sold their chickens in bulk of 1/2 kg. So I spent many nights just eating instant noodles though I bought some Toppoki (rice cakes) from a food van on the first night. 
 

 
There is a quaint shop around the corner that sells artistic merchandises such as art books and accessories. 
 

 
The underground stores around the train station is pretty cool too. They have beauty franchises like The Face Shop and Nature Republic along with fashion and footwear stores. I picked up a few bargains there myself. Check out my Korea fashion loot blog entry to see what I bought. Inside the train station was even a store that sold 2000 Won clothings! 
 
 

Price

I paid KRW33,000 for 3 nights which is roughly SGD$14.60 per night. Definitely a very good value for money. But you have to be realistic about your expectations.
 
 

Conclusion

Overall, the place isn't too bad, the deco of the place makes you feel happy and cozy. Entering is via electronic locks so there are no curfews.
There are no staffs on site so getting help, travel advice or even toilet papers can be difficult. The communal area on level 2 is spacious and has cooking equipments but there are no sofa or chairs to relax on. To eat my instant noodles , I had to sit down on a short cabinet.
The price and distance to a subway station are highly valuable factors in selecting a hostel but I probably wouldn’t return to the hostel again if I could help it.

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I use Booking.com to book pretty much all my hostels and Hotel stays the past year or so. I've stuck with them because their website is simple, intuitive and highly intelligent, If you download the app on your smartphone, all your hotel information instantly syncs to it and you have all you need to know (maps, directions, agreed price, booking number etc) at the tip of your fingers. It is super useful for long trips as you can book and store all your accommodation information in a single place.

* Just a disclaimer, I earn some commission when you book via the search engine below. It wouldn't come from you but from Booking.com & the hostee. I would really appreciate it if you do though, as it's a nice way to fund all these unbiased reviews and travel tips. But if you don't want to, of course I won't (be able to) force you to haha. Enjoy travelling!


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