How's the hotel situation in Yeosu ahead of the Expo?

Atop the Gwangju Ilbo yesterday.

Not so good, according to this Korea Times article.

Visitors of the 2012 Yeosu Expo may encounter inconveniences due to a lack of accommodation during the three-month international exposition, state auditors said, Wednesday.

. . .

The Board of Audit and Inspection pointed out that the Expo will suffer a shortage of 8,000 rooms due to poor planning.

It said that the expo's organizing committee's demand for Yeosu City to build a floating hotel with 500 rooms off its coast has been rejected.

Earlier in the month they did announce that a 25-story, 300-room hotel is going up on the Expo grounds.




There is indeed a shortage of good hotels in Yeosu, though. There are motels, sure---144, says Naver---and they're often decent enough, and there are a handful of tourist hotels. I've summarized them briefly below, but if you can navigate Korean-language pages take a look at their websites for more information and for pictures. The distances from the Expo site are calculated by Naver, and is the distance travelled, not the actual distance as if you were flying in a straight line (I'm sure there's a proper term for that):

* City Park Resort (시티파크리조트). A hotel and 18-hole golf course scheduled to open in mid-March. Prices aren't listed but on-site amenities include a Korean restaurant, a Japanese restaurant, sauna, gym, swimming pool, and a yacht, and the resort invites you to "please experience the luxurious life that can feel self-confidence." It's a little west of Minpyeong Station, just over 7 kilometers from the Expo site (map here, in Korean).

* Drive-in Palace Hotel (드라이브인궁호텔). This isn't a tourist hotel, and is more of a boutique hotel resembling some of the better love motels, but I've included it because some of the pictures posted on Naver look good. It's located in Dolsan-eup, on Dolsan Island, about six kilometers south of the Expo site.

* Hotel Chambord (여수샹보르관광호텔). Five types of rooms, ranging from 70,000 won per night to 150,000. On-site amenities in the 32-room hotel include a restaurant, game room, and singing room. Located in Gonghwa-dong, a few blocks from the Expo site (map here, in Korean).

* Hotel EJ, or Eastern Jewelry (호텔이스턴주얼리, or 호텔이제이) Rates in the 58-room hotel start at 105,000 won per night and go up to 400,000. There's a restaurant, business center, and a few banquet halls. Located in Chungmu-dong, a bit north of Jinnamgwan and the pedestrian shopping area "downtown," and just over three kilometers from the Expo site (map here, in Korean).

* Hotel Tiffany (티파니관광호텔). Five types of rooms, ranging from 70,000 won per night to 185,000, though lower rates are in effect at times throughout the year. On-site amenities include a restaurant, bar, sauna, and business room. Located in Hak-dong a few buildings down from the Bellagio (map here, in Korean)

* The Ocean Resort (더오션리조트). I've written about Jeollanam-do's waterparks before, and "The Ocean" opened with one in 2008. The complex includes condominiums, a golf course, restaurants, and of course the waterpark, saunas, and spas. The condos are prohibatively expensive for most readers, though.

* Yeosu Beach Tourist Hotel (여수비치관광호텔). No website, but Naver provides a map. Also in Chungmu-dong, next to Hotel EJ, three-odd kilometers from the Expo site. There's no beach there, and the nearest one is Manseongni (만성리해수욕장), the city's "famous" "black sand" beach, a few kilometers up the road from the Expo. I went there in 2008 and even though

Burying your body in the sand is claimed to cure neuralgia and various women's diseases making the beach a crowded place for visitors who come from all over the country to experience its benefits.

it was lame. Mosageum (모사금해수욕장) just up the road is better.

* Yeosu Bellagio Tourist Hotel (여수벨라지오관광호텔). There are six classes of rooms, starting at 40,000 won per night for the standard and go up to 320,000 won for the "President" room. On-site facilities include a positively garish restaurant and a "sky lounge." It's located in Hak-dong, near Yeosu City Hall, just under 11 kilometers from the Expo site.

* Yeosu Tourist Hotel (여수관광호텔). No webpage, but Naver says rooms run from 36,000 won to 80,000 won per night. A few blocks from the Expo site.

Keep in mind that hotels that designate themselves "tourist hotels" aren't necessarily designed to handle foreign tourists. There are others that call themselves "hotels" though they don't have websites, don't have much about them on Naver, and you're probably not going to stay in them. You can browse Naver's 117 results if you'd like.

Suncheon has two tourist hotels, and is currently building a third that looks pretty nice and is going up, I assumed, to help remedy this shortage. The Ecograd will be Suncheon's first classy hotel:

Amenities at the hotel include a fitness club, spa, business lounge, wedding hall, seven restaurants, two bars, and nine classes of rooms.

It's over 30 kilometers away, though. The only nearby international chains is the Ramada in Gwangju and the in Hilton Golf and Spa Resort in Namhae, though both are over an hour drive from Yeosu.

I don't think the shortage is a cause for concern for foreigners. If you're going to Yeosu from a foreign country, to do whatever it is people do at an Expo, chances are you're invited and paid for. If you're a foreigner visiting Yeosu for a day or two during the Expo, to do whatever it is people do at an Expo, chances are you'll be fine with staying at one of the many motels in town.



Related posts:
* (3/1/2010): Yeosu's Water Cube, and other cool buildings for 2012 Expo.
* (9/9/2009): Budget concerns in Yeosu ahead of Expo.