We’ve been to Busan half a dozen times and, until the last time, stayed in the Sunset Business Hotel. It was downtown but convenient to the airport and subway. But the last time, I wasn’t crazy about the service I received from the front desk. So, I had yet to plan on returning there. Then we went to the Annual Fireworks Festival, and that all changed.
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Sunset Business Hotel in Busan
The Sunset Business Hotel is close to great restaurants, libations, and two awesome beaches with attached strips. We prefer the second city to its big sister in Seoul. If they only brought a Vatos Tacos to Busan, I’d have very few reasons to go there. We knew how to catch the Metro from downtown to our favorite spots near Gwangalli Beach.
Gwangalli Beach reminds me a little of the South Beach strip without the architecture. It’s got beautiful white sand beaches, tons of bars and restaurants, tons of traffic, and lots and lots of neon lights. So I was surprised the heck out of my hubby when I booked a room off of the other famous beach instead.
Haeundae Beach Hotel
What can I say? I have good instincts. I found the Sunset Business Hotel on www.booking.com. It doesn’t include breakfast, something I usually look for, but it is near restaurants, the Metro, and the beach, and the room looked lovely. There is also a nice cafe on the 3rd floor where you can order coffee, a sandwich, or something sweet. Best of all, it costs $59 per night with the exchange rate at the time.
Take the Train
This was the first time we took the train, but it won’t be the last. It took 37 minutes from Dondaegu Station to Busan Terminal. If it hadn’t been for the hail storm that we had to find shelter from, we would have been in our room at the Sunset Business Hotel 20 minutes after that. The room was nice, it looked exactly like the pictures. However, the wood floors were not wood. The stone wall was not stone. And the tiled walls– you guessed. They were not tiles, but stickers. I didn’t care. We were renting it for a couple of nights not buying it. The illusion was working except when I looked a little closer. The application of the tiles was not executed well. I’ve never seen a wrinkle in tile before.
Great Location
The lobby is on the ninth floor of the building so that you can see over them to the beach. Our room at the Sunset Business Hotel was on the 15th floor. And we had a great corner window view of Haeundae and the ice skating rink in front of it. We had planned to indulge in an all-American weekend. Something we rarely do at home, starting with lunch at the Wolfhound Pub, which I knew was just a block away.
Beer and Shopping
Turned out Galmegi Brewery had a third location (we knew about the other two by Gawangalli), so we had a few there next before settling in for the night. The next morning we took the Metro over to Shinsegae Centum City for something to eat and experience the Guinness World Book’s largest department store in the world. We deviated a little by having lunch at Macaroni Grill. The Macaroni Grill only shares its name with the American restaurant chain. The menu has been “localized” and serves more Korean than American dishes.
Get a Massage
We returned back to the hotel and while we were in the elevator noticed a 24hr Thai Massage parlor on the 5th floor. We got off the and checked out the prices, knowing good and well it wouldn’t be Thai pricing. It wasn’t the 2hr massages ranged from $80 to $150. Ten minutes after returning to our penthouse room, we were back in the elevator headed back to the 5th floor for midnight massages.
Proximity to Western Comfort Food
The next day, we left our luggage at the front door and headed to our final American haunt for the weekend. Sharky’s Bar & Grill has an extensive menu of burgers, Mexican, wings, and nachos and they also have multiple locations. Two on or near Haeundae Beach and one over at Gwangalli with a beautiful view of the beach.
Hotel Restaurant at the Sunset Business Hotel
Our train didn’t leave until 5 pm and we had a few hours to kill, but it was cold so I had no plans of just wondering around or hanging out at the train station. Luckily the manager of the hotel was at the front desk. He asked if we had seen their restaurant on the third floor, which we had not, and escort us down. He also treated us to a snack and hot coffee and tea which allowed us a warm place to wait for our train back to Daegu.
Do Your Research
I’d definitely stay there again. I actually tried to book a room for the next 3-day weekend, that falls on the Lunar New weekend, knowing the rooms would cost more. However, that same room was $182 per night and that’s TOO much more. We’re staying up the strip in just as nice a place for a little more than that for the weekend.
Sunset Business Hotel is just one of the great hotels in Busan; for a luxurious stay, check out this Songdo Beach beauty.
When we learned we were traveling to Daegu I searched for information about military life, apartment hunting, and what to expect in South Korea but found very little. I hope my blog helps ease the transition anxiety of military spouses and civilians who find themselves moving or traveling to Daegu, South Korea, or any of the beautiful countries in Asia.
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Comments
We *still* haven’t made it to Busan (we always end up in Seoul) except to fly out of the airport. I will definitely have to make it a point of visiting this year…though maybe when it’s warmer.
You have to get to Busan. I love it much more than Seoul because you can do all the same things, but you have the beaches and less traffic/ people and its less than an hour away from Daegu. Make sure to let me know when you finally get there!!