Where to stay in Seoul

I’ve been receiving emails from people who’d like to visit South Korea. They usually ask which hotel is the best place for them to stay. Seoul is a big city divided into several districts. We have an efficient transportation system but traveling from one district to another could take time. Staying in a hotel that is far from the places you’d like to visit could be time-consuming. I’d like to recommend three hotels in downtown Seoul that are conveniently located near tourist, shopping areas and the subway!
1. Best Western Dongdaemun Hotel – This hotel is located right outside Exit 6 of Dongdaemun subway station. From the hotel, you’ll get a nice view of Dongdaemun (Western gate). It is also just a few (like 3!) minutes away by foot to Cheonggyecheon (the famous stream featured on Discovery channel) and a mere 700 meters away from the famous night shopping area of Dongdaemun. Subway and bus service in Seoul is only until midnight and taxis are more expensive at night. If you enjoy night shopping, you won’t need to worry about going back to your hotel. The best thing is, we live about 1.5 kilometers from the area 🙂
2. Yim’s House Hotel – Recommended for the budget traveler or for those who see hotels as just a place to rest their tired bodies and take a refreshing shower after a heavy day of touring. I haven’t been to this hotel but its location is great and the reviews on HotelsCombined are all positive. It is really near the palaces and a walking distance to Insadong (a famous tourist shopping area). It is also located near Anguk station, so you can just hop on the subway train if you’d like to explore more of Seoul.
3. Ibis Myeong Dong Hotel Seoul – This is a relatively new hotel. It is located right at the heart of the trendiest shopping area in Seoul. Like the previous two, it is also located near a subway station, Euljiro1-ga on line 2. I always bring my visitors to Myeong Dong for shopping, dining and singing – noraebang! You can walk to Namdaemun (South gate), famous for night shopping too and the perfect place to shop for souvenirs (traditional and Hallyu inspired), cameras, clothes, shoes, stationeries, kitchen utensils and so on.
You can make your hotel reservations or find more hotels in Seoul or other places in Korea through HotelsCombined, where you can search more than 30 sites at once.
If you’ve been to Seoul and you’d like to recommend a hotel, please feel free to do so. It would help others who are planning to come and visit.