Hotel the Designers

Top choice in Gwanghwamun & Jongno-gu


Eighteen designers were given free rein to decorate the suites at this sophisticated love motel, tucked off the main road. Check the website for the different themes: our favourite is Camp Ruka-baik, with a tent, deck chairs, tree-bark-covered poles and guitar for a camping-in-the-city experience. Large discounts when booked online.

If you just want a taste of these fantasy rooms then short stays (four hours Sunday to Thursday, three hours Friday and Saturday) are also available for ₩40,000.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Gwanghwamun & Jongno-gu attractions

1. Tapgol Park

0.1 MILES

Seoul's first modern-style park, opened in 1897, stands on the precincts of Wongak-sa, a Buddhist temple destroyed in 1504. Left behind was its remarkable…

2. Stone Pagoda of Wongak-sa

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This 10-tier, 12m-high monument in Tapgol Park once graced Wongak-sa, a Buddhist temple that stood here but was destroyed in 1504 on the orders of the…

3. Sun Art Center

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One of Seoul's longest running commercial-art galleries, in business since 1977, Sun Art specialises in early-20th-century Korean art and awards an annual…

4. Hwabong Gallery

0.31 MILES

Cutting-edge Korean art is usually on show in this basement space alongside permanent displays of the smallest book in the world (no more than a dot), and…

5. Bosingak

0.32 MILES

Contrasting with the modern Jongno Tower opposite, this ornate pavilion houses a recent copy of the city bell – the original, forged in 1468, is in the…

6. Jongno Tower

0.32 MILES

Designed by Rafael Viñoly, this striking 33-storey office building with a floating oval lords it over low-rise Insa-dong and has a fancy restaurant and…

7. Cheondogyo Temple

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Cheondogyo means 'Religion of the Heavenly Way', and this temple is the hall of worship for a home-grown faith containing Buddhist, Confucian and…

8. Tteok & Kitchen Utensil Museum

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For those interested in the local sweet culture, this two-room museum at the Institute of Traditional Korean Food offers displays of rice cakes in…