Hey guys! I'm back from Seoul trip and i can't wait to travel back to Seoul again.
If you are planning to book an AirBnb as your accommodation in Seoul and you are planning to stay around Myeongdong or Chungmuro area,
THIS IS THE POST YOU MUST READ FIRST!
Okay, so background story first. Warning, this will be a semi rant and semi warning post. I don't usually do this.
After hearing many great reviews and comments about the service and accommodation by AirBnb from friends, i decided to stay in an AirBnb for our Seoul trip for the first time ever! Honestly, i was very excited about the trip and meeting my host! I'm sure you have heard of how a wonderful experience you will get by staying in an AirBnb. You'll have a host who is a local and they will usually take care of you by giving some tips and know-how in their city unlike a hotel stay whereby everything is pretty standard.
With every good side, there is definitely an unpleasant side of it. Of course, the unpleasant side is not coming from AirBnb platform. Sometimes just sometimes, your host aren't going to be what you imagine.
And guess what, i just happen to be the unlucky one or maybe i had high expectation of the host and the apartment. You judge for yourself. Just a disclaimer, this is totally my side of story and is my own personal experience. You might or might not agree with me.
I went on AirBnb website to search for a place that is preferably near Myeongdong. After some research, i thought it would be the best to stay near Chungmuro Station.
Chungmuro Station is just one station away from Myeongdong Station. It fits the bill as we wanted to stay in an area that is near to the shopping district but yet has a relatively quiet neighborhood. Most importantly, Chungmuro Station is located in between Line 3 and Line 4, which makes it much easier to travel to other places.
I eventually selected Namsan studio #h - Free egg wifi due to it's location and apparently the host and apartment had many great reviews.
Address:
49 Chungmuro 3(sam)-ga Myeongdong
Jung-gu, Seoul 100-013
South Korea
서울시 중구 충무로 3가 49
I noticed that Airbnb usually only provides the English version of the apartment address. So do get the Korean version of the address from your host. It's always good to have the address written down in their local language when you are travelling overseas.
The host of the apartment is Charlie and apparently he has quite a few apartment listing located at the same building under his profile on AirBnb. We communicated via the AirBnb message function. Charlie's English is perfect and replied all our questions promptly. So communication is no problem at all.
In order to get to his apartment, Charlie recommended us to take the airport limousine bus, #6015 from Incheon Airport and drop off at 'T-Mark Hotel'. Charlie also offered to pick us up at the bus stop so that we do not need to find the apartment on our own.
We just need to send him a message once we have arrived at the airport and inform him of the car plate number of the limousine bus for him to keep track of the bus and be in time to fetch us from the bus stop.
p/s photos posted are not of the best quality. I just snapped with my iPhone and it was our third day there when i took these photos so the apartment is really messy!
The apartment we booked has 2 queen-sized beds, 1 sofa bed and it can accommodate up to 6 pax. I would say that the apartment looks exactly like the listing picture, however i feel that it is more suitable for 4 - 5 pax only. With open luggage, the apartment can be quite small and there will not be much space to walk around.
Amenities available
- 42inch led HDTV
- Pocket-wifi router(egg)
- 10,000 watt power bank for mobile devices
- Nescafe barista coffee machine
- Towels
- Shampoo, rinse and body wash
- Built-in wardrobe and wooden hanger
- Built-in refrigerator
- Built-in washing machine
- Detergent
- Memo-pad and pens
- Universal plug adapter (4EA)
- Vacuum machine
- Hair drier
- Kitchen supplies
- Iron and iron board
As listed, the apartment provides modern appliances for our use. Most of the items listed was provided except for the 10,000 watt power bank. Not much of a problem at all, i'm sure every tourists will be armed with their own power bank.
The entrance of the apartment was actually quite narrow, but there's an auto lighting sensor at the entrance area. So once you enter the apartment, the lights will turn on automatically. Really loves this concept!! Just leave your shoes there and change into the home slipper provided. Oh ya, there's also a huge mirror on the wall beside the entrance walkway. Check your outfit for the day and off you go!
