Gwangju Sejong Hotel

Decent location near the train station, though a bit far from the city center with very few restaurants around. The lady who checked us in was friendly. Our room was clean with a modern bathroom and toiletries provided. However, the beds were very hard and uncomfortable. Parking was spacious and located right beneath the hotel. Overall a decent value given the price, but nothing particularly special.

There is no English sign at the front of Gwangju Sejong Hotel. If you can read Korean, you'll be able to make out the name in Korean words. Adding to the confusion, the nameplate on the front desk said "Hiddink Motel", which I reckon must have been the previous name of this place, one of many love motels in the area. Not a word of English is spoken here. In fact sometimes, there wasn't even a trace of human in the lobby during my stay. The room I had was spacious and the bed was comfortable with a spring mattress. For the price I paid, I expected the following and these were provided: elevator, good climate control, sufficient power points, satisfactory wifi, desk, fridge, kettle and cups, TV (but no international news channels). I expected a safe, but this wasn't installed. The bathroom was also spacious but was dimly lit. Water pressure and drainage were good; hot water came through quite quickly. The towels were clean, though small. Cleanliness of the room however was substandard. The floor was sticky underfoot in a few places, though bedlinen looked to have been well laundered. There was no daily cleaning of the room. Location-wise, it's only good if you want proximity (250 metres) to the slow-train Gwangju railway station. There is nothing of much use in the area except convenience stores. It is also rather quiet at night once the vehicle repair shops have closed. There are no restaurants around. Buses do run along the roads, and the hotel is about 3 stops (going 1 km due south) to Geumnam-no 5-ga metro station. The fast-train Gwangju-Songjeong Railway Station is about 30 minutes by metro to the West. If you are coming from that station, you may be better off choosing a hotel in the Sangmu area, 4 metro stops from Gwangju-Songjeong.