Sono Belle Byeonsan

“Good resort near beach with good facilities.”

CYC ( 22.12.11 ) My family stayed 2 days in this resort. The resort remodeled old one, and had reborn good resort with various facilities. The room condition was good, and overall good condition. The location was good, too, with beach, and had many facilities, screen golf, billiards, coin washing … more

CYC ( 22.12.11 ) My family stayed 2 days in this resort. The resort remodeled old one, and had reborn good resort with various facilities. The room condition was good, and overall good condition. The location was good, too, with beach, and had many facilities, screen golf, billiards, coin washing machine, etc.

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“Nice for a 2-3 night stay, might get a bit boring for longer stays”

((No links in this one, Tripadvisor!)) The most recent English review for this hotel/resort is 5 years old, so I will add a new one. (Just a bit of background: I'm a world-traveller that has stayed in everything from 5-star hotels to shoddy Airbnb's.) Check-in (1) This process went pretty smoo… more

((No links in this one, Tripadvisor!)) The most recent English review for this hotel/resort is 5 years old, so I will add a new one. (Just a bit of background: I'm a world-traveller that has stayed in everything from 5-star hotels to shoddy Airbnb's.) Check-in (1) This process went pretty smoothly, although the front desk staff's English seemed to be a bit lacking. Make sure that you "get a number" at the electronic panel in front of the front desk when you want to check-in or check-out (left side of panel is check-in and right side is check-out). (2) Our booking did not include breakfast, but during check-in you are given coupons to save a bit of money if you plan on paying for breakfast anyways. (3) During check-in, the staff will give you some other details about opening hours for the facilities at the resort. My wife and I booked a room here for a 3-night July staycation. Originally, we booked "Cloud9 Ocean View Family Room with Double bed". What is missing from many of the booking websites is a picture of the bathroom. It's actually a jacuzzi with a corded showerhead instead of a bathtub. The layout of the room is kind of moon-shaped, and my wife and I both didn't find it very cozy. We didn't like our Double bedroom's layout or its quite worn-down furniture (room #733), so we went back downstairs to ask about other rooms. We were invited to take a look at a "Cloud9 Ocean View Family Room with 2 Single beds". The front desk called up to the housekeeping staff, and let them know that we were coming up to check out that replacement room, so apparently this is a common request or adjustment to bookings. The layout of this latter room was more to our liking -- definitely a more standard hotel room layout. The "single" beds were both pretty big, each maybe halfway in size between a full and a queen. The furniture was also far less worn. Since my wife and I aren't big people, and could easily fit on one bed, we took the replacement room. (If I were to give advice, I would go ahead and book the Double bedroom and see if you like it. If not, I think the staff is happy to move you to the other layout.) Both Ocean View's were good enough, with plenty of light. (Six more comments: (a) The lobby is nice enough. All-marble as the pictures show, gives the hotel a slightly more upscale feel compared to all the other hotels/resorts within a 30-minute driving radius. (b) Each floor of the hotel apparently has one microwave. So you can buy stuff in the supermarket and warm it up. Each room also has a kettle. (c) All rooms are equipped with a can of bug spray. If my wife and I go back to this hotel, since we live in Korea, we may bring our bug zapper. However, the patio screen doors are in great shape and we had no bug problem during our 3 night stay. (d) In July 2020, wifi was free and available in all the rooms. The signal was strong enough for me to hold a video Zoom meeting. (e) We didn't have any room temperature problems like the November 2015 reviewer below, probably because the air conditioner can be turned on during the summer. (f) We have the same experience as the 2012 reviewer below: the bed was pretty hard and our bodies noticed it the next morning.) Do note that this Hotel/Resort does have swimmming pools on the premises but you won't have access to these pools if you don't pay extra. The pools are actually part of "OceanPlay Aquapark", but the room booking does not generally include tickets for that. Instead, hotel/resort guests get a discount off of the 49k KRW (per person!) admission fee. You can also apply for membership with Sono Hotel & Resorts (Korean language only), then download the "Sono Hotel & Resorts" app to see whether you are eligible for a bigger discount. Alternatively, you can check out naver and see whether you can the 15k KRW coupon. Unfortunately, aside from Aquapark discount offered by the Sono Belle Byeonsan front desk, navigating the Sono Hotel & Resorts membership or the 15k KRW special discount offer all require navigating websites that are only shown in Korean. A ticket to the OceanPlay Aquapark is good for the whole day. It's *not* a new waterpark, and the pictures accurately reveal that it's a bit on the 'campy' side, but a family with kids will have a good time there. The bigger slides are only open during the weekend, but there are plenty of pools with wave-action (both indoors and outdoors) that will keep couples and families entertained. The massaging waterjets, the poolside saunas and the single-gender jjimjilbang are also very nice. Just next to the resort, there is a beach (but you'll have to walk about 7 minutes down a path to get there). It's not the prettiest or cleanest of beaches. There was greenish seafoam washing up on the beach during our visit. If you have a car, take a 20-minute drive to Gosapo Beach or Mohang Beach. We found Mohang Beach to have the nicest sand and the most people wading in the water. Do you need a car if you stay here? If you're only staying 2 nights, there's probably enough to do that you won't need access to a car. One 1/2 to full day at the Aquapark, and 1-2 days could be spent sunning on the beach or exploring the rocks. Because half of the premises includes resort-style rooms equipped with kitchenettes (see the booking website pictures to make sure), there's a huge supermarket (including various produce) in the basement of the hotel. There's also restaurants serving pizza and fried chicken next to that supermarket. (The fried chicken wasn't really up to Korean par to me, though -- chicken meat ended up quite dry and the batter was flavorless!) There's a coffee shop, a Baskin Robbins, and a full-service Korean restaurant on the ground floor. There's a game room/video arcade and a billiards room in the basement. But if you are staying much more than 2 nights, then it certainly makes some sense to have access to a car to drive around to the other nearby beaches that I already mentioned. Just a block from the beach, you'll find around a dozen Korean restaurants, mainly serving seafood. Tough though if you don't know how to read Korean/hangeul, because basically none of those restaurant staffs will understand English. (Pro-tip: If you do have access to a car and you want to shop for groceries, the NongHyup Hanaro Mart just a mile away is definitely cheaper and has even more selection. If you drive around a bit, I'm sure you'll find it. Or just ask at the front desk... Underground parking is free.) Finally, value. My wife and I paid USD $145 per night, all-in, during high season (mid-July) on Agoda. That was just for the room, without breakfast and without Aquapark access. Again, based on my experience staying at all sorts of hotels and accommodations around the world ranging from 5-star hotels (USD $400+) to budget Airbnb's (USD $40), I'd say that I would *not* pay more than $145 per night for the room that we got. (Unfortunately, this is basically the best accommodations in the area, if you are not interested in staying in high-end pensions.)

