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SMALL HOUSE BIG DOOR is a design hotel located in Myeongdong, Seoul designed by Design Methods. We offer creative brand experience and open source contents to share the value of design through continuous development and information exchange between contemporary artists/designers. SMALL HOUSE BIG DOOR HOTEL is an urban retreat featuring refined simple design. 25 Rooms are categorized into 4 types offering free Wi-Fi in all rooms. Choose any type of room which suits your preferences and needs the most and enjoy sensational experience that will awake your design senses.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Mid-range
Modern
Languages Spoken
English, Japanese, Korean
Location
6, Namdaemun-ro 9-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul 04522 South Korea
Name/address in local language
Small House Big Door
83 reviews
Getting there
Great for walkers
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The location near Myeongdong while not being in the middle of it is ideal. The property is more of a guesthouse than a hotel and the attached reataurant is closed on weekends. The room is comfortable enough and stylish. Bit overpriced for a gueathouse considering there are so kany options nearby. Pretty solid option for visiting Seoul north of the river
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Date of stay: February 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wife and I stayed here for a week. The hotel was located right next to the subway station. Lotte department store is basically right across the street which was great since they have a pretty good food court in the basement. There were plenty of convenient stores near the hotel for our drinks and snacks needs.
The staffs were friendly and courteous. The room was basic yet comfortable but it has everything we needed including a small fridge. The Wifi worked great and fast. We wish it has a safe though, but we didn't really bring anything that required a safe so not a big deal.
From the hotel we were able to walk/hiked to plenty of places including: Myeongdong, N Seoul Tower, Gyeongbokgung, City Hall... and many more. The greatest thing about this hotel is that it is located walking distance from 4 different subway lines (Euljiro 1 green, City Hall Navy, Myeongdong Blue, Euljiro 3 Orange), which saved us plenty of money from transferring. We were also able to use the subway and get to everywhere we needed to go.
The hotel is also located next to a bunch of lively places to eat. Which we fully taken advantage of. Overall it was a great experience, and we will definitely be back.
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Date of stay: April 2015
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lovely simple boutique hotel diagonally across myeandong area. Super convenient to see myeandong for shopping, 2/3 stops away from isadong area for the museums, the changgeokgyung palace and jongymo shrines.
Great service - I asked for some good restaurants and got very good recommendations.
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Date of stay: October 2016Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This has been closed over 2 years. DO NOT book! The former owner was very nice and explained that hopper kept sending people and there’s no way to contact them.So please do yourself a favor and don’t make a mistake like we did. Make sure to check the reviews!
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Date of stay: May 2023Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:This has been closed over 2 years. DO NOT book! The former owner was very nice and explained that...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I booked this hotel because of the recent hype it has been getting from various design magazines etc. The location looked great in terms of city centre of Seoul. Originally booked for the standard room, but realised this room is too small for two people. If you're planning to spend some time in the hotel room, this is not the room. For a single business traveller this room is perfect.
We upgraded to the Corner Pleasure which had a much more interesting room layout. We could not use the breakfast as it was a public holiday, (which was very odd) The room A/C was on on full blast and was almost too cold.
The showers are all in white tiles which means that water dirt over time becomes brown and sticks to the tiles which poses great maintenance issues for the HK staff. Shower doors are not glazed which means there's no privacy between guests in the room.
The hotel lacks proper housekeeping trolleys to keep trash and dirty laundry away from guest's view. We saw numerous times other guests trash through the clear plastic bags. Rooms were left open after the previous guests stay. Which meant that the rooms were prone to other guests' vandalism or theft. (Not to mention unsightly linen) In general, the hotel looked a little unkept and unattended to. (clean yes) There was too much focus on the "look" of the hotel, and nothing on the software. The front desk staff was helpful but had no "hospitality" friendliness. The other staff while we were checking in were on their phones and doing their person matters / not asking for baggage delivery etc. There seemed to be no proper service procedures or training done as far as the staff were concerned. The housekeeping lady greeted me which scored some points. However this doesn't mean they were outwardly rude. They just looked like they had no service mindset.
