Orakai Insadong Suites — Hotel in Seoul

We have traveled to Seoul several 3x in the last few years and usually stay at another residence hotel just a few blocks from here. This time, because we had short notice of our trip, our usual spot was full, but they recommended Fraser as an alternative.

We made a huge mistake by following this advice.

Even before the trip, I should have known something was up. There were a number of strange issues:

1st, Fraser Suites, like a load-balancing airline & unlike other hotels, charges a different rate each night.

2nd, they refuse to quote in US$ (unlike all other Seoul hotels), so the fluctuating exchange rate & variable nightly rate can be a BIG surprise.

3rd, the Fraser Suites rate (at least the average rate; we were charged a different rate for each night) is higher than all other comparable hotels, so I expected a nice room, or one that resembled the pretty photos on their website – actual room was NOTHING like the well-furnished, spotless, decorated apartment pictured!

Please don't fall for this awful bait & switch - photos show clean rooms with unmarked floors, bamboo and other plants, bright rooms. The reality is anything but this: a dingy room with marked-up floors and walls, electrical switches that are mapped to the wrong fixtures, dirty dishes, low-quality linens, too few pillows and towels (even when they knew three people were in the room, they refused to replenish all three towels, and in a 10 day stay we only got 2 towels a day after asking three times for additional towels). They don't refill the coffee, tea, water, or detergent, as the Somerset and other residence hotels do, either, which seems like a small thing, but was quite disappointing.

The Fraser also charges as much as $60 a day for breakfast ($20 per person, x2 adults and a child!) – something that is free by their lower-priced but substantially more pleasant "competition" just a few blocks away. Given that we were staying so long and in a deluxe two-bedroom, I asked for that charge to be waived - something that no other hotel would balk at - and got huge attitude and a woman told me I could just buy instant noodles at the 7-11 across the street instead, since this is the only residential hotel in Seoul without its own shop.

There were dozens of small issues as well: we stayed here partially because we needed a playroom. Their website shows a play structure in the kids' pool area - but it doesn't actually exist. The room guide says the play room is full of "attractive pictures" on the wall (none) and "a reading corner full of books" (a total fabrication - there's not a single book available).

AC worked intermittently; telephone was broken.

Part of our suite was under construction, with a door taped off and an area full of concrete bags and dust and tools.

Rooms are NOT child-friendly, toddlers can easily unlock windows & climb out, & they are right at their chest level - which violates Korean laws on child safety.

At checkin, we were told that we had been "upgraded" to a 2-bdrm apartment. If they tell you this, please note that it can actually be a downgrade; the "extra" second bedroom is taken out of the same square footage (the 2-bdrm is approximately the same square footage as the one-bedroom) - we asked for the one-bedroom as we wanted the larger living/dining area for the kids to play in. So they downgraded our room, wouldn't let us change back to a 1-bdrm & refused to charge us less, even though we got something we didn't want. This seems unethical to me, and is further evidence of the management's "bait and switch" technique.

They have a massive cockroach infestation!

Don't ask front desk staff for tourist info - they can't answer. I asked for a jokbal restaurant or place that served pork nearby, and was told there was nothing like that. 1 block away, past Nakwon arcade, I found 3 such places, all of which were good.

Location is OK - it's in the heart of Insa-dong, an nice tourist area. But competing hotels, right on the edge of this same neighborhood, are cleaner & more...

Perhaps because I had low expectations due to the abundance of negative reviews, the stay turned out to be bearable in this hotel rated four stars, though there were certainly quite a few disappointing aspects. I stayed for three nights in what was referred to as the “penthouse” on the 22nd floor, which had three bedrooms. First of all, the location of the hotel is excellent. It’s near Insadong and Myeongdong, with plenty of restaurants and various shops in the vicinity. The hospitality of the staff didn’t seem to be a major issue—most of them were friendly. The swimming pool was also better than expected. However, several things were disappointing. Housekeeping is not provided at weekends. For a four-star hotel that charges a considerable rate, it’s essentially a DIY experience? Even if you ring the front desk, you must go down in person each day to request towels and replacement bed linen. You have to change the linen yourself as well. You’re also expected to empty the bins yourself, and if you ask for them to be emptied, they simply deliver empty bin liners. When I inquired why the bins hadn’t been emptied, I was told to do it myself and leave the rubbish outside the door. It was frankly absurd. Don’t expect any amenities beyond shampoo, soap, and body wash—there’s nothing else. The room temperature cannot be controlled. The air conditioner works, but the heater doesn’t—it's not functional. As for blankets, they are provided free of charge, but extra pillows or a quilt incur an additional charge per night. Once again, the housekeepers, doormen, and service staff—though rarely encountered—were kind and courteous. However, whoever answers the guest service call centre was rather unpleasant, often simply telling us to come down ourselves or to handle things on our own. As for the facilities, the sauna and shower rooms you pass through to reach the pool had a strong unpleasant smell. There were also two fairly large bathtubs, but there was no water in...

100000 This is my one of the most terrifying experiences ever , i never ever saw a bad hotel as this hotel , i swear to god , am writing while am setting in dark with no electricity and no air conditioning at all , since we arrived we got to know that there will be no AC for the 5 days starting from the day we arrived, we had no choice to change the hotel as we booked this hotel in advance to avoid the high rates as we were on budget , imagine staying in a hotel which you payed for it and no AC provided, we had to open the windows while sleeping and still it was soo hot , and a broken toilet and a dusty rooms with died bugs , after we fought for it , they changed the room for us , an guess whaaaat !!!!! We woke up finding a notice under the door saying that there will be no electricity for the next two days starting from 11 PM to 3 AM , we had to come back to the hotel as nothing here is open after 10 specially for as us muslims , only bars , while coming back i got stuck in the elevator which been guided by the maintenance guy to use rather than the main , i got stuck in the elevator and i was terrified , once i got out i used the stairs while carrying a dozen of water of course because they dont provide it and had to go all the way to 20th floor , on floor 16th i saw the engineering guys and they were laughing and saying that oh you are having water and they asked me to use the same eleven which i got stuck in , they didn’t even tried to help even though that they saw me hardly breathing as am an asthmatic, please don’t waste you money here , they don’t care about any service or customer experience, trust my words there is nothing positive about...