Sophia Guesthouse

Not a traditional hotel by any means, but very traditional South Korean guest house. The Korean breakfast was fantastic. A bit hard to find.

This is an absolutely amazing place. It it tucked away in the middle of the Hanok village area and is within walking distance of the Changdeok Palace and Insadong. It was a perfect place for all of our activities. The hospitality of the staff is beyond amazing. From carrying your bags in, to accommodating arrival times While the site mentions their breakfast, it does not being to describe the experience. At around 8am you slide open the doors to your area and are presented loaded trays of freshly made traditional Korean foods to start your day. The soups and food are prepared in the courtyard. Our 2nd morning was chilly and the amazing gukbap soup was far better than a cup of coffee to get us started. There is also filtered water in the courtyard and the location is right beside 2 restaurants with multiple others and continence stores minutes away. On the comfort level, this is a Hanock, which means there are not beds. There are traditional sleeping mats and blankets. We were in the deluxe and a bit surprised of the actual size (about 6ft by 12ft in the main area. This may be an adjustment for some western travelers. We did have some struggles with luggage and getting settled in at night with 4 people and some large bags. We will get the larger room on our next visit. Temperature wise, we were very comfortable even though it was fairly cold. The bathroom also had a heated floor and was larger than other Korean hotels I've stayed in. Loved our visit!

My stay was really nice! I was sent a confirmation text right after booking with directions from the subway station to the guesthouse and it was pretty easy to find. The area it's surrounded by is really nice and right next to a bunch of museums and palaces! It's also surrounded by tons of shops, cafes, and restaurants. I chose to travel around, but I could have easily stayed in that area with zero problems. The staff were incredibly friendly and knew a bit of English. The single room is smaller than it appears in the pictures, but it was still really nice, clean, and has plenty of room for me and my things. You also get a private bathroom. It's small, but average for most Korean style bathrooms and had everything I needed. There's an AC unit inside the room, too, and the floor is heated, so I was super comfortable. If I had to guess the size laying down, I would say it's about roughly 185-190 cm, so, if you're taller than that, it might be a bit of a squeeze. Breakfast was served in the morning (homemade bibimbap) and was really lovely. The garden area is just as pictured. I would absolutely book again!