Hostel CLEO Seoul Hongdae, Seoul — Hotel in Seoul

My wife, the instigator and organizer of our Korean tour chose this place. Overall, I think she made a good choice.

The nearest metro station is walkable, but the route from the station's exit 3 to the hotel has a moderate uphill section. On the bright side, the walk back towards the metro station becomes an easy downhill stroll. If you require transfer to or from the Airport, a van can be organized by the hostel. Prices are in the photo which I've uploaded.

I've read some older reviews saying there's no elevator. Having stayed there (Feb 2024) I can confirm there IS an elevator, a classy looking German one no less (Thyssenkrupp, if you must know). It travels up and down pretty fast so we didn't find ourselves waiting long throughout our stay.

Cleo has the laid back air of a hostel but don't think that you're getting a budget motel. Considerable thought and effort have gone into the design and decoration. I really like what they've done with the limited spaces.

As for the room. It is small, and there's no cupboard. The shower room is so tiny that whenever we have a wash the entire toilet gets wet. But I didn't mind any of that. We can't keep an open suitcase on the floor but through planning ahead we managed. Our medium sized suitcase could fit under the bed frame so we freed up the limited walking space. There are a few nifty wall hangers which were just enough for our winter clothings. As the saying goes, "Necessity is the mother of all invention". Small spaces can be livable with some clever ideas.

There's a cosy lounge at B1 where guests can take their meals. It is also where the no frills complimentary breakfast is served daily from 830am to 1030am. There's coffee, tea, hot chocolate (Swiss Miss), packet juices, toast (butter and jam), cereal and packet cakes/donut. But instead of taking breakfast in the lounge, we organized our own breakfast in bed.

There's a ledge at the base of our room window which is also touching the side of our bed. So using the ledge as a table, we had our daily breakfast in bed. From this vantage point, it became our breakfast ritual to see the inhabitants of Seoul rushing by to start their day. I enjoyed this part of the holiday very much.

I should also mention that rooms are serviced only once every two days. Not a big deal for us, but it might be important for some travellers. And if you're hankering for Korean Fried Chicken but can't speak the language, Cleo can sort it out for you too.

So far so good. So where did Cleo lose points?

The handle of our bathroom door was so loose it was almost falling off. The plumbing below the sink was leaking. The shower's water temperature and pressure was inconsistent on some nights. Though the windows are double glazed, light sleepers might experience some disturbances from traffic. And what's with the tiny bath towel, come on!

However my biggest gripe is the expensive coin laundry. 5000won per 20kg wash load!

But overall, would we stay here...

Basically I chose this hostel because of the window view and I was given a level on the street... despite staying so many hostel and hostel, my first time.||I have the habit to open the window.||However, the room given to me was on level 1, literally on the street.||Looking out, it is literally the street. |You can see people walking just beside your room. ||so pls take note that there are rooms on the ground floor.||And this meant it is very noisy.||Despite explaining to the staff, nothing was able to be offered.||Next, the location is not friendly. Took 30mins to find the place , deep in the lanes if you go by exit 3. ||Nope,|I didn’t encounter friendly staff.| Nope,|It is not very convenient.||And nope I don’t think they are using double window( meaning, you can see from inside but not from outside).||Poor privacy for ground floor room. ||Ask for higher level is my suggestion. Otherwise don’t go for this hostel. You can go for better option with...

The front desk staff Mr. Billy is so kind to teach me where to buy sim card and find interesting sightseeing spots around. He is good at English and our communication was very smooth. I highly appreciated his professional customer services.The room was clean, with shampoo ,hair conditioner and body wash, the room is big enough to open a suitcase and the window is so big that I can enjoy the beautiful view. Hot and cold water is served 24 hours on the pantry on B1, apple juice or orange juice and biscuits are served during breakfast time. The hostel was not far away from the subway station.There is a nearby famous cafe called Antique Coffee where you can take pictures with beautiful cakes and flowers. There are two cute selected shops 'STAIN20' and 'made by' selling funny kitchen items and...