#koreandrama
Technology can be seen everywhere in Seoul! From the apartment door locking system to the lights control and aircon control.
Honestly, the lighting system can be quite confusing to use and it does take a while to get used to it.
The apartment door locking system is set by a pin code and inside the apartment, there's a electric screen and system for you to allow access or deny entry for anyone who rings your doorbell. For security reasons, Charlie specifically mentioned not to open doors to anyone and we can just ignore this.
Now, what i want to highlight is that security was a huge huge concern for us. Not sure if Charlie forgot to teach us how to lock the door or what. All the while, we thought we lock the apartment doors but in actual fact we found out on the second last day of our stay there that we did not actually locked the door, we only triggered the security alarm of the door so that when anyone open the door from outside the security alarm will ring. That was really horrifying, to think that we have been sleeping without our doors locked.
Because we visited Seoul during Winter, Charlie pre-set the room temperature for us and made sure that the room temperature was okay for us. So we didn't need to touch the air-con controls at all.
Guess a lot of other guests were like us, it rained during our 4th day and we had to buy an umbrella along the way. I assumed that they wanted to lessen the trouble of bringing it back to their country so they just left it there.
We found the sticky roll inside the cupboard and so we used it for our clothing since wearing knit clothing tend to shed and stick onto our jeans and jackets.
Home slippers, air fresher, vacuum cleaner and ironing board found inside the cupboard as well.
We used the empty cupboard to place our bulky winter jackets.
Don't worry if you have more than 4 pax staying in the same apartment as extra blankets were provided.
The very small and messy dining table
Since we are staying in an apartment, the TV provided only has their local Korean channels. No cable channels, but it's okay! We managed to catch Yoo Hee Yeol's Sketchbook and Superman Returns there! #seoenseojunahhhhh
Extension cord and universal plug adapter was provided as well. Definitely a plus point, we can charge all of our phones and power banks at the same time.
Below the TV, there's a set of open cupboard to store our things as well.
Standard hair dryer is also provided for our daily use.
Some simple memo pad, pen and a nail clipper. Didn't use it at all.
We found books on recommending some of the attractions in Seoul.
Charlie also provided us with a Wifi egg and we can bring it out for our use. However, the battery do runs out very fast. I would recommend to get the SIM card for data usage at Incheon Airport if you prefer to have stable data connection wherever you go. I got the 7 days data only SIM card from Incheon Airport so in the end, we didn't even bother to bring the Wifi egg out.
This weird looking thing is actually a bluetooth speaker. Charlie just mentioned that we can use it, just turn down the volume at night as the walls are not really sound proof. I can always hear the group of noisy girls staying next to our apartment late at night.
Thank god, the apartment has a Nescafe barista coffee machine and we used the machine everyday for our caffeine fix! But no worries if you are a huge coffee drinker like me, Seoul has one of the highest amount coffee shops in a city around the world! Everywhere you go, there's bound to have a coffee shop for a quick caffeine fix!
Brown sugar cubes were provided as well. My mother loves this so much and we found it in Lotte Department Store!
I absolutely loves how Seoul have such high technology electric appliances. Charlie taught us how to use the water dispenser for daily cold drinking water.
We didn't bother to use the built-in electric induction cooker at all since it was so dirty when we first entered the apartment. Charlie didn't bother to teach us how to use it as well. Guess not many people used it anyway. We either ate out or have takeaway almost everyday.
Standard hot water dispenser was also provided. Just remember to wash it thoroughly with hot water once before using it.
Remember to do your part by washing up your dirty dishes and cups after using and air it dry.
I gotta say i really love their built-in fridge concept. Due to space constraints, the built-in concept for most of their electric appliances keeps it hidden and most importantly, the overall design looks so nice!
