A Family-Friendly Stay at Somerset Palace Seoul: Spacious Rooms, Great Location, and a Rooftop Secret!
- Place
- Somerset Palace Seoul
- Original source
- blog.naver.com
We stayed at Somerset Palace for 2 nights and 3 days, and the spacious rooms and in-room cooking facilities were great for a family stay with my parents.
Somerset Palace is conveniently located near Anguk Station, and within walking distance of Gwanghwamun and Jonggak Stations. Gyeongbokgung Palace and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art are right in front, and there are many options for getting around by bus or subway nearby. Best of all, it used to be my old company building, so it was quite familiar and comfortable for me.
It was expensive because it was Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) and we booked a bit late... but I used welfare points, which eased the burden a bit. A bit stingy that it's a 3-person room but the basic occupancy is for 2 people, so I paid an extra charge of 22,000 won per day, totaling 44,000 won.
One of the advantages of Somerset Palace! Free parking during your stay!
Available from 1 PM on the day of your stay until 1 PM on the day of check-out.
The Executive Twin Room has a double bed + a single bed, and there's a sliding door between the two beds that can be used to separate them. The sliding door didn't stay fixed very well and would close on its own sometimes though ^^;;;
Honestly, the beds weren't great. The size wasn't small, but they weren't comfortable, and you could feel every movement of the person next to you...
The closet was quite large, and there were plenty of hangers.
The room was really big, so even with 3 people, it didn't feel cramped, and it was comfortable to relax on the sofa. There was also a dining table and 3 chairs, which made it good for eating meals.
It's a work table, but I used it as a dressing table because it has a mirror.
I used the air conditioner, and although it was an older model, it didn't smell and worked fine.
There was a refrigerator, water purifier, microwave, electric hob, as well as various kitchen utensils, knives, pots, and even dish soap, so it was possible to cook meals in the room. Thanks to that, we were able to easily prepare breakfast.
There's a small cabinet near the front door with a washing machine and slippers. The room floor is tiled, but not very clean, so you definitely need to wear slippers... And there was no shoehorn, but you can get one if you ask for it.
I don't have many pictures of the bathroom... It's a bit small compared to the room, and amenities are provided in refillable containers. You need to bring your own toothbrush and toothpaste, but if you forget, you can buy them at the convenience store on the first floor.
There's a swimming pool on the hotel rooftop, but it's small, just for kids to play in... but the reason we went up to the rooftop throughout our stay!!
If you look carefully, you can enjoy views of Gyeongbokgung Palace and the Blue House (Cheongwadae). The rooftop of Somerset Palace has gardens and boundary stones along the outer walls of the building, so the surrounding scenery isn't as good as you might expect.
But, with my experience of working in the building for many years... I'm going to give you a tip! If you stand with your back to the swimming pool, you'll see a low glass door. Go through it and turn left...
Go towards the lights between the pillars behind the table...
Right here is the spot where you can see Gyeongbokgung Palace and the Blue House very well! Not only here, but if you look around, there are also places where you can see the N Seoul Tower well, and the rooftop garden is also well-maintained, so be sure to come up here at least once~~
However, it's a bit disappointing that there's no separate elevator to go up to the rooftop, and you have to go to the 18th floor and take the stairs.
There are a total of 4 elevators at Somerset Palace (actually 7, but since 2 are together, let's call it 3 for convenience). The elevator you see as soon as you enter the building is for the lower floors, so you don't need to use it except when going to the breakfast restaurant on the 2nd floor or the underground parking lot. There's an elevator next to the check-in area and an elevator for guests in front of The Kitchen Il Porno, but the elevator in front of Il Porno was closer to our room, so we only used this one. This elevator didn't go up to the rooftop. The remaining 1 is for staff, and it goes up to the rooftop, but it's a bit small, and you might feel a little self-conscious if you run into staff... I didn't check if the elevator at the check-in area goes up to the rooftop.
And if you come out towards Crystal Jade, you'll see a small path directly opposite, which leads directly to Jogyesa Temple. It rained a lot during our stay, so I couldn't take any pictures...
This picture was taken from our room... it's the part marked in white, and if you go through there and enter Jogyesa Temple and go out through the main gate of Jogyesa Temple, you can go to Jonggak Station or the bus stop right in front.
On the day of check-out, there was a Tim Hortons in front of the hotel, and I met the Statue of Peace on my way to buy donuts. Originally, the Japanese Embassy was in front of here, so the Statue of Peace was installed and there were rallies every Wednesday... I was a little sad about the barricades all around.
Have I ever been to Tim Hortons in Canada? I heard that you have to eat Iced Capps at Tim Hortons, but it was cold, so I skipped the coffee and bought donuts as a snack to eat on the move. I thought about going to London Bagel Museum, but I prepared too leisurely, so there wasn't enough time to go.
Somerset Palace is convenient for staying with 3 or more people and for traveling around Insadong, Jongno, Dongdaemun, and Myeongdong. I booked it a bit expensively because of the Chuseok special (about 600,000 won for 2 nights including the extra person fee), but free parking was available and the room was big, so I had a comfortable stay. I recommend it if you are looking for a place to stay with your family.
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