MERBLEUE

Best little secret. Owners were very kind. Room very clean.

Hotel Merbleue, Jeju Island Coastal Walk, Korea: Hotel Merbleue is washed in blue on a sunny day. Windows become your canvas to peer at the piercing blue yonder of the famed coastal walk lined with black rocks.Jeju was a hard place to research on as it’s a big island and so sporadic – you have to plan out carefully where to base yourself as it’s hours of drive for different experiences. Hotels range from cheap motels, to old and faded big names of the 80’s or small and relatively unadvertised B&B’s that only insiders know. If you’re in for a quick dip, staying near the airport, as unfun as it sounds but it is your best bet. The hotel is 15 min away from the airport and costs less than 80K won per ride.There are some hits and misses of this hotel and there are trade-off’s. Firstly the view is truly spectacular. It’s part of the famed coastal walk which is dotted with bars, restaurants and cafes. Be sure to check out the LA-esque Byne Café and Stay a few units down which is so achingly Californian cool. I thought I was back in LA. There’s also an unadvertised stay with colour themes. It’s a beach lounge concept and solid place to watch the sea and sunset. Jeju Wood pub is also close by. It has swings as seats and overlooks the sea.Hotel Merbleue has a massive bathtub that overlooks the killer view. There’s a cute rooftop with swings that look out into the blue. It’s not old and faded like a lot of the hotels on the island. There’s also a convenient store downstairs.Misses – fittings are cheap quality even though they look good. There’s no mirror in front of the sink. All the fittings are oddly placed – fridge is oddly placed near a steam closet. There’s no cupboard or shelves for proper storage. There’s a kettle but no cups. Pillows are rock hard. There’s no receptionist but the owner’s son doubles up duties at the CU mart downstairs. You hear howling winds through the night and planes in the day (but never too loud in the room). I read a lot of complaints about the see-through windows which we didn’t have an issue with. The blinds work and they block. The only peeve is that if you decide to have a bath to the gorgeous view, then you will be a subject of viewing too. If you’re on the 3rd floor, you’re pretty OK. AC takes a while to cool. Toiletries are cheap for the tripled rate I paid as it was a last-minute booking. There’s only 1 large towel and I had to forage for the towels at the lobby most days.All in all, we are happy with the location and the view. I think we paid too much for what it’s worth but it was a last minute booking. Otherwise, it’s a better stay than a lot of the other options. #eatstylishtravelstylish

The sea view was also very nice and I had a good rest.

It's clean and has a nice view, but you can hear too much noise from other rooms. It was close to the airport, so it was good for catching an early flight on the last day. Please note that even if you call a taxi early in the morning, it will come easily.