Luke and I are probably going to Busan this weekend to see a baseball game with a former student. We need some good hotel ideas!..

...I'll be around the Sajik Baseball Stadium in Sajik-dong, Dongnae-gu. It's on the Subway Line 3. But, if you can't find much, we're thinking about heading to Haeundae after the game to liquor it up. I'm sure there are tons in Haeundae. Any good motels (love motels are perfect) for under 70,000?

Ohhhh Busan! It's always Busan! Expensive Busan with the badly listed motels!

I had a look at a map, line 3 is miles out. Part of me wants to suggest these motels, as they're near Nampo-dong bus terminal which is where I expect you'll arrive. But if you're drinking then you'll most likely want to be around Haeundae. Getting a cab all that way would be annoying.

Firstly, I have two listings for motels in Haeundae already but they might not be excatly what you're after. Motel Sugar is here and my favourite, the Mu Motel is here. The Mu Motel's most basic of rooms really do look quite lovely and in fact, oh joy of joys! They are quoting their basic rooms (Ilban shil) as 60,000 Won at the weekends. If you can, hurry, hurry to the Mu!

The nicest motels in Haeundae get booked up super quick on the weekends, so I implore you to get there as early as you can, around 6pm would be perfect. Or even call ahead to confirm the price and request to reserve a room!

As a back-up, I've looked up a few more basic motels which you should be able to fall back on...

So first up there's

I haven't been there, but room 209 has a chaise lounge in in it, and a bath!

It's not super-glamorous or fabulous but part of me wants to trust the pictures, I mean anywhere with a chaise lounge has to be alright, surely?

Prices are quoted as a maximum of 60,000 Won per night at the weekend.

You can find this motel at 부산 해운대구 중동 947-1 or call them on .

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Anyway, NEXT!

Universe

This motel is a bit odd looking in my opinion, it seems pretty old and brown. However, the VIP room is dirt cheap. I'm not sure how well that bodes but let's have a little look...

It is, if nothing else, quite large! And it has a circular bath!

You can find Universe at 부산 해운대구 중동 1026 or contact them on

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Let me know how you guys faired, have a fantastic weekend in Busan!

Motel Sugar- Busan

This motel already has a good few existing reviews, but none as glorious and stylish as mine. So read on!

Motel Sugar has quite a reputation as one of the better motels in Haeundae, Busan. I'd like to say that I chose to stay there in a fit of investigative journalism, hungry to get the scoop on the best motel in town. Alas, that would be a lie. We plumped for Motel Sugar as it has twin rooms and we were travelling as a trio, Greg, Ellen and I. It transpires that the twin rooms in Motel Sugar are in fact the 'Royal Suites'. How fitting.

It was a Saturday night in Haeundae, the night that the skankiest rooms seem to become extortionate and rare and therefore we found ourselves handing over something like 140,000 Won for the pleasure of two beds for us to collapse into when we got back from the bars that night.

Before I start I want to say that I recommend Motel Sugar, it's a great place to stay and whatever anyone says, 140,000 Won isn't that much for a VIP room at the weekend.

HOWEVER! This blog is dedicated to the most unusual and coolest motels in Korea and this motel hasn't saved itself a special place in my heart. Looking at the lower grade rooms, it's not dissimilar to the already reviewed Mu Motel just down the road from it. In fact I prefer The Mu's VIP room and think that their standard rooms are roughly equal.

Take a look for yourself though...

So it's orange, but that's not a serious mark against Motel Sugar, how could they have known I hated orange, that it washed out my complexion, that it matched none of my clothes? They couldn't possibly... Or could they? No... surely not..! Anyway, it may be a seriously unflattering shade of orange but everything matched nicely, the frieze on the wall was cute and very 'Haeundae'. Half the motels in this part of town seem to be sharing rolls of wallpaper and graphic artists. I wonder if there's some seriously rich interior designer skulking around Haeundae, killing off the competition?

What I really loved about this motel though is the bathroom, it had stones! I don't know what it is about about this great Korean meme, maybe it's spread wider than just Korea, maybe in Japan, China, Thailand, they're all enjoying the mystical benefits of walking shoe-less on piles of smooth stones. I don't know. But this bathroom had a handy path of smooth, clean stones for the bather to nurture their feet with as they walked towards the bath. Of course for us lily-footed westerners, this just left us limping.

