Friday, December 14, 2018

Gym Review :: Ibis Ambassador Seoul Dongdaemun, Korea

We stayed at Ibis Ambassador Seoul Dongdaemun for our recent mother-daughter trip to the Land of Kimchi.

I like staying at Dongdaemun because it is bustling with activity, even at night. It is just so convenient {all the major train lines run through there} and the shops and restaurants are open until late... like 4am??

Ibis Ambassador Seoul Dongdaemun is located about 10-15mins walk away from the shopping hub of Dongdaemun i.e. where Doota, Good Morning City, Migliore, Hello apM, Lotte Fitin etc. are located.

The hotel also enjoys easy access to the subway stations {Dongdaemun, Dongdaemun History & Culture Park and Euljiro 4-ga} and public buses to other Seoul attractions like the royal palaces, and if you've enough time, Cheongyecheon stream is a stone's throw away and you can stroll along there to Myeongdong {about 20 mins} and Insadong {about 30 mins}.

From the airport, we just had to take 6001 airport limousine bus {about 1.5hrs journey} and it dropped us directly opposite Ibis Ambassador Seoul Dongdaemun at Baiton Hotel. Going back to the airport was a breeze too as it's a loop service from the same bus stop. 

The rooms are affordable, clean and comfortable with reliable free WiFi throughout the hotel, and there's a convenience store next to the hotel too. Good enough for those on short-term visit looking for a safe and relaxing night's stay. However, don't expect to find family-friendly facilities like kids' playgrounds or swimming pools there. 

Staff are very friendly and can speak English, Chinese and Japanese too.

Note: There's a Ibis budget Ambassador Seoul Dongdaemun that is a different hotel, but also located in Dongdaemun. I assume that it's even cheaper and has no frills. Might try that out the next time we are in Seoul if there's a significant price difference as it seems even nearer to the Dongdaemun center hub and there's also an indoor "onsen" space haha.

As Ibis Ambassador Seoul Dongdaemun is a small hotel, I didn't have much expectation for its hotel gym. I'm just happy that it had one and I didn't have to find one outside the hotel for my holiday workouts ( ᐛ )و

Hey, it's hard enough training during your holiday, much less getting out of your warm, cozy hotel and trudge out in the cold just to exercise!! (*＾▽＾)／

True enough, their 24hr gym was more like a small fitness room located in the basement with 1 stair-climber, 2 exercise bikes, 2 treadmills, 2 exercise mats, 1 exercise ball and a set of dumbbells {2-14kg}.

It did not even have a bench and I'd have appreciated a water cooler.. but the hotel does provide free bottled water daily in your room.

It did have a weighing scale and a rather interesting Power Belt Massage machine though which I guess is to massage your fats away???! hehe

I must also add that I did like that the room was smoke-free, very bright and cheery. On the mirrors it had cute drawings with motivational quotes to encourage you on in your workouts!

My travel programs are usually short, around 1hr max. For this trip, Superman planned for me to do weights one day, then cardio on the treadmill {groan!!} the next.

Holiday Workout with the heaviest weights I lifted:
A1. Standing Shoulder Press, 4 sets, 12 reps - 10kg
A2. Reverse Lunges, 4 sets, 8 reps - 12kg
B1. One Arm Row {hand on rack}, 4 sets, 12 reps - 10kg
B2. Goblet Squat {minimal rest on top}, 4 sets, 20 reps - 12kg
C1. Biceps Curl, 4 sets, 9 reps - 8kg
C2. Floor-lying Triceps Extension, 4 sets, 9 reps - 8kg

I  trained in the early morning before our day started while Lil Pumpkin was still sleeping. Good thing that the gym was usually empty and I only met one other lady there walking on the treadmill one morning.

The holiday season always makes me feel more "nua" in my diet and training but rather than let the lack of results make me feel stressed, I'm just gonna roll with it. No point complaining about it either, as Superman has zero sympathy for me when I don't do my part during training... but he knows that it's wiser to let me rest more, rather than push when my heart isn't in it as it might backfire and make me resent training.

Keyword this holiday season is "maintenance". If I can maintain my strength and current weight, I'm happy. Not aiming for any drastic progress in the gym but just want to make sure that all my injuries are under control this month {damn scalene muscles causing me a lot of discomfort but good thing my knees and back injuries are manageable} so that I can start 2019 all fresh, rested and rejuvenated with a new cycle (*⌒∇⌒*)

☆ Gym Star Rating for Ibis Ambassador Seould Dongdaemun, Korea Gym ☆
Overall satisfaction: 3/5
Equipment: 2/5 
Atmosphere: 3/5
Cleanliness: 4/5
Accessibility: 5/5
Staff availability: Nil

*****
Other Korea travel posts:

One-on-On Personal Training Updates:

Genesis Gym Personal Training Updates:
The Beginning - Signing Up for Personal Training



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2 comments:

Theresa Mahoney said...

I'm always amazed at your dedication to fitness while traveling. I'm so excited to go, go, go when we travel, I never workout in the hotel :(

December 15, 2018 at 2:41 AM
An Apel a Day said...

That's great that you got to review a gym! The space where you stayed and the gym looks great! I like that they have good wifi. It's important to be able to look stuff up if you need to. I like to listen to music, while I workout as well.

December 15, 2018 at 2:53 AM

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