Kolon Hotel — Hotel in Gyeongju-si

LOCATION & ATTRACTIONS NEARBY * Gyeongju Kolon Hotel is located in a very green area, surrounded by trees, small pond lake and golf course. It’s very close to amazing Bukguksa Temple complex.||Complimentary parking for many cars is just in front of the hotel. ||||HOTEL OVERVIEW I think this hotel was built in the late 70s and some decor and equipment and decor was still present until now (even after refurbishment which definitely happened there). It’s a busy hotel especially for groups and domestic travellers. During our stay we haven’t seen any other foreign tourists. For that reason communication in English might be also difficult (unfortunately we don’t speak Korean).||Swimming pool (which would be awesome that afternoon we arrived) was in renovation, which we didn’t know in advance unfortunately.|| PURPOSE OF THIS TRIP * Leisure||||RESERVATION * Booked through ebookers.ie as they offered the best prices. We booked two rooms (2 people each).||||LENGTH OF MY STAY * 1 night – May 2018||||CHECK-IN * Check-in was quite quick and hassle-free. We were given rooms next to each other.||||LOBBY & RECEPTION * Huge and looks like a big airport hangar . It might be very busy and from there you can get to restaurants or just their cafe/bakery or well equipped shop with local art & souvenirs.||||ROOM * Standard Rooms #719 & #720 were at the very end of long corridor and they’re just OK. Just OK. They were spacious and bright, but really dated. It should be better ventilated before guests arrival. Furniture, door & walls have marks, dents and scratches. Floor had some permanent dirt marks. Some old items are quite amusing, like hairdryer with the base attached to the shelf). Safety deposit box was closed (we couldn’t use it) and was making strange noises all night long like it was dying or something. ||For some reason there two beds (double + single) even if we booked standard room (with 1 bed). ||Air Condition was working well, but you could also open windows which was probably nicer during the night to have some fresh air. ||There was a kettle and cups, but no tea or coffee to go with it. 2 complimentary bottles of water were also given.||I honestly don’t know when dust from the large mirror was removed last time. You could easily finger-write on it. Same as front room doors – they were simply dirty and you can see everything on a dark space... Something to look into for sure. At least once every few weeks.||Also, small details, but kind of strange... Why would you have a picture of Neuschwanstein Castle on the wall when your own city has so many beautiful landmarks. Just add simple photo decoration from there, not just a random world's attraction. That would look so much better. ||||BATHROOM * Bathroom was clean, but metal and glass items were not polished and you could see every single move on them. Toiletries were OK quality and towels very pleasant.||||BREAKFAST * We decided to have breakfast in the hotel. Cost was 17K (approx. 12 EUR). It was really tasty, but presentation was simply horrible. I’m usually not that harsh when describing it, then this was like that. If I went there and check if I want it, I would definitely say no. It looked already finished at 08.30 am, but... it wasn’t. Only empty plates and bowls were left there and staff replenished them every so often. It looked messy. ||But as I said, it was tasty and staff was quite attentive, but some kind of organizational changes are needed. Also, certain hot/warm items were already cold at 08.30.||||RESTAURANT * We were tired after long journey, so we decided to eat at the Korean Restaurant Gyerim. They accommodated us without reservation and as soon as we started, the entire room filled up with a group. ||We were still served the best they could and our hot pot was stunningly delicious! It was served beautifully and it tasted fantastic. Staff was great to assist us and serve, despite being extremely busy with the group. Definitely recommend it!||||INTERNET ACCESS * It was complimentary, but connection quite weak. It disconnected few times during our stay.||||CHECK-OUT EXPERIENCE * Quick and hassle-free. ||||STAFF * Staff was always polite and tried to be helpful, but if you don’t speak Korean, your options to communicate might be limited. ||||OVERVIEW * Busy hotel focused on domestic groups. Dated rooms with many small cleaning issues. Amazing Korean restaurant and horrible looking (but tasty) breakfast. 3,5 from me and that’s all. Some fresh ideas and management decisions are badly...

After travelling throughout South Korea, this would be the most disappointing and dirtiest place to stay and we have travelled deep into Vietnam.||The view and location are stunning- the room would barely get one star for the following:||-Bizarre layout, felt like someone had stolen the furniture and decor items -it’s a clunky space, no couch to sit on, just dining chairs, tv 11 metres from bedhead which doubled as couch though the floor was better (even though it was disgusting)... we felt like squatters ||-disgraceful stained carpet ||-broken wall lamps||-control panel straight from the eighties if not before||-Bed head grimy with fingerprints and god only knows what||-mould under bathroom sealant at sink and shower door-foul||-shower nozzle needs scrubbing||-air conditioner didn’t work, hotel staff attended said all ok but it never worked thus an uncomfortable night’s sleep||- explained in morning with translator app, simple one word sorry, no manager, no explanation||-nowhere to put suitcases||-no coffee||And||-arrived for check in at 4 and room not ready||-no English or understanding that two Australians might not speak Korean- we have got by so far but English lessens the southwards you travel. Thank goodness for translator app||The place needs an overhaul- they still use keys, that was the first give away in terms of...

Nothing good to say about this hotel unfortunately. I wish we had stayed in Gyeongju or anywhere but here. A huge place with 370 rooms. We arrived at 1.30pm with only 5 cars in the car park and were told to come back at 3pm. Fair enough we were early but I can't believe there wasn't a single room ready! ||Large room and nice lobby, but: dirty carpets and bed throw, thick dust on the back of the door, broken lamps, missing kettle and they don't provide coffee anyway (we had a single green tea bag), WiFi almost non-existent, would be a nice view but double glazing so fogged up you can't see out. ||Can't comment on the food as neither of the large fancy restaurants had a vegeterian option, nor could they rustle something up. We were also told that breakfast (which closes at 9am!) had zero items we could eat. We asked to borrow an iron and were told they do not have one in the whole hotel. The swimming pool was empty, and the sauna costs an extra 30000won.|||This was a huge disappointment after 3 other lovely (cheaper) hotels elsewhere in Korea. There is no need to stay in this location. Perhaps they don't get the irony in it being named Hotel Kolon, but probably only Hotel A-hole would have been more...