The restaurant is generally empty during the day. The hotel should pull in some revenue from attracting the lunch business crowd from a proper lunch set for the business men / afterwork happy hour drink offers. I could not see any promotions being done. Wasting away space. Opportunities for revenue are all over the place but not being made. The housekeeping lady told me that many people come to the 4th floor to take photos, but this seemed ridiculous as there was no effort from the hotels side to make these things known. The "Lounge" on the rooftop seemed to have no business at all. This was locked during the day which was really irritating as we wanted to have some terrace experience with the sun.
Amenities were proper but the towels were definitely not hotel standard. You could feel that the towels were of low quality and using the wrong outsourcing company for the laundry. If you're into thick nice white hotel towels, this is not the place for you. The towels weren't white enough. Where is the bleaching?
In general, the hotel is decent, but that's all there is to this place. There really isn't any soul to the hotel nor do the staff have any personality. The hardware is all in place, but there is no software. The management seems to be the problem here. I don't see this hotel being in business for more than 2 years unless they do something with the operations of the hotel. The hotel itself will wear out soon (shower fixture is a ridiculous complex affair, toilets are flimsy low quality, shower ceiling is already discolouring / unpleasant to look at, shower fan has not been cleaned maintained etc).
Someone needs to save this great "idea" of a hotel soon or else it will disappear. There really isn't any "design" hotels in Seoul apart from your usual love motels or Best Western style road business hotels. Its commendable that the owners made the effort to build it. The experience factor only lasts a few months. I think its already on its way down.
If you're looking for a minimalistic / simple experience in Seoul, this hotel is for you. But don't expect anything more from the hotel yet. When designers make a hotel, there's not much thought into the guest experience process.
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Date of stay: May 2015
Value
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:The rooms on the right side of the corridor have absolutely no view. So ask for a change if you...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The reception counter is almost always staffed with someone who is well-versed in English. They were also very helpful in providing input to our free and easy itinerary for the week we were staying and got us some information on our transport to certain places out of Seoul such as Nami Island.
The location is prime land in the middle of the business district. Though we had difficulty finding the place by taxi when we first arrived, we later realised that we were just walking distance from Myeongdong area (famous for facial / skincare / cosmetic products) and Insadong (where the Nami Island shuttle bus departs from and also where the largest local Alive Museum is). Pro-tip: The hotel is at the end of Namdaemun-ro, just around the corner from Exit 2 of Euljiro-1(il)-ga Station.
On the street just behind the hotel, there is a selection of meat (pork/beef) & seafood barbeque restaurants, or a fried chicken & beer place. These places service mainly Chinese office workers in the area and therefore have staff well-versed in Mandarin. Despite this, the meat barbeque places we tried are among the most value for money. The restaurants were open til 11 or later which made it suitable for a late dinner after returning from shopping (and street food) at Myeongdong!
There's also a CU (previously known as FamilyMart - Google Maps hasn't been updated with this information) convenience store which sells instant noodles, drinks, and snacks 2 streets behind the hotel. If you're feeling like stocking up on way more things, then take the underpass via the subway station and come out of Exit 7/8 to Lotte Department Store. The basement is filled with food and a supermarket. Remember to get a tax refund at the first floor of the building if you are spending > 30,000 won! The same building also has a Cinema but they show slightly dated movies.
We did face some initial issues during our stay at the hotel though - the air conditioner's controls were entirely in Korean and we had no clue on how to operate it. The 18 degree Celsius we set felt like 25 even in the morning. We ended up opening the window in Tilt-mode (there is a Swing-mode to open it fully) to let the 2 degree wind outside come in to cool the room. There is also no chair in the room so we had to improvise and use a three-legged shelf thing and maintained our balance as we sat on it to work on the ledge under the TV. The bathroom and toilet are adjacent to each other and separated, but they share the same sliding door. This means when the bathroom is closed, the toilet is open and vice versa - this may not be suitable for all visitors especially considering the door has no lock. The room key is a physical key and has to be returned before leaving the hotel - not sure why, but they don't always check your identity when you get your key back for the night which is quite a big security issue. We made sure to lock all our luggage and stuff before leaving just in case.
