Words & Photographs by Marina Pliatsikas
Right in the thick of Seoul’s most creative neighbourhood, RYSE, Autograph Collection is all concrete edges, warm mid century touches and soft lighting – the kind of place that makes you feel plugged in to the city from the moment you check in.
Common areas are calm and stylish – low-lit lounges with floor-to-ceiling windows, shelves stacked with art and fashion books, and just enough separation from the street noise to feel serene. The rooms are a lesson in industrial-chic done right, with their terrazzo bathrooms, exposed finishes and walls adorned with screen-prints by young Korean artists.
Each day I would wander down to the Blue Bottle Coffee tucked into the lobby – always buzzing with locals in carefully considered outfits that somehow always looked nonchalantly thrown together. I usually cap my caffeine intake by 10:01am (lest I be lying awake counting regrets at 3am), but in Korea, evening coffee (and everything culture) is alive and well. Cafes and shops stay open late, and people gather day and night – talking, working, dating – as if sleep is optional.
Just out front, there's a line most days outside WORKSOUT, a locally-born cult activewear and streetwear store built into the hotel itself, proving just how seriously Koreans take their off-duty looks – and their fitness.
And beyond the hotel's walls, surrounding Hongdae is all buzz and creative energy. Just across the road is Offer Bakery, for which there weren’t enough days in our trip to sample every multi-layered, flaky morsel while relaxing in their peaceful, pastel-hued courtyard. We made a solid attempt though, often pairing pastries with a Jeju iced matcha, crisp and green and almost too pretty to drink.
A few blocks away, there’s Gyeongui Line Forest Park, a former train line converted into a lush, vegetation-lined walking path – part of Seoul’s gentle reclaiming of urban space. And of course, no stay in Hongdae is complete without a pit stop at one of the many 24-hour photobooths. We opted for a laundromat-themed family snap, but it was a tough toss-up between that, a subway-themed room or an elevator-themed room.
Thanks to RYSE’s spot near the Green Line (Seoul’s circular central metro line), it’s also a great jumping-off point for exploring the rest of the city – whether you're headed for galleries, markets, or an 11pm coffee in a different postcode.
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