Knowing that there's a washing machine and dryer in the apartment, we had plans to wash our clothes and got Charlie to teach us how to use it. But do note that the dryer is not really a dryer at all. Your clothes will still be wet and you got to air them out beforehand.
I washed all of my jeans and i woke up with wet jeans. ): In the end, i had to wear the semi-wet jeans out in the cold winter.
Honestly scared to use those pans. Didn't bother to open that cupboard anymore.
The plus points for staying in an apartment instead of a hotel is that there will always be cutlery provided. We had cup noodles or takeaways sometimes and the cutlery definitely comes in handy.
Washing detergent and softener was also provided. When we first entered the apartment, Charlie forgot and had to head back to his own apartment to get it for us.
Not sure if it's because of the winter weather, the air inside the apartment always felt really dry. So we figured out how to use the air humidifier on our own and have it turned on all the time.
These super cute LINE characters kept us company during our stay! Sorry, i'm not really into LINE characters so i don't know the names~
Now, let me share about my actual experience.
I do not recommend staying with Charlie at all. Honestly disappointed.
1. Although Charlie's English is perfect and communication via the AirBnb app was not a problem, i felt that he was very rude and inconsiderate to his guest due to various encounters we had with him. It was really unpleasant and it was unexpected.
First Incident:
It was our first day at Seoul and we just stepped out of the airport limousine bus and was picking up our luggage from the bus. Charlie greeted me and waited for us to be ready and we walked to his apartment together.
As my parents are quite old and had their own luggage to carry, they tend to walk slower than us. As Charlie and myself was walking in front, he pointed out the key places for me to take note, for example the Chunmuro Exit 6 and the route to walk to Myeongdong. I suddenly realized that we were walking too fast for my parents to catch up with us and i had to call him out to ask him nicely to wait for my parents.
However, it seems to me that he was in a rush or something? I mean as the host, it's not that hard to walk slightly slower to match the pace of everyone in the group right? Nevertheless, he continued walking in front with me and i had to leave my sister behind for her to make sure that my parents catch up with us and are in sight.
I should have foreseen this first encounter as a warning. urgh
Second Incident:
We reached Charlie's apartment shortly.
As we arrived early, Charlie informed us that the apartment was not cleaned yet and he was kind enough to let us to deposit our luggage inside the apartment so that we do not need to carry it around. Charlie advised us to tour around the city first and he will inform us once the apartment is ready. To gauge our timing, I asked him roughly by what time will the apartment be ready and he mentioned at around 3:00pm. And so we left our luggage and went to Myeongdong since it was nearby.
Before we left, we agreed to meet at Chungmuro Station Exit 6 once the apartment is ready. Nevertheless, we said that if there's anything that came up, we can contact each other using the AirBnb app.
Now, beside the apartment, there's an alley and he mentioned that we can walk straight up to reach Myeongdong. See image above for clearer picture.
So we decided to follow his route and walked to Myeongdong while waiting for the apartment to be ready.
Charlie messaged us at around 2:00pm plus, saying that the apartment is ready. I replied saying that we are walking and is on the way back already. Not familiar with Seoul yet, we walked back to the apartment, using the exact same path we took and by this time my parents were already tired.
So we requested and asked Charlie if we could meet him back at the lobby of the apartment instead. However, he just replied that he would prefer to meet us at Chungmuro Station Exit 6.
Initially, we thought it was very weird, he did not provide any reason at all and we were wondering why he insisted on meeting us at Exit 6. In consideration of our parents, we made the decision to leave our parents at the lobby of the apartment while my sister and i head to Exit 6 to meet Charlie. It's not really logical for us to pass by the apartment and walked backwards to exit 6 and walked back to the apartment again.
Since my dad was the only one who had the sims card with data, my sister and i had no data connection at all because we got separated. I tried to send a message to Charlie, telling him that we will be reaching Exit 6 soon, but i did not notice that the message did not went through. Now, that was my mistake. Nevertheless, we waited at Exit 6 and naturally we could not find him there.