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“Stuffily warm room for sleep with good facilities but breakfast service and quality were basic”

The room was clean and spacious enough for family stay. At night, I found the fixed in-room temperature too high and I could not get to sleep without opening the balcony door by about 2 feet for the whole night. The facilities in the room were good with a main bed-sit with 2 twin beds and a side … more

The room was clean and spacious enough for family stay. At night, I found the fixed in-room temperature too high and I could not get to sleep without opening the balcony door by about 2 feet for the whole night. The facilities in the room were good with a main bed-sit with 2 twin beds and a side room for sleeping on its warmed floor in the Korean way if the guest party is more than 3 persons. The breakfast service and quality were basic and the coffee machine caused the most trouble in that the switches only had Korean signs. This is a typical language barrier sign that is not uncommon throughout Korea, a growing nation relying more and more heavily on foreign tourists. Waitresses were eager to help diners out on seeing diners gettign stuck with the coffee machine.

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“Clean”

Its my very first time in west jeonbuk province about an hour and a half drive if you have a local friend. Since its winter season there nothing much to see outside since misty and foggy, However the room that their provide is clean , big , a small kitchen , 2 rooms (one with 2 single bed and one s… more

Its my very first time in west jeonbuk province about an hour and a half drive if you have a local friend. Since its winter season there nothing much to see outside since misty and foggy, However the room that their provide is clean , big , a small kitchen , 2 rooms (one with 2 single bed and one sleep on the floor ) a complimentary cookie is given. Overall its good

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“Reasonable hotel with large rooms”

A reasonable hotel with large rooms but somewhat dated and tired. Bedrooms are spacious with comfy bed but rooms are stark and have few power outlets. Great views from room. Good minimart in hotel but bar wasn't open or prepared to serve drinks even after a long day. No doubt everything is bette… more

A reasonable hotel with large rooms but somewhat dated and tired. Bedrooms are spacious with comfy bed but rooms are stark and have few power outlets. Great views from room. Good minimart in hotel but bar wasn't open or prepared to serve drinks even after a long day. No doubt everything is better when more in season.

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