Looking for a place in Insadong

I'm off to South Korea again, this time with my sister. We travel often, flying in from different parts of the world to discover another piece of it together.

The last time we did it we were in Taiwan and she built the entire itinerary, including getting the accommodation. Her choices were mostly good, but I remember one which was particularly difficult to palette. So, rather than let her bear the burden of choice, I offered to split the work this time.

It works out well because we'll be travelling for 15 days, covering Seoul, Busan, Jeju and back to Seoul again. This gives each of us accommodation management over two legs of the journey each (I'll still let her choose the activities because she likes to do so many things whereas, left to my own devices, the itinerary would be left wide open for daily jaunts with no destination or experience goals).

The difference in our travel styles reflect in our preferences in lodgings, too. I can do dorms, she can't. I'm happy to walk, and while she enjoys that, too, she would prefer not to have to do it with luggage. I love it when it's family run and perhaps has a link to some cause or charity. My sister would consider that nice, but not necessary.

So, with a bit of alignment, we figured out the must haves and budget. I'm about to look for the right fit for our first few days in South Korea, which will be in Seoul.

Choosing the area

A quick research suggests Hongdae to be a good site for first timers. But my sister was way quicker with the hotel search than I was so she already found a nice hotel in that area for when we return from Jeju. Because I've stayed in Euljiro and Itaewon before, my next choices are Myeongdong, Insadong or Gangnam.

These neighbourhoods have different vibes but knowing my sister who has a dynamic mix of adventure and hermit, I decided Insa-dong would be best. We both love art and culture, and she is into tea. Insadong is also more laid back than the other two so I'm looking for a soft landing for my sister's introduction to South Korea.

Speaking of which, I think I'm going to seriously learn a few words of it before I arrive. Korean in 80 days? Sounds fun.

Back to the hotels

More scans produced a few good options:

From blogs (private, first-hand experience account)

• Hotel Tong Andante Insadong (gentle on the wallet, basic yet elegant and quaint). The blog I piped this from had a proximity to halal-food slant.
• Nine Tree by Parnas Insadong (pricier, but reasonably so and close to Metro: Anguk Station) was suggested by this blog with recommendations for first-time visitors to Seoul.

From hotel booking platforms (based on my evaluation of comfort, price, location and general vibe)

• Nobel Hotel (modest mid-range, not fancy but has self-service laundry. Important for ppl who travel long but light)
• N285 Hotel Insadong (mid range. A surprise find and one which I very nearly ended up booking because it ticks all the boxes)
• ibis Ambassador Seoul Insadong (upper mid range, a little further from the metro compared to Nine Tree and N285 Hotel but doable)

Being in Insa-dong, there are also unique stay experiences like a traditional home or hanok. In the end, though, I chose ibis. Usually, I'm not a fan of hotel chains, but I'm traveling with my sister and I don't want things to be fussy.

However, the real pull factors here were that the hotel was recently renovated (2025), the modest discount through the AirAsia Move app which made it reasonable (it was close to the price of Hotel Sunbee, which is a desirable looking hotel but I reluctantly struck it out because I was booking for three nights) and cheaper as compared to two other popular hotel booking platforms I compared with, and has self-service laundry.

If anyone has experience with any of the above mentioned hotels, feel free to add your comment here. I'll return to this post (hopefully!) after the sister trip at the end of the year to see if expectations were met or otherwise.

So, that's done. Now to start learning the language. Wish me luck!