The room we were staying in on the third floor came with 5 power points in total: 2 in the toilet, 1 by the sink/mirror, 1 by the bed, and 2 under the TV, of which 1 is an international power socket. There was also a LAN/RJ-45 port for wired internet connectivity should you require it under the TV (upon which there is a ledge for you to place your laptop that is 13" or below - anything larger and you will not be able to open your screen fully). The LAN cable needs to be requested from the reception or you can bring your own. Mobile device owners can connect to the WiFi available throughout the hotel (password available from reception). Be prepared to switch between access points if you're moving between floors. The speeds are decent and is definitely enough for some casual gaming or online video streaming. (3Mbps on wired LAN was the maximum I got) A hair dryer and electric kettle is provided as well along with 2 glasses and coffee+tea bags. 2 bottles of mineral water are replenished daily in the fridge. A pair of bath towels and hand towels are replaced daily on the wooden rack along with the soap/shampoo/conditioner if they have been depleted. There are switches for the bathroom, sink and room light. Some of the switches can be depressed on both the top and bottom to toggle different sets of lightings.
Overall, a great experience in a great location. Would stay in this hotel again!
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Date of stay: February 2015Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stayed here for 4 nights in early June. The staff were so friendly and welcoming. The room was basic but had everything we needed and was comfortable. The best thing about this place is it's location, ideal for sightseeing, getting around the city and great food.
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Date of stay: June 2018
Value
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Location: This boutique hotel located around 5-10mins walk to Myeongdong, which is a super famous shopping area for tourist. You can reach the metro Euljiro 1-ga station within 5mins walk too, and there is bus stop for airport bus service close by.
Room: We stayed on 3rd floor, a minimalism room with comfortable bed, the TV, freezer and other necessities are inside a ikea-style white colour cabinet in our room. We quite like the simplicity of the room but just one thing that when we tried to open the window, the barbecue smell came in immediately because there are several restaurants next to the hotel building. And the freezer seemed not functioning probably with annoying machinery noise sometimes.
Bathroom: Bathroom and toilet are separated with one sliding door, clean and tidy.
Services: Front desk staffs are helpful and polite. Although there is no breakfast provided, but there is one complimentary coffee served to hotel guest everyday, and a piece of welcome scone pastry.
Hotel Facility: Not much hotel facility except a cafe style restaurant on the ground floor.
Overall this hotel is value for money if you are looking for convenience location stay and budget travel.
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Date of stay: April 2017
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Try ask for a room which is not facing the restaurants' ventilation fan/ chimney.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed at the hotel twice on our 2 week trip to South Korea. I can really recommend this hotel.
The location is great. Very good transport connections, plenty of shopping, restaurants and bars within walking distance. Easy to reach from the airport with metro.
The design is minimalist, all white and a bit quirky. Both of our rooms faced a small alley. Quiet but of course no views. Good very firm beds, a fridge and a kettle. Wifi was weak in the first room, the second was better.
There is a cafe which we did not try.
The staff is very friendly and helpful. We were allowed to leave our suitcase in the storeroom when we toured the country which made travelling much easier.
Considering the price this was an excellent choice.
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Date of stay: October 2015
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stayed 3 nights here. Superb location, 1 min walk from Exit 2 of Euljiro 1 (il) ga (turn left into the side road in front of Exit 2, hotel is in the first alley on your right). Myeong-dong is just 5-10mins walk from hotel. Made a few enquiries prior to stay & received very quick response from hotel. Room size ok for 2. Bed was comfortable. Only issue I had was with the aircon - centrally controlled and room got too warm after a while. This can be solved by opening the window. Another issue was with the hot water shower. Somehow in the morning, we can't control the temperature (even turn to COLD), the water was too hot for comfort. One concern would be security. Room keys are left visible at counter and there's no verification when we collect our key from staff which mean anyone could quote our room number & get our key. Same goes for luggage collection. We left our luggages at hotel after check out. We're not given any tag for verification at collection. So anyone could have quoted our room number and collect our luggages. Overall enjoyed our stay and will recommend this hotel to friends visiting Seoul.
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Date of stay: October 2015Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
when u step out of small house big door turn left then at junction turn right walk less at 30km u see a little road on ur right turn in thats the alleyway
There are more places to choose from in the Seoul area.
LOCATION
South KoreaSeoulMyeong-dong / Jung-gu
NUMBER OF ROOMS
25
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