Stay Heritage Gyeongbokgung

Staying in a historical precinct of Seoul came with many surprises that made the sojourn a true experience. Bukchon has a curfew, of sorts, and antiquated plumbing that are overshadowed by the exotic and fascinating locale that makes travel rewarding. No breakfast provided - or expected. First time in Korea so had nothing to compare to other than to comment that the experience was very different to an AirBNB or hotels in Australia - expecting standards to be like this is normal BUT there will always be differences which may be challenging at times as well as fun learnings. Kitchen well equipped though suspect there is an expectation many would choose to eat out most of the time at the numerous restaurants. Not the case for our group so we improvised. The fry pan makes very acceptable toast being one example. The fun and good things far outweighed the more trying aspects. In hindsight we may have made a mistake to use this as our base for 10 days but the memories will be good ones.

Check in: We did not receive the door code until a helpful neighbour was able to contact management. The email, in Korean, didn't arrive until afterwards. May have been partly our fault as e sim problems limited what we could do on arrival in Korea. Without the code and no communication we were beginning to panic. Scammed - was one unpleasant thought. The code came in Korean to phones that barely functioned so translation apps were not available. Try to allow more warning such that translation apps can handle language differences and make entry smoother. Beds are probably Korean standard but much harder than many from overseas may be used to. Part of the experience that we tried to soften by taking doonas off other beds to save hips. As a group of 3 in a place that could host 10 we felt the space could be configured differently. The beds take up much of the space in two of the rooms which might be better suited to open space. That is take out one bed from each of the double bedded rooms and add some comfortable seating or a sofa like a lounge room. Alternatively to maintain the same number of residents (up to 10) have some traditional floor sleeping arrangements. Examine the number of times the accommodation is fully utilized by 10 guests and make a decision for revising them. The configuration of beds makes access very difficult and was not something we liked. Maybe a Korean thing that is part of the travel experience?? The location is a mix of good and challenging. Right in the middle of traditional Bukchon Hanok village with cultural and scenic value. Location requiring relatively steep walks to convenience stores and public transportation. Taxi service can be tricky especially for pick up given the intricacies of the narrow streets. The latter requires care especially for pick up with luggage.