Hotel Review: ENA Suite Hotel Namdaemun in Seoul. How to Book, The Rooms, The Facilities, and More!
When I started hunting for our hotel in Seoul, I knew that the most important thing of all was going to be location. We wanted to be in the heart of the action, but not in the middle of the nightlife districts (this wouldn’t work for the boys). We wanted to be close to a metro station, and we wanted to stick to our budget without sacrificing comfort and convenience.
An added bonus that we also always look for in any hotel is a swimming pool. The boys LOVE to swim (they’re real water babies) and after a long day of sightseeing an on-site pool gives them a chance to relax while letting out any extra energy too.
And we found the Holy Grail! The ENA Suite Hotel Namdaemun met every single criterion on our list. Wondering if this is the right hotel for your family? Here’s our complete and honest review:
- The Location Of The ENA Suite Hotel Namdaemun
- Booking the ENA Suite Hotel Namdaemun in Seoul
- The Facilities at the ENA Suite Hotel Namdaemun
- The Rooms at the ENA Suite Hotel Namdaemun
- Food At The the ENA Suite Hotel Namdaemun
- Further Reading
Heads up! This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click and make a purchase, I might earn a very small commission – at no extra cost to you. This helps to keep the blog going. Thanks for the support!
The Location Of The ENA Suite Hotel Namdaemun
The location of the ENA Suite Hotel Namdaemun is such an asset to the hotel, and one of the main reasons we ended up staying here.
It’s located close to Deoksugung Palace and Cheonggye Plaza. Renting a hanbok to explore the palace was one of the highlights of my time in Seoul, and would be so easy to do from this spot! And you’re also just a two-minute walk away from the Sungnyemun Gate.
(Side note, this hotel is SO central that because we were in Seoul during the Presidential trial where Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from office, and the resulting political protests and celebrations were so close to the hotel that we could hear/see them every night.)
You can get to the City Hall Subway Station (green line) in around 1 minute. And although we didn’t want to be in Myeongdong (ironically because we were trying to avoid noisy evenings), we could walk to Myeongdong from the hotel in around 15 minutes, which we ended up doing most evenings. We also walked to Myeongdong at 6am one morning to meet the coach for our DMZ tour, and this was a safe and easy walk, so a great spot if this is on your bucket list too.
This hotel was in the perfect spot for us, and even if you decide this isn’t the right hotel for you, I would recommend looking at other options in the Namdaemun area.
The full address of the hotel (handy to have if you’re getting a taxi from the airport or after a big night out) is 120-13 Seosomun-dong, Jung-gu, Myeong-dong, Seoul, Seoul.
On the same street as the hotel you’ll find restaurants, an incredible bakery, a pharmacy, and a convenience store that was perfect for grabbing drinks and snacks before heading back to the room at night.
Booking the ENA Suite Hotel Namdaemun in Seoul
The ENA Suite Hotel Namdaemun is a 4 star hotel, but it’s very affordable given its star rating and its abundance of facilities.
We always book well in advance to get the best prices and paid £746.74 for our 5 night stay when we visited in April. We booked this 13 months in advance to get the price so low.
Looking at prices for next April now, prices seem a little higher, starting from around £250 for family rooms with two adults and two children (which is what we booked) or £155 per night for a double room if you’re travelling without kids.
Because this is one of the cheaper four-star hotels in the area (especially if you’re looking for a hotel with a pool), rooms can book up fast, so it’s worth planning ahead if you think this might be the right hotel for you.
👉 Click here to check prices and availability for your dates
The Facilities at the ENA Suite Hotel Namdaemun
I’ve mentioned it several times already, so lets start with that indoor swimming pool! Located in the basement of the building next door to the small (but well-equipped) fitness centre, the swimming pool is small, but has plenty of space for lap swimming for the adults or playing for the kids. There is also a separate very small toddler pool which is kept at a higher temperature, although both pools are heated. You’ll see me below lying in it because the kids had been swimming for hours and I was getting cold!
Other facilities worth knowing about are that the hotel offers a concierge service (great if you want reservations at local restaurants, but we actually only used this to borrow umbrellas on rainy days).
You get free wifi throughout the hotel – you’ll be given the code for your in-room wifi when you check in, and the code for the hotel lobby is displayed behind the reception desk. There is also a left luggage service, which we used on the last day of our stay. We had to check out at 10am but our taxi to the airport wasn’t picking us up until 4pm, so this was really handy!
The Rooms at the ENA Suite Hotel Namdaemun
We were really impressed with the rooms at the ENA Suite Hotel Namdaemun, which were much more spacious than we were expecting. You walked in through the door into a corridor/entry way which was mirrored, then opened into the body of the room. This had a seating area, the beds, and storage all in one open space.
Our room was modern and stylish looking with two double beds. I know this wouldn’t work for all families, so something to bear in mind!
It had a large LCD TV and plenty of storage space for our luggage and room to unpack properly in the open wardrobe too.
The room was air-conditioned, which was lovely after a day of sightseeing.
The room also featured complimentary bottled water and a mini fridge. Above this was a kettle and tea and coffee making facilities. (there was also a mirror and plug outlets here so I used this spot to dry and straighten my hair so I wasn’t hogging the bathroom!)
Each room also comes with separate sitting areas, bathrobes, slippers, designer toiletries, complimentary toiletries, desks, phones, hair dryers, and blackout drapes/curtains.
Note that the toilet and bathroom are all in the same room. This is totally normal for us (from the UK) but I know that some families, particularly in Asia, prefer to keep this all separate so worth noting that if it matters to you.
I’ve popped the view from our window below. We were at the back of the hotel but from the front of the hotel you could actually see the Deoksugung Palace, so I think you would get a much better view if you were lucky enough to get a room at the front of the hotel.
Food At The the ENA Suite Hotel Namdaemun
The ENA Suite Hotel Namdaemun does have a restaurant which serves both breakfast and evening meals. However we didn’t book either of these, so i’m afraid I can’t comment on what was available or what the quality was like.
What I can say is that if you too like to save money at breakfast then there is a convenience store and a really delicious bakery right next door to the hotel. And opposite the hotel (if you leave via the main entrance and look right it is less than 50 metres away) is the BEST Korean BBQ restaurant I have ever experienced in my life. Friendly, welcoming staff (particularly to the boys) and high quality cuts of meat. It was pricey, but it was worth every penny. Even though it blew our daily food budget through the roof, we liked it so much we ate here twice!
Further Reading
Planning a family trip to Seoul? I’ve written a full 5 day itinerary for families covering everything we did during our stay that you can read here!
Other destinations and family activity ideas that i’ve covered on the blog for you to check out include:
Pororo Park in Seoul: Everything You Need to Know
The Complete Guide to Renting a Hanbok in Seoul, South Korea
Visiting the Lotte World Aquarium in Seoul
Visiting the DMZ in South Korea with Kids: Essential Guide
Have you been to Seoul with kids? I’d love to know what you thought: Would you go back, did you find it family friendly, is there anything you definitely HAVE to do if we go back? And if you’re planning your first trip to Seoul, what are you most looking forward to exploring when you get there?
WANT MORE POSTS LIKE THIS STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX? HIT SUBSCRIBE BELOW
Heads up! This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click and make a purchase, I might earn a very small commission – at no extra cost to you. This helps to keep the blog going. Thanks for the support!
Thank you for sharing, this was very helpful for my group trip planning.
That’s great to hear, thank you! Let us know if you end up staying here and what you think of the hotel. Safe travels!