Palatium Haeundae by SONO Felice

We stayed at this brand new serviced apartment with 2 adults and 2 children. It had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a dining area, and a living room. The large wrap-around balcony offered amazing sunset views. If you're sensitive to light, bring your own eye mask, or the front desk can provide one. One of the guest rooms only has sheer curtains, not blackout ones. The hotel is quite new, so if you're taking a taxi and can't read Korean, you can just search for "Obanjang Samgyeopsal" in Haeundae, Busan. The hotel building is right next to it. It's located just 30 meters after turning left at the second intersection on the main road of Haeundae Beach. It's a very convenient 3-minute walk to the beach. Highly recommended!

⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Four stars, deductions mainly for hardware details) For my trip to Busan's Haeundae, I booked this two-bedroom, one-living room apartment-style family room. The price was very reasonable as I booked in advance, and it's perfect for multiple people or families traveling with children. ✅ Pros: 1. **Excellent Location:** It's right next to the heart of Haeundae's commercial district. You can go shopping and buy daily necessities just by stepping out onto the street, making it very convenient for getting around. It's also only 3 subway stops direct to Shinsegae Centum City Department Store, making shopping and dining a breeze. 2. **Great Layout:** The apartment has a standard two-bedroom, one-living room layout, equipped with two queen-sized (1.5-meter) beds. The two-bathroom design means no fighting for the restroom. It also has a separate living room and an open-plan kitchen, with a washing machine in the room, making daily laundry and cooking very convenient. 3. **Unique Rotating Balcony:** The rotating balcony offers a great view. There's a café on the ground floor where guests can have breakfast (I didn't pre-order breakfast). The overall space is spacious and has a very homey feel. There are three air conditioners in total, and their cooling capacity is sufficient. ⚠️ Areas for Improvement: 1. **Housekeeping:** Unlike regular hotels, there's no cleaning indicator light in the room. If you want your room cleaned, you have to call the front desk to schedule it, which is quite inconvenient. 2. **Lack of Blackout Curtains:** The secondary bedroom only has a sheer curtain and no thick blackout curtain. As soon as it gets light, direct sunlight streams into the room, making it easy to be woken up and affecting sleep quality. I hope the owner can install blackout curtains to improve this. 3. **Limited AC Remote Control:** With three air conditioners, only one remote control is provided. To turn on AC in different rooms, you have to move the remote back and forth, which is very troublesome to use. 4. **No AC in Hallways:** The public hallways on the floor don't have air conditioning. When entering and exiting the room, the hallways feel noticeably stuffy and uncomfortable. Overall, the value for money is good, and the location and layout are very suitable for family travel. However, there are quite a few hardware details that could be improved. Friends who are particular about blackout curtains and AC convenience might want to consider these points beforehand.

Completely exceeded my expectations! The room was huge, with two bathrooms and a living room. There was even a washing machine right in the room, so I could do laundry directly. Plus, it had a balcony, and I could see the beach from the window in the morning. Overall, it was a fantastic experience and great value for money. It's also right next to Haeundae Beach; you just walk straight down the road and you're there! 🫰

This isn't so much a hotel as it is a Korean-style apartment being sold to the public, temporarily operating as a hotel. It's newly built, and some areas are still undergoing renovation. **Pros:** 1. **Brand New Facilities, Spacious Rooms:** The deluxe suite is very spacious, with brand new and clean decor, perfect for families with two children. 2. **Excellent Location:** It's right on the bustling Haeundae commercial street. There's a 7-Eleven and a coffee shop on the ground floor, making dining and shopping incredibly convenient. Ideal for family trips. 3. **Well-Equipped Gym:** The hotel has a gym with a full range of equipment, which wasn't mentioned on the booking page – a pleasant surprise! Several treadmills offer sea views, which is a nice bonus. 4. **Decent Value for Money:** The overall value is quite good, with ample space for multi-person families. **Cons:** 1. **No Air Conditioning in Hallways:** We stayed on the 14th and 15th floors. The hallways on these floors had no air conditioning, and Busan has been sweltering lately. Only the lobby and elevators were air-conditioned, making the hallways uncomfortably stuffy. 2. **Poor Suite Design:** Only one bedroom in the suite has curtains. If you're on a lower floor facing the street, the lights at night can be blinding, and there's no way to block them out. I tried to ask the front desk to change rooms, but they informed me that all deluxe suites have the same configuration – one room with curtains and one without – so changing rooms wouldn't help. 3. **Housekeeping Not Automatic:** Rooms are not cleaned proactively; you have to call the front desk to arrange for housekeeping. 4. **Complicated Gym Access:** You can't enter the gym directly with your room card; you have to go to the front desk to activate access, which is a cumbersome process. 5. **Cost-Cutting Details:** Many details clearly show cost-cutting measures, and numerous poorly designed features significantly reduce comfort during the stay. **Summary:** It boasts a great location and large rooms, making it suitable for families visiting Haeundae. However, the numerous cost-saving designs are a major drawback. If comfort is a priority, you might want to reconsider. For those prioritizing convenience and value for money, it could be an option.

The room is very spacious with a wraparound balcony, two bedrooms, and two bathrooms. However, one of the bedrooms doesn't have blackout curtains, and it gets light quite early in Busan. Downstairs, there's a large convenience store and a cafe/breakfast shop, and it's very close to the beach! There are also many great food options downstairs, including an eel restaurant that always has a queue.

Haha, because the hotel we switched to for the latter half of our trip was so terrible, I actually came back here! I managed to snag the only available sea-view room at the last minute. The hotel is really close to the beach, by the way. The front desk staff were quite surprised to see us, considering we had just checked out that morning. I still love it here, and this time I even got to see the sunset, which was an added bonus!

This hotel is incredibly convenient. We took a taxi from Daegu to Busan and arrived in just half an hour. There's a cafe and a 7-Eleven on the first floor of the hotel, and a GS25 nearby. It's only a two or three-minute walk to the commercial area and about 10 minutes to Haeundae Beach. The airport shuttle bus stop is also within a 10-minute walk, which is super convenient. Plus, the front desk service is excellent. When we checked out, we went for a seafood meal, and because the smell was quite strong, we asked the front desk if they had any odor eliminator. At first, they said no, and we thought that was that. But then, the front desk staff went out of their way to find some for us, came back, told us they found it, and even helped us spray our clothes. It's actually an apartment converted into a hotel, so the rooms are exceptionally spacious. I've already recommended this hotel to friends visiting Busan.

This place feels more like a serviced apartment. It's newly renovated and doesn't have any strange smells, and the appliances are top-notch. However, as a hotel guest, you can't use the washing machine or stove. The fridge is huge and even makes ice. I booked a two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit, but the curtains in one of the bedrooms didn't block out the light very well. There's a convenient store downstairs, and it's within walking distance to the commercial street and the beach, with plenty of dining options. If you're coming to Busan, I highly recommend staying here; hotels in the city center aren't as convenient as this location.