Hotel Tops 10 Gangneung Review 2026: Best Budget Stay
Discover why Hotel Tops 10 in Gangneung is the ultimate budget-friendly hotel for your next Korean East Coast getaway. Read our full room and amenity review.
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Discover why Hotel Tops 10 in Gangneung is the ultimate budget-friendly hotel for your next Korean East Coast getaway. Read our full room and amenity review.
After a fun day splashing around at Songjiho Beach in Goseong,
we headed down the coast to check into our hotel.
Intro -
For this trip, we decided on a smart accommodation strategy: a budget-friendly hotel for the first night, and a slightly more luxurious resort splurge for the second night.
(Yes, we love switching up our stays even on weekend road trips! 🏡)
Even though we booked just two weeks in advance for a busy peak-season weekend (Saturday to Monday), we managed to snag a room here in the ~$64 range per night.
We were initially tempted by some premium ~$256-a-night resorts, but given the notorious weekend traffic, we knew we'd arrive late. We left Seoul at 11:00 AM and didn't hit Goseong until 4:00 PM! Spending big bucks on a room we'd only sleep in for a few hours just didn't make sense.
I let my partner handle the booking this time, and it turns out this is an incredibly popular spot!
The lobby was bustling, and the hotel has a massive capacity with tons of travelers from all walks of life.
Here is my honest review of our budget-friendly stay at Hotel Tops 10 in Gangneung.
📍 Address: 455-34 Heonhwa-ro, Okgye-myeon, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do
Proudly displaying its official 4-star rating at the entrance: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Welcome to Hotel Tops 10!
Walking into the grand, high-ceilinged lobby, I immediately thought, "Wow, this is amazing value for the price!"
✔️ During check-in, we were handed an information sheet with one very specific rule: no raw fish (sashimi) or snow crab allowed in the rooms.
It's to prevent strong, lingering odors in the rooms. Ironically, instant ramen and other convenience store snacks are totally fine!
✔️ Guests are also required to take their trash down to the recycling station in the basement before checking out.
Be sure to follow these rules, as bringing in restricted foods or leaving a mess can result in a fine!
We were assigned a room on the 7th floor. The elevator walls were covered in flyers showcasing the hotel's extensive amenities and hot spring information.
✔️ Geumjin Hot Springs (sauna), a VR arcade, karaoke rooms, table tennis, and more are all available on-site.
If you're staying for a couple of nights with family, these facilities are fantastic. Since we arrived late and were only staying one night, we just hit up the convenience store.
Speaking of which... this convenience store is legendary. More on that in a bit! 🛒
The hallways felt endless—this hotel is massive!
We booked a Deluxe Room with a Partial Ocean View. I was immediately impressed by how spacious the room was, featuring two large, comfortable beds.
For a peak-season weekend stay in the ~$64 range, the room condition was absolutely stellar!
The beds were cozy and soft, though the pillows were a bit too flat for my personal preference. (Most people probably won't mind, though!)
I loved having a proper table and chairs to sit and enjoy some late-night snacks.
While the hotel advertises ocean views, our "partial view" room only showed a sliver of the sea, so I won't oversell it as a full ocean view.
✔️ If a dramatic ocean view is a dealbreaker for you, make sure to double-check your view type during booking!
The resort we booked for our second night had a spectacular full ocean view, which I wrote about in detail below:
🔻 Check out the ultimate ocean-view resort here 🔻
Maple Beach Resort Gangneung Review (Pool & Ocean View)
The bathroom was exceptionally clean and spacious.
There were plenty of fresh towels, the hairdryer had great airflow, and the room's soundproofing was top-notch.
We had to go see the convenience store everyone has been raving about.
Rumor had it that the convenience store inside Hotel Tops 10 is next level...
We even overheard other guests talking about it on our way down! 👂
On the way, we spotted some relaxing massage chairs for guest use.
And when we finally walked into the store...
Wow, they weren't kidding! It is incredibly well-stocked.
As self-proclaimed snack lovers, we ended up making two separate trips down here. They had an amazing variety of instant ramen, chips, and unique treats we'd never seen before. It was so much fun just browsing the aisles!
The classic dilemma: Kimchi Wangttukkeong or Kimchi Sabalmyun? Deciding on the perfect midnight cup ramen is serious business!
We rounded out our late-night feast with ice cream, chips, and pudding before drifting off to sleep, excited for the next day's adventures.
My overall take on Hotel Tops 10 Gangneung:
✔️ Rates fluctuate depending on the season, but if you book early, you can secure a stay in the highly affordable ~$64 range even on a peak weekend. (Keep in mind that last-minute rates can climb to ~$128–$192).
Even though we only used it as a comfortable place to sleep after a long drive, the hotel’s full suite of amenities—including the sauna, pool, breakfast buffet, convenience store, and karaoke—make it a fantastic option for a relaxed resort-style staycation.
⭐️ The open views of the East Sea and the massive room sizes made for a incredibly comfortable stay.
‼️ Keep in mind: You cannot eat raw fish or crab in the rooms, and because of the hotel's massive capacity, elevator wait times can be a bit long during peak check-out hours if you are on a middle floor.
* Standard Check-out is 11:00 AM.
Overall, we were extremely satisfied with the price-to-quality ratio here. I highly recommend spending at least one night here! Check out the link below to snag a rate that is typically about $10 cheaper than other major booking sites. ✔️
🔻🔻🔻
📍 Hotel Tops 10
455-34 Heonhwa-ro, Okgye-myeon, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do
Due to odor issues, eating raw fish or snow crab in the rooms is strictly prohibited. You may be fined if you consume prohibited foods, but eating instant noodles (ramen) or convenience store food is allowed.
If you book about two weeks in advance for a peak season weekend, you can stay for prices in the ~$64 range. However, depending on when you book, rates can go up to the ~$128 to ~$192 range.
In partial ocean view rooms, you can see about half of the ocean through the window. If you want a full ocean view, you must carefully check and select the view type when booking.
The hotel offers various entertainment and relaxation facilities, including the Geumjin Hot Spring, a VR game zone, a karaoke room, and a table tennis room. You can also use massage chairs and a large convenience store that sells a wide variety of products.
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