Aiden by Best Western Cheongdam

elizbeartravel

February 16

In my multiple trips to Seoul, I have always stayed in the Dongdaemun or Yongsan areas since shopping and sightseeing are always more convenient. I have only stayed in the Gangnam area once on my very first trip and this is my second time due to a business trip

Located in Gangnam Gu, we were booked into Aiden by Best Western Cheongdam, a 10 to 15-minute walk from the main luxury shopping street in Apujeong-ro. The famous K-star Road or SM Entertainment celebrity building is also on the same luxury street. The hotel is pretty discreet in design with no huge signboard so it can be easily missed from the main street. With a unique and artistic design, the building stands out from the rest of the older buildings and at first glance can be mistaken for an art center or modern office

The wave design on the exterior of the building is extended to its lobby giving it the same modern and hipster artistic look and feel. The lobby is not very huge but has sufficient sitting areas for guests to sit. There are only 2 check-in counters with 2 staff at any time with another self-check-in machine at the side entrance from the carpark. The check-in process was relatively fast and the staff spoke good English. There is no carpark space available at this hotel and a small waiting area so if you are calling a taxi, you will have to either wait at the side door or when the taxi arrives, the staff will inform you at the front door

The room is decent in size for a standard double and the layout of the room has the main amenities area located right at the entrance of the room. The huge mirror and sink are outside the bathroom and beneath the sink is an area for towels, hair dryer and storage. The coffee machine is next to the sink and below it is a small bar fridge and just at the side of the door is a metal pool to hang your jackets, clothes, and bathrobe as well as a small bench for more storage

The space on the left of the entrance is the open toilet as well as a separate shower area. If more privacy is needed, there is a bigger sliding door which closes this space from the opposite-facing sink and storage area. As I am staying alone, I usually leave the sliding door open as it is slightly heavy and a hassle to open and close all the time. The space of the bathroom is smaller than most business hotels but the strength and hotness of the shower are great. The toilet comes with a bidet and drying functions

The room itself is basic with a king-sized bed, wall mounted TV as well as a sofa and desk which is placed next to the floor-to-ceiling windows. They also provided a foldable luggage rack for you to place your luggage. The bed is medium hardness and is supportive enough for me who usually likes firmer beds. The pillow however was extremely soft and I slept on 3 pillows all stacked up. They were fluffy but once you lie on them, they tend to flatten out. The feature I really loved was the desk by the pillow as I could work and look out onto the traffic and pedestrians which was a very relaxing thing to do when I got frustrated or needed an eye rest from the screen. Something to note for people who cannot sleep with lights, the LED screens from opposite buildings tend to shine directly into the room on the bed so it would be recommended to have the dark curtains pulled in before you head to bed. As I needed to be up fairly early for work, I left the dark curtains open and only the light curtains and I was kept up till quite late from the distracting lights

Overall, the stay at the hotel was relatively comfortable as the rooms were fuss-free and really catered to business travellers or customers who were getting medical treatments from the nearby centres. There is a whole street of restaurants just behind the hotel and at least 5 coffee houses within walking distance of 5 minutes. The nearest subway station is at least 15 to 20 minutes away so the only downside for me is the convenience of traveling around by train so I got around mostly by taxi

Address: 60-8 Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Room rates from SGD 105