Last August, my wife and I started to plan for our annual family holidays at the end of the year. We visited the Natas Fair. Initially, we set our sight on visiting Japan. At the last moment, we were attracted to the 8-day tour itinerary of “Korea Winter Wonderland, Nanta and Jeju” offered by ASA Holidays scheduled from 30 November – 7 December 2012. We decided to extend our holidays in Korea after the tour to spend 3 days free-and-easy in Seoul.

I will share about the fun-packed experience I had with my family during the 8 days tour in my next blog… so stay tuned. In this blog, I would like to blog about my stay in BoA guesthouse, and introduce this accommodation to anyone who is planning to visit Seoul for a free-and-easy holiday.

It was my daughter who found BoA guesthouse through the Internet. We confirmed our booking for 2 rooms (1 twin and 1 triple room) for 7 – 10 December 2012. The room rates were very affordable at 80,000 KRW and 100,000 KRW per room per day respectively. In total, we spent less than SGD 600.00 on accommodation for 3 days.

Opened in early 2012, BoA guesthouse is a new accommodation facility conveniently located in the popular Hongdae (Hongik University) district of Seoul (click on MAP for direction). It is easily accessible from the Gimpo and Incheon International airports, and a less than 10 minutes walk from Hongik University Station (Subway Line 2, Airport Railroad) through Exit 4.

There are convenience stores, bakery, restaurants, cafes, shops and clubs along the road up and in the immediate vicinity of the guesthouse.

The staff were friendly and spoke good English. They provided wonderful customer service throughout our stay in the guesthouse. Simply, they will make your stay easy and memorable.

Each room has a private bathroom. Simple amenities in the room includes a dressing table, refrigerator, television, free wired/wireless Internet access, hair drier, hair conditioner, body shampoo, toothpaste, tissue and slippers. Towels are available for pick-up and exchange at the reception. The bed is comfortable. The room is clean. However, there is no daily room service, so we have to make sure we keep the room tidy ourselves. This is perfectly acceptable to me and my family.

There is a laundry room. You can use the washing machines for free. You pay for the dryer only. There are common toilets and shower rooms where all guests can use throughout the day.

There are several desktop computers, Web cams and a printer in the Internet room where guests can use for free. You can also make free international calls. The Internet room shares the common space as the kitchen.

Simple breakfast is provided free from 7:00 am – 10:00 am. You can have bread, eggs with jam, cereals, milk and tea/coffee… unlimited supply. Breakfast is self-service, you have to toast the bread, fry/boil the eggs, make the drinks, etc, yourself, and to wash up and clean your table after you finished your food.

There are table and chairs and a swing at the rooftop of the guesthouse where you could relax. During this holiday trip, heavy snow rained down in Seoul in 32 years. It was so cold on the rooftop. The temperature averaged about -10 degC.

From BoA guesthouse, you can visit to major tourist spots in Seoul with ease and very quickly, such as Insa-dong, Myeong-dong, NSeoul Tower, Jim-Jil-Bang, Hello Kitty Cafe, Lotte World, Doota, etc. Hongdae flea market is within walking distance too at Exit 9 of Hongik University Station.

Our family holiday in Korea came to an end on 10 December 2012. We booked an airport taxi through BoA guesthouse for 65,000 KRW. We left at about 12 noon for Incheon International Airport.

Another 3 photos before I end my blog…

Bye South Korea, Boa Kim and all staff at BoA guesthouse. We look to meet you again. We’ll be back!