Gwanganli Hotel 1 — Hotel in Busan

Simply amazing, unmatched views, great staff, and outstanding owner. I stayed at Hotel 1 for the Busan Firework Festival, and was completely blown away by my experience. I liked it so much I extended my stay twice and ended up staying in 3 different sea view rooms. Each had an equally amazing view. The facilities are spartan but exude luxury. The rooms are small compared to a normal western rooms but efficient and because of the white marble and huge windows feels spacious. The lobby is a terraced heaven of marble and pillows looking out at an iconic view. The first floor lobby is Perfect for watching the hustle and bustle as people walk by, and the second floor lobby is just high enough to make you give you an unobstructed view of the ocean. There are free snacks and drinks available 24/7 and staff available to help with anything you need.

Some exceptional things I experienced: I checked in to a new hotel (2 weeks old) on the busiest weekend of the year. Staff was littlerally running around to keep up with everyone's requests. It was clear there was still some learning happening, but what they lacked in process efficiently they more than made up for with tenacity and friendly service. I observed a couple check in for their sea view room and learn there was an error and no sea view rooms were available. To help make up for what was certainly a big disappointment, I watched the staff treat the couple like royalty for the rest of the weekend. They were given complimentary beer, bottles of wine and food. For the firework show they were supposed to watch from their room, the staff reserved two lounge chairs on the roof with the best view in town, added a bottle of wine, and were shown to their VIP seats by the hotel owner. I am now sitting in their beautiful lobby sipping on complimentary espresso and watching the owner act as a bell boy, waiving down cabs, loading luggage, and literally running to open a car door for a mother with her children.

The bad: The walls don't block a lot of sound and the windows open next to each other. I was able to hear a couple in the room next to mine having a great night. I'm sure I would have heard them in any hotel, but I could hear everything due to the thin walls and their open window. They are still working through the challenges of opening a new hotel. I experienced and saw some key card issues, the overbooking I already mentioned. lack of signage regarding basic hotel info, wifi security (though each room has its own wifi router which is cool). They seem very aware of the things they still need to do and I'm confident they will be addressed before I come back.

I texted my wife yesterday to tell her this was the coolest place I have ever stayed, and I mean...

This hotel is AMAZING!!! I fell in love with the pictures at first, but once I arrived there I was in AWE. It’s brand new, (only been one month since opening) so everything is white, clean and beautiful. I initially chose the standard capsule cause it was so cheap, but my friend and I upgraded to the deluxe oceanfront capsule which was not that substantial of a price difference. It was amazing waking up to the beach view in the morning! The rooms are not that expensive either, especially the capsule rooms.

When you check in, the friendly staff politely prompts you to take off your shoes before entering, it’s a no shoe zone indoors. They provide you with an electronic room key that gives you access to the elevator and your locker, which upon opening receive a nice care hotel package of pajamas, towels, tissues, a mini razor, and a small water bottle. It’s very modern which is nice.

What really sold me was the karaoke system that’s in the lobby cafe area, it’s free to use as a hotel guest. The owner is super friendly and cool, he owns a very well known karaoke bar chain that is located in several areas in South Korea apparently. That’s why the karaoke sound system is such nice quality. I absolutely loved singing to songs overlooking the beach! I anticipate the karaoke being a popular thing amongst hotel guests in the busier summer months.

The decor of this hotel is exceptional. Full window oceanfront views, squeaky clean white floors, gorgeous modern interior design is only a minor detail of this beautiful hotel. I loved being able to look at the beach waves while eating breakfast in the hotel cafe. The Room Rates are very reasonable for the quality, grace, and luxury of Gwanganli Hotel 1.

It felt like paradise staying here. This hotel stay is a must if you ever visit Gwanganli...

Hotel 1 is 99/100! This is the best hotel/hostel I’ve ever stayed in Korea. Here are some pros that surprised/attracted me during the 3-night stay in Hotel 1! It’s so convenient that it’s just 1-min walk from the hotel to the beach! If you are a solo traveller, please book a premium capsule which is just in front of the sea view. I have booked this kind of capsule and I felt amazing watching the view from my window (Yes! Capsules also have windows!) The facilities are amazing. 1/F & 2/F are the common areas where you can sit on the mat /sofa listening to music, relaxing and looking at the beautiful view. 10/F is an outdoor rooftop where you can take good pictures!!!! The staffs are nice and helpful. I especially want to compliment on two staffs, Chen(correct me if I spell your name wrong!!) He helped me carry my luggage for checkin on 30/1, helped me to get to sasang station and take a bus to Yeosu on 1/2 morning (also reminded me to take an umbrella coz it was raining), and helped me with the checkout on 2/2 :) Another staff is Helen. She is very nice that she game me two candies, helped me to call a taxi to Haeundae bus terminal and carried my luggage to the taxi. She even reminded me that there are morning gift bags which consist of milk, cereals and cup noodles!! I just realised it the day I checked out 🙈 Two of them also speak good English. The hotel provides you with a set of pyjamas (only the first day), two towels, earplugs, water and juice every day. The bed is comfy that it even has an electric heating blanket. However. The washing machine was broken during my stay so I couldn’t use it to wash or dry my clothes. It is quite disappointing. Also, there is no place for hanging the clothes. It would be great if I could hang up...