Doulos Hotel, Seoul

The Doulos hotel is a clean and well designed hotel with just a few shortfalls, making it a very good option for visitors to Seoul. It's shortcomings are few, but they are significant. The hotel is positioned within a maze of alleyways and is recessed from the footpath/road making it difficult to sight. A friendly local noticed me trying to find the hotel and told me it was right behind me! A straightforward way to find it is: exit 15 Jogno-3sam-ga, at street level walk 5 or so meters, take the first alley entrance on the left, walk 30 meters until this alley intersects with Gwansu Dong, turn right, walk 10 meters and it's on your left. The foyer is a tasteful mix of Le Corbusier lounge chairs and Danish modernist lamps which give it a distinctly boutique hotel feel. The staff speak good English and basically nothing is too much trouble. The rooms, although small, feature smart fittings and are spotlessly clean. The in-room (free :-) ) Internet is a welcome inclusion, as is the complimentary bottle of Evian and chocolates. Nice touch Doulos! The only downside is the timing of breakfast. Breakfast is over at 9am sharp and after a heavy day of sight-seeing you have to drag yourself to the basement well before 9am. The tables are communal which is fine, however the accompanying music videos of Shaila Twain etc are invasive and not conducive to a pleasant start to the day. Nevertheless, the Doulos remains a very good option and its cool location amongst the alleyways and proximity to several significant cultural sites and Cheonggyecheon Stream ensures that you don't get a typical anonymous-bland 5 star introduction to Seoul.

Doulos Hotel is a relatively small hotel, but I would recommend it to anyone because the workers are very friendly and they seem to pay attention to a lot of detail. They treat us as if we're guests in their own home. The hotel is a bit hidden from the main streets of Seoul, but that's what makes it a bit charming. Everything is kept very clean, the bed is very comfortable, rooms are modern, and the breakfast is simple, but delicious. The location of the hotel is great too! Very close to Insadong; maybe about a 2 min walk away.

Our online search and booking were smooth. The Doulos Hotel was easier for us to find than other reviewers suggested, and easiest of all if using exits 14/15 from the Subway Line 1 section of Jongno 3 station. Staff welcome and check-in were quick and indicative of very good standards of service. The room was of quality finish and furnishing, very clean, quiet, comfortable (in that the bed was a good sleeping bed for us) with the plus being a large bathroom including bath tub, off-setting the fact that the bedroom area was not spacious (tho not cramped either). Breakfast was better than adequate, a broad range of western and some Korean food, with the unexpected bonus a gently replaying DVD of a light classics concert on the dining area's big screen!