Feeling a little frustrated, we decided to walk back to the apartment again. Once we met up with my parents, we had wifi connection again. So i sent Charlie a message saying that we are back to the lobby of the apartment since we could not find him at Exit 6 and he just replied asking us to stay there.
At this point, my sister was already very pissed off with his attitude and she said that she wanted to ask him exactly why he wanted us to wait at Exit 6 because he did not give us any reason.
Once we met him, my sister straight away asked him why, and guess what he replied?! "I will tell you and explain to you why later". I'm like WTF. helllo, we are your guests. What's so difficult in telling us the reason why. Furthermore, he said in a very unfriendly tone that i was the one who replied him saying that we are walking back but did not state when we are reaching and he cannot be waiting in the cold just for us. Okay, this i admit that i should have said clearly how long we are reaching. We tried to explained that it's because we got separated and we had no wifi connection to inform him in time. But at this point of time, we are already very pissed off by his attitude and didn't bothered to talk to him at all.
2. Tourist Police Issue
First Incident:
After explaining the dos and dos for the apartment, Charlie went on to explain the reason why he wanted us to meet at Exit 6 instead of the lobby of the apartment. So apparently hosting apartment out via AirBnb is illegal in South Korea. And the main reason was that tourist police tends to visit the building we are staying at and thus he requested that we do not talk about AirBnb should the tourist police happen to see us and questions us.
We were thinking, okay, then if he is so scared we happen to meet the tourist police at the lobby of the apartment, you should have told us earlier before we left to Myeongdong right.
Second Incident:
Now, this is what really pissed me off. The first few days, i told myself that we are still in Seoul and it's best not to piss our host off. Who knows what he could have done to us, judging by his attitude.
On day 4, I just did not expect Charlie to try to 'stop' us from heading out just because the tourist police was at the building that morning.
Initially, Charlie did politely asked if it is okay for us to stay in for a while to avoid the tourist police. And we agreed since we were still preparing to head out. After a short while, he came back and asked us to head out quickly as the tourist police are gone. To our horror, he CAME BACK AGAIN and told us to stay again because he was mistaken. It was really ridiculous, we cannot be waiting and waiting for nothing. So i just texted him again and asked if it is safe to head out. He came over to our apartment and lead us to another lift to head out of the building. All the while, he was talking on the phone in Korean saying how he was going crazy. (I overheard a little as i understand a little Korean.) In my heart, i was thinking, IF YOU ARE SO SCARED, THEN DO NOT LIST YOUR APARTMENT! How can the guest be the one "suffering" from all these shit.
Honestly, it was really a bummer to our day.
3. Security was a huge concern
First Incident:
It was listed in the AirBnb that he respects the guest's privacy. BUT this is not the truth at all. When Charlie came over to our apartment to inform us about the tourist police for the first time, he did knock on the door and waited for us to open the door. BUT the next few times, he just knock and straight away punch in the security code to come in to the apartment abruptly. I was merely dressed in my inner thermal wear and i had to run to hide from him so that he does not see me in my inner thermal wear. Plain ridiculous.
4. Apartment was really dusty.
Overall, the cleanliness of the apartment was not really acceptable. Charlie forgot to place the detergent, softener and the toilet roll. The dustbin inside the toilet dustbin was not cleared out at all and it was filled to the brim with rubbish from previous guest.
With such bad experience, i came back and told my friends about this. And all of them agreed that it was really a bad experience and felt sorry that i had to face this on my first AirBnb booking. It might be just an one-off case and this does not mean that all AirBnb host around the world or in Seoul are bad.
I ultimately decided that i will never ever book an apartment from AirBnb.
Do yourself a favor and book a hotel when you visit Seoul.
Guys, please do share with me your experience if you've ever stayed in an AirBnb apartment in Seoul before! I'm planning to return to Seoul in December or early next year again, please do introduce me any good hotel or guesthouse that you know of!!