However! Stones aside, this was one swanky bathroom! When there are steps leading up to the bath, you know you've got a good thing going on! Huge bath, steam shower, flattering lighting, stones... This was definitely one of the better bathrooms I've seen.

This is where it's time for a confession though. I visited this motel on my birthday and I have to admit I was less than exacting in my investigation of the accommodation; no photos of the freebies, no fridge inventory, no recollection of the exact price of the room. I've let you all down I know.

This wouldn't be so bad, I've been slack before but always saved myself with a bit of a web search, sadly Motel Sugar has one of the most insane websites I've come across, it may take me days to figure out what all those numbers and symbols really mean.

Not to be a complete failure, I have handily embedded a helpful map for you all to peruse and enjoy at your leisure.

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I wouldn't want to suggest the Motel Sugar were over compensating for their appalling website, but in the spirit of connectivity they are contactable by email on heo0101@hanmail.net , telephone on 82 51 747 8620 and of course through their website too.

Can you suggest a good love hotel in Busan? I am taking the girlfriend there for the weekend...

Can I suggest a good Love Motel? Of course I can...

The thing is though, it's Busan! Oh Busan, I don't know what your problem is, but your motels are seriously lacking. Even in Haeundae half of them are out of date and commit the deadliest sin of all; being brown.

No one and I mean no one, could seriously want to stay in a motel like this, could they?

People, there is too much brown strangeness in this picture! What the hell is that on the ceiling? This is meant to be a VIP suite!

But anyway, I refuse to allow my friend to stay in a brown motel with his new lady. I may not be able to get him something in his ideal location, but I will find him something worthy of a first weekend away with his girlfriend.

So, first choice...

Hotel View

I like this place and I think it may appeal to my friends design sensibilities, there's something clean and graphic about the styles of the rooms and the prices quoted are very reasonable; 60,000 Won for a VIP suite is fantastic! Check out the VIP suite here...

And what a bathroom!

Even the cheapest rooms seem to have baths, and tasteful pictures of nude women, no less.

An 일반실 (standard room) is quoted at 45,000 Won per night at the weekends.

Hotel View is a fair way out of town and I suspect that will cause it to loose points, but looking at the map it seems to be very, very close to the bus terminal and also the subway, so it shouldn't take you long to get to where you want to go.

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Hotel View is contactable on 051-311-4224

Next up we have Hotel We

I have to say, I really like the look of some of the rooms in this place although the prices are slightly higher, with a VIP suite being quoted at 70,000 Won per night at the weekend. Check out the VIP rooms...

'What's that I spy, through those doors?' Did I hear you say? Well that would be the...

Hot tub!!!

Seriously, I'm getting excited on your behalf right now! A hot tub for god's sake! How much more romantic can you get?

But regardless, some of the deluxe rooms (특실) look pretty nice too. Here's room 603, quoted at 60,000 Won per night...

The bath in room 603 is cute too, kind of like an indoor Swedish style hot tub

The standard or 일반실 rooms don't come with baths in this motel unfortunately, so you'd have to stick with a VIP or deluxe room if you wanted one.

The We Hotel is similarly distanced from the center of Busan as Hotel View is, but again is situated right next to a subway line so you should have no problems traveling.

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My final recommendation comes in the form of the V Motel. I have to admit that sourcing somewhere decent to stay that isn't 80,000 Won and above is tricky in Busan, there are plain or ugly rooms galore but few of them have a decent bath and a room that you'd wish to take a new girlfriend to.

So, that being said, the V Motel is yet again not in the center of Busan, in fact it's fairly close to Hotel View, but slightly further from the subway and bus terminal.

A 특실 (deluxe) room can be as nice looking as this at the V... (room 501)

With a two person bath...

But be careful when you pick your room or you could find yourself sleeping in something very bright...

There's only a 5000 Won difference in price between the standard and deluxe rooms at V Motel so I'd counsel you to choose deluxe as the standards appear to lack a bath. With prices ridiculously cheap at th V with a deluxe room costing 50,000 Won and a standard 45,000 Won it hardly seems worth not going for the best.

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You can contact the V Motel on 051-316-9096