On paper this looked perfect as we had stayed in a Hutong in Beijing and a Ryokan in Kyoto and knew what we were letting ourselves on for. Conversing with the guesthouse about our very early arrival, we were assured that although we would be unable to access our room we would however be able to drop our luggage off for storage. This was not as easy as suggested; despite ringing the door bell a number of times it took three visits over three hours to finally get a response by which time we were exhausted and only a couple of hours from check-in time. Our cases were then stored and we were given the door code. Returning at check-in time we were shown our room which was exactly as expected, looking out to the central courtyard and with a small but modern bathroom. The guy quickly ran through the breakfast procedures and made us aware of the house rules making it clear they MUST be adhered to. Most of these were common sense for any normal human being so again it all seemed totally reasonable. We were then given freedom of the property which consisted of 8 bedrooms, an additional toilet/shower, laundry, office, central courtyard and a communal breakfast room/ kitchen.
The rooms were bare with only futons and bedding as well as a coat rack, a small TV and tiny low table, our room had a small shuttered window high in the internal wall which gave the only fresh air to the room. There was an A/C unit mounted on the wall but no way of turning it on, so sleep was incredibly difficult as the room became overwhelmingly stuffy especially with the underfloor heating that was still being used. After feeling exhausted through the room heat and lack of sleep, an A/C remote control miraculously appeared on our third day as the outside temperature had risen; this suddenly made the room more comfortable – although the underfloor heating remained on! The bathroom was relatively modern with the usual non-paper flushing toilet and a sink; the shower was a flexible hose mounted to the left of the sink that provided the shower facilities whilst at the same time soaking every part of the room. For tall westerners it meant the water sprayed mid-torso making hair washing etc rather a challenge. There was no window in our bathroom so after five days and no sign of rubbish collection or cleaning it was beginning to feel decidedly unhygienic.
The central courtyard was lovely if a little cluttered and definitely needed some TLC to really make the most of the area, although it was a lovely peaceful place to relax away from the bustle of the surrounding area.
Breakfast was awesome – DIY Bibimbap with no limit to how much you ate – and certainly set us up for the day. Coffee, hot water for tea etc. and filtered water was available all the time. The kitchen was also available for storing and prepping your own food if needed.
Leo, the owner/manager, was lovely and just let everybody get on with things. However, the guy who checked us in proved to be less aware of his job. After making us aware of a rule that required quiet after 11:00 he then managed to cause unreasonable disturbance outside our room for our first two nights. The first night he was sat drinking/ talking loudly until 3:00 with a Norwegian guest and a Welshman who was not a resident. We understand socialising but thought this was unreasonable as the next day we were able to relay, in detail, the conversation we heard. Then, to compound our exhaustion he repeated the same the following night but fortunately only until 1:00!
We loved the position of this guesthouse, the awesome breakfast and the peace during the day but after five days we were so desperate for a cool room and quality sleep that we were ready to move on. Would recommend the Bibimbap for the traditional experience but certainly not for the peace!
PROS: Great location. Bibimbap breakfast. Being able to treat it like home.
CONS: Noise from other residents. Not having bathroom cleaned regularly, especially bin emptying as toilet won’t flush paper.
Hotel Website: http://www.bibimbapguesthouse.com/location/
mrandmrsyoung 