Review: Oriens Hotels & Residences (Korea)

I visited Korea last year in 2016 and stayed at this hotel called Oriens Hotels & Residences. This is located within walking distance (about 10 minutes' walk) from Myeongdong so it's quite convenient. One thing to take note though, you might want to remember which point to start walking from Myeongdong or you might get lost. Myeongdong is like a maze that could get confusing, especially at night when the crowds are in attendance.

I decided upon this hotel because my ex-colleague had glowing reviews of it when she visited Korea some time back. I booked both accommodation and airfare via Expedia so the price was quite reasonable. I can't remember the exact price but I do remember it being quite reasonable and of course, cheaper than a hotel room in Japan. Heh.

Anyway, its address:
50 Samil-daero 2-gil, Jung-gu Seoul, Korea



What I like about it:

• spacious room equipped with a small kitchenette, big fridge and dining table
• friendly and English-speaking front desk 
• walking distance to Myeongdong and various subway lines
• accessible to a few eating places and convenience store
• it's near the airport limousine stop from Incheon airport
• it has a lower level at the front door where you can leave your shoes before you step up to the room level.

What I don't quite like about it:

• The toilet's water flow is a bit weird. It flows outside the shower area to the toilet drain under the sink instead so it wets the entire toilet. 
• It's a little confusing to walk from the airport limousine bus-stop but you can actually access the hotel lobby via its indoor car park. 
• The lift is a tight squeeze for 4 people and their luggage, especially our big and bulky ones.
• The rooms are fairly close to each other, for example, we were able to look into our friends' room when the blinds were not drawn so you may want to take note of that. 

Review: We enjoy our stay at this hotel for a few reasons. It was quiet and reasonably near to Myeongdong. The rooms are quite spacious and come with a kitchenette, but could do with some improvement to their toilet design. You might be a little confused as you come up from the airport limousine bus-stop though so remember to access the hotel lobby via the indoor car park. The front door is quite prominent so no worries there. It just takes a bit of an uphill walk.

Buying Travel Insurance

Travelling can be hazardous so getting a travel insurance is another must-get on my list. Of course, we hope that nothing happens during the trip but it's imperative to be prepared. You never know what may happen. But you don't want to blindly buy any insurance off the Internet, so here is an article by Straits Times on the things to look out while purchasing an insurance policy. All the important points are there, so do read up.

Now you might be someone who doesn't believe in travel insurance and thinks it's a scam. But it can really come in useful, especially when you lose your belongings or get hurt in an accident. On top of the tips offered in the ST article, you may want to make sure that your policy doesn't require you to see a doctor during your trip before you claim post trip medical expenses. The reason why I say this is that we all assume that travel insurance is supposed to cover post trip medical expenses. However, the insurance that I usually buy doesn't actually do that.

I hurt my foot during a recent trip to Japan and while it was painful, I thought I'd see a doctor in Singapore instead. After all, I know where the doctors are and it's easier to tell them where I hurt and to get medication instructions. This is not really possible in Japan since I hardly speak the language. Anyway, I filed a claim and all, but they rejected my very small medical claim by saying I had to seek medical advice during the trip first and follow up with a post trip medical visit before I could claim anything. It's like so WOW that I'm amazed. Isn't it a given for travel insurance policies to cover post medical expenses?

Anyway, I'm not going to purchase any policy from them in future but I thought I should put this here to remind my readers to make sure all angles are covered adequately before you purchase a travel insurance policy. Don't just be attracted by the price or promotion! XD

In any case, to make things easier for your comparison, there are a few websites where you can check out the differences in pricing as well as features. MoneySmart is one and GoBear is the other, so have fun comparing! :)