Jet lag, booking fails, and a hotel scam turned our Seoul to Busan trip into chaos, but a last-minute hack got us a ‘Presidential’ surprise—sort of.
Ah, the joys of long-haul travel. My mom and I were jet-setting from Helsinki to Seoul, then onto Busan, exhausted but running purely on adrenaline and the promise of the ocean breeze. 22:10—we finally made it, catching the last metro, and there we were, Gunam-ro, a road I know and love. We could almost smell the sea. So, naturally, we sprinted towards our hotel, Best Western Haeundae Hotel (not sponsored, thank goodness).
And that’s when reality slapped us in the face.
It turns out that when you book in a frenzy, June and July look shockingly similar. Yep, we had booked the wrong date. And instead of hospitality, we were met with a shameless tourist tax hustle—the receptionists pushing us to cough up extra just to stay.
My mom? Nearly ready to crash on the beach rather than give them another cent.
Me? Quiet rage, level 100.
Cue Plan B—I yanked out my phone, pulled up Booking.com, and had a confirmed last-minute reservation within minutes.
Plot twist: It was 45% cheaper than what the hotel demanded at the desk. Reception was not amused. In fact, they were so unhappy that—surprise, surprise—our newly booked room suddenly wasn’t available.
So what did they do? They upgraded us. Sounds fancy, right? Except we landed in the Presidential Suite, normally €150 more per night… and yet, somehow, it was a total disaster.
There were red lipstick stains on the towels, full trash cans, and furniture that had been through several lifetimes of questionable use. The only redeeming features were a balcony and a jacuzzi bathtub. (thank goodness they don’t have it anymore on site)
Four-star hotel? More like a generous two.
Lesson learned: Always double-check your dates. And if a hotel tries to scam you, just out-book them.
