Aaron Checks In to the Paradise Hotel

DARKNESS. LONELY CHILLS

DUST COLLECTS ON WINDOW SILLS

I SHOULD PAY MY BILLS

What a weekend! And by that I mean I managed to lose my credit card, phone, ipod, deodorant, and half a dozen wallet-sized photos of myself, over about 30 hours.

Thankfully, I discovered that I had merely “gifted” most of these things to people I knew. Everything is back in my possession except the wallet-size photos, which is a bit of a shame since they really weren’t that flattering, not the kind of thing worth leaving around the city.

I wish I could post the picture here. Wait, no I don’t.

A few weeks ago I checked out the Paradise Hotel, a place that very few have checked into over the last 10 years or so.

That’s because it hasn’t been open to the public for a very long time. However, that doesn’t stop the westerners on the island from hopping over the fence and snooping around. I’m fairly (40%?) certain, however, that I had one of the most thorough searches of the grounds.

The Paradise Hotel used to be home to some of the nicest accommodations on the island. The grounds are still beautiful, in a very eerie, Secret Garden sort of way. The problem with not knowing Korean is that best you can’t get any information on the hotel or why it closed down.

In fact, when you google “Paradise Hotel + Seogwipo + abandoned” the fifth entry is from this very blog (!!!). I know they changed the algorithm or whatever so this was a “unique” search result, but even so!

Here’s an old review from Lonely Planet of the hotel:

http://hotels.lonelyplanet.com/south-korea/seogwipo-r1974237/paradise-hotel-p1058934/#ixzz1q9YqlXgR

“Three cheers for a rare-as-hens’-teeth genuine boutique hotel with a dramatic adobe design…the five eclectic room styles all share the striking combo of barn doors and gold taps.  During the 2002 World Cup, Ronaldo slept in room 209 and David Beckham slept in room 302. The extensive garden has superb coastal cliff views as well as a popular restaurant and bar.”

That “popular” bar? It currently looks like this:

But hey, at least it’s busier than the fitness club:

By the way, that spectral figure manning the bar also happens to be the same person who works the phones in the building that houses the “honeymoon suite”:

His name is Dakota McKee and in that picture he’s playing around with some empty jewelry boxes he found in the cabinet which he wasn’t supposed. There were also a bunch of stickers in there, which might have been used for people who payed to see the “Syngman Rhee Museum.” The museum, by the way, is the best part of the hotel, because the exhibits are all still completely intact, but the funny part is to get there, you have to be particularly curious, as the only entrance is past the restaurant/honeymoon suite area and then AROUND onto a balcony lined with wooden floorboards that are falling apart, since the doors that lead to the museum the “right” way are all locked. You also can’t see what’s in any of the rooms ahead.

The museum has a bunch of stuff about South Korea’s first leader’s fondness for Jeju and the hotel area, which I wasn’t really paying attention to. The suite that may or may not have been where he slept there (I really wasn’t paying that much attention) is probably the most well-kept room in the hotel these days, with the exception of the honeymoon suite-there are rumors that they’ve put new flooring in there. Could the Paradise hotel be making a comeback? They’ll have to do something about the pool area first:

The hot tub still has water in it:

It’s a real shame that nobody stays here anymore. The grounds really are spectacular. The hotel is situated on a cliff overlooking the ocean. You can also catch great views of Seogwipo and one of the waterfalls.

Anyway, here’s some more pictures of the hotel:

Here Charlotte uses the spooky lights as an opportunity to show off her bloody toe:

It’s too bad we couldn’t get a crow to land on the post! Here’s Dakota again multi-tasking at the bar:

Perhaps this hotel was always better suited to be abandoned. Check out this truly grisly sculpture. It’s a little hard to tell but thats an arm and in the middle of the chair is a giant spike.

Someone needs to get some cameras rolling in this place. Someone can make a Korean version of “the Shining.”

“Your stay in Paradise…has been extended indefinitely.”

I’ll probably be back there later this month.