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We highly recommend Toyoko Inn Seoul Dongdaemun to anyone who is looking for cheap acommodation in Seoul, South Korea.
Having checked out from SA Seoul, we checked into Toyoko Inn Seoul Dongdaemun, a Japanese Hotel Chain with presence in South Korea and China. A standard double room costs ~70000 won (RM 200) for member.
How to Book?
Toyoko Inn Seoul Dongdaemun is a highly popular hotel in Seoul so it is recommended to book early. Members can make room reservation online 6 months in advance while non members can only reserve rooms 3 months earlier. No advance payment is required as payment will only be made upon check in. Reservation site here.
We booked our room online, and applied for Toyoko Inn Club Card as we checked in. We paid 15000 won (one off) for the card and we get to enjoy member’s rate for our room immediately (from 77000 won to 70000 won). The international membership card entitled us for the following benefits:
| Benefit [1] | One free-of-charge Toyoko Inn single room lodging coupon. * International card member: One coupon per 10 nights of lodging. |
| Benefit [2] | [ Everyday Special Discount Campaign ] * 20% discount on Sundays and Holidays of the lodging country * 5% discount on weekdays and Saturdays! |
| Benefit [3] | One extra bonus point on “Toyoko Inn Day”(10th of every months) * Get one extra bonus point on 10th of every months. You would get one point on the night of lodging, and one extra bonus point on next month. |
| Benefit [4] | Fast check-in by simply presenting your card You would be asked to sign your name and write down your member ID. |
| Benefit [5] | Reservations up to 6 months in advance Access here for reservations: http://www.toyoko-inn.com/ |
| Benefit [6] | Check-in one hour early at 15:00 |
What We Like:
Great Location: Toyoko Inn Seoul Dongdaemun is located in Dongdaemun, just 5 minutes walk from the major retail and wholesale shopping area (Doota, Migliore, APM!) which open till wee hours. It is really convenient for us to walk back to the hotel from our shopping after 3am. It is also within 2 minutes walk to Dongdaemun History & Culture Park (formally known as Dongdaemun Stadium Station) on the No.2,4 or 5 Subway Lines. From the hotel lobby, one can turn left to exit #3 or turn right to exit Exit #4 which is more traveller friendly because there are escalators to go down whereas for exit #4 one needs to walk down the many flights of stairs.
Small, Well Equipped Room: The room is well equipped with queensize bed, working desk, safe, flatscreen TV, hair dryer, fridge and water heater. The bathroom is small but they managed to squeeze in a bathtub and a basin. Oh, and one thing I love about Japanese chain hotel is they loan out Japanese pyjamas for free. We wore that to sleep every night and it felt really comfortable.
Free Wifi: Guests enjoy free wifi access throughout the hotel.
Free Breakfast: Breakfast is provided daily from 7am to 930am at the lobby. The meal is Japanese style with onigiri, Japanese curry, miso soup, salad, Japanese curries, corn soup and some basic Western breakfast items such as toasts, jam and sausages. Breakfast was repetitive and nothing to shout about but we were not complaining since it comes free.
Airport Bus: Airport Limousine 6001 stops right in front of the hotel and one can buy the tickets at the hotel reception. It saves us a lot of troubles as we don’t have to carry our heavy luggages around. Bus fare is 15,000 won (one way) and the journey to Incheon airport takes about 1 hour.
What We Do Not Like:
Small Room: The room is pretty small for Western/Korean standard.
Late Check In: Check in time is not until 4 pm (non member)/3pm (member). Checkout time is also earlier than the standards at 10 am.
All in all, we highly recommend Toyoko Inn Seoul Dongdaemun for it’s great location and great value.
Toyoko Inn Dongdaemun
Address: 73, 2Ga Gwanghui-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, 100-412 South Korea
Tel: +82-(0)2-2267-1045 FAX: +82-(0)2-2267-1046
Website: http://www.toyoko-inn.com/e_hotel/00208/index.html
Getting Here:
1 minute walk from exit No.3 or 4 of Dongdaemun History & Culture Park (formally known as Dongdaemun Stadium Station) on the No.2,4 or 5 Subway Lines.
or
No. 6001 airport limousine bus stops right in front of the lobby too.
Next Up: Seoul Itinerary Day 3: Tapgol Park, Nami Island
Hello! Just came across your blog and wish I had seen it before I went to Korea ! Looking forward to more adventures and very detailed reccomendations!
hi, was wondering can it fit in 4 ppl?
Hi wendy its impossible, the room is so small 🙂
Hi, Can i know can fit 3 person? if not, any room recommend for 3 person? TQ!
no the room is too small for 3 person, they have family room for 4 person
Is it too late to book the inn now? I’m going during end of Oct 2013
Hi megan, non member can only book 3 mth before, so you can start to book in end July to secure a room
Hi… I wish to ask.. If my relative have the member card, is’t possible to use her card so that I can book 6mths in advance? But my relative didn’t join in our next trip.
Hi Kampungboycitygal
You are really fantastic. I read all the info on Seoul you wrote and love the pictures. Thanks for the load of information you provided. You help me a great deal in planning my trip to Seoul later this year. Well done, please keep it up!
Hi, was wandering how to do reservation as general guest, the site seems need us to register as guess but no found any direction there. I plan to travel mid Sept & plan to stay 4 nites but seems the room availability is limited now..
Did u bring all ur luggage w u when u left for busan? Was thinking whether to put Busan at the start of the trip or towards e end. But scare the luggage is too heavy aft all the shopping!
Hi jace, no, we left it at toyoko inn seoul 🙂
Did toyoko inn seoul charge you for leaving your luggage with them?
How come they allowed for you to leave the luggage with them?
Hi,
Thanks for your great tips! Can you please tell me how to move from S. A. Seoul Station to Toyoko Inn Dongdaemun? Is it convenient to stay in Toyoko Inn Dongdaemun right from the 1st day so no need to move around?
Appreciate your reply. Many thanks.
yes it is more convenient to stay at the same hotel but in our case it was fully booked. we took cab to change hotel
Hi,
Thanks for your kind quick reply. I have 2 more questions which I greatly need your advice:
(1) If we can get a booking at Toyoko Inn Dongdaemun, do we still take bus 6050 to reach the hotel easily like S.A. Seoul Station? If not, how?
(2) Is Jeonju close to Busan? Do you think Jeonju is worth visiting? Can we go to Jeonju after going to Busan? Please kindly advise.
Many thanks.
1) as mentioned in this post: No. 6001 airport limousine bus stops right in front of the lobby. toyoko inn n sa seoul is two different location so the airport bus is different too 🙂
2) we’ve not been to jeonju dear, maybe you can look from other blog 🙂
I wish to ask, is there any escalator or lift at the station?
there’s lift but not escalator