Travelers A Guesthouse

Though it boasts of being rated ' The Best Foreigner's Hostel in Seoul ' by the Seoul City Department I suggest you take the photos and description with a fistful of salt. The photos are duplicitous: if you squint when you look at the front facade and ignore the tiny alleyway full of car parts, work shops, and rusty nails that the hostel is located in you might be able to see how they managed to make it look at all appealing. They've also certainly touched up the lighting in the photos as this was the most depressingly dark and dingey hostel I've ever had the pleasure to leave. The one plus about this place is the location, which is why it's rates do not match the quality of the hostel itself. If you stay I suggest you use it merely as a place to sleep, and make sure you're exhausted when you get in at night -- it's the only way you'll appreciate it. ...and it's true, she does sleep on the floor all day.

I have stayed at around one hundred hostels in my travels and this was one of the worst. Not as advertised at all. Apparently they have changed management so all the rave reviews and hostel awards are from the old management. The building is difficult to find without a detailed map and inside is really run down. My bedroom had a private bathroom, minifridge and tv but the phone did not work. The sheets and hand towels were clean but everything else was in need of a deep clean. Everything about this hostel was just a little too funky. Thrift store furniture held together with duct tape, broken AC unit, dirty carpeting.There is no second floor coffee shop as advertised, only a grubby lounge with a few couches and no atmosphere. There is a computer but no Internet. No real kitchen facilities to speak of, don't plan on cooking or eating here. The hostel was nearly deserted, I saw only two other guests and one was checking out to find a better hostel. If you want to meet other travellers and socialize this is not the place for you! To be fair, the location is very close to a subway station and the scenic river. If you just want a bed for a night and don't really care about the hostel being dirty and deserted, this is better than sleeping in the train station. I would not recommend this hostel.

This is one of the worst places I've ever stayed at. The building itself isn't the greatest but that's not my complaint. You do get what you pay for — a bed and a toilet to use. The staff here are beyond horrible. The woman who works at the desk speaks no English whatsoever. She sleeps on the floor all day (no exaggeration) and is pissed when you wake her up. There are signs posted everywhere that they'll book tours for you, however when I asked she only pointed to the number in the brochure and said "public phone, public phone." How can you work here and not know your own services?! It wouldn't be a big deal to book it myself but the agency doesn't speak any English, hence the reason they have complimentary booking in the first place! This place sucks, I would never ever recommend it to anyone and would never come back under any circumstances.

The photos are completely wrong; it doesn't look like the photos they are showing, and yes, it isn't the most glamorous place. But it isn't that expensive, and it's in a relatively good location. It's a 15-minute walk to Insadong, and also close to Dong Dae Mun, and other areas of interest. I stayed there in January 2005, and one of the two public toilet/shower rooms was broken. The rooms were cramped, but the sheets were clean, and they had the electric-heated beds. The public area is very simple — couches and a TV with cable, and the kitchen is repulsive. The second floor coffee shop isn't that bad. The computers aren't the greatest, but they are free, so one can't really complain too much. All in all, it's not the type of place you stay at for awhile, but if you want to get a bed for a night or two, and do some shopping in Korea before you leave, it's not that bad.

The pictures shown here look nothing at all like the Travelers, a place I stayed. This place is falling to bits. I have to say it was horrible. I've stayed a lot of places, some worse than this, but always much much cheaper. There's no help from staff here. Rooms are like prison cells. Some showers work if you are feeling lucky. It's generally depressing. The Internet is messed up. my advice, unless you are really skint, is to pay 5000 won extra and stay somewhere, anywhere, else.