Sokcho | Haru GuestHouse

We debated for a long time whether or not we should camp out while visiting Seoraksan National Park, but since we planned everything the night before leaving, we decided to make things easy on ourselves and book a room in a guest house. While there were quite a few lodging options closer to the park entrance, the ones we found online (in particular the huge hotel with a strange British theme) were pricey, and way more room than what we needed.

Instead we opted for Haru GuestHouse in Sokcho, about a 15 minute or so drive from the park entrance. A guest house falls somewhere between a hostel, a boutique hotel, and a bed and breakfast, and caters to younger, budget-minded clientele. Many of the guest houses we have seen in Korea have a flair for modern interior design and offer a combination of dorm rooms (with bunks), double rooms and family rooms. While the rooms tend to be on the smaller side, there are plenty of common areas for dining, lounging, and watching TV. It’s something like a combination of cafe, lounge, and hotel, all wrapped into one.

plenty of space in the common areas to hang out – they even had a craft/candle making room?

We chose to stay in a double room with en suite bathroom. Our room was compact but well-designed so that we had more than enough room for the both of us. Opposite our bed was a long built-in table that served as a desk, vanity and general place to store our crap. Under the wall shelf was an electric wine refrigerator of all things. We couldn’t quite figure out the need for a wine chiller over an actual mini-fridge as European-style wine isn’t necessarily as common as other forms of booze in Korea and certainly not enough to warrant a personal wine chiller. Even more perplexing was that the wine cooler only turned on when the room’s main power was activated by our key card, which meant that we couldn’t leave things in the wine fridge to cool while we were away.

Wine chiller aside, we really liked our room – it was just perfect for what we needed. After hiking all day in the blazing hot sun, we were really thankful to be able to return to our air conditioned room, take hot showers, sip on lukewarm drinks, and watch random English programs on Korean cable.

In an attempt to get to the park ahead of the crowds, we often left the guesthouse before breakfast. On our last day, we finally decided to stick around a little later and ease into the morning. We were the first people to arrive at the cafe, so while we waited for the kitchen to officially open, we played a few of the games from the game wall and downed multiple cups of freshly brewed coffee.

remember this game? 

looking from the stairwell to the back of the guesthouse

where’s waldo?

Maybe we’re suckers for modern interior design that features plenty of exposed lights, concrete finishes, and a graphical use of typography, but we both really loved this little guesthouse. Sure, it was no love motel with dancing disco lights, mirrored walls, and a Jacuzzi built for two, but that was probably a good thing.

DETAILS

Haru GuestHouse | COST: ~$60-65/night for double room, includes breakfast | DESCRIPTION: Conveniently located right across from the Sokcho bus terminal and about a 15-20 minutes drive to the Seoraksan National Park entrance. The guesthouse is sort of at the end of the main downtown area, but within close walking distance to many shops, restaurants, convenience stores, and stuffed squid vendors. You can select from a dorm room/bunk bed, a double, or triple room, all with en suite bathrooms. The rooms are small by American standards and the beds are Korean-style (hard) mattresses, but we felt our room to be just the right size for two people and very comfortable. Shampoo, conditioner, body wash, soap, and other toiletries are provided. As an added bonus, there were a ton of English speaking channels available on cable! On-site cafe serves breakfast and has other light snacks and drinks for sale, but you can bring and eat your own food in the common areas. Parking is available on site, with overflow parking available at the gas station parking lot next door. | VERDICT: Guesthouses may not be for everyone but so far this is the perfect type of lodging for us — simple, clean, inexpensive, with lots of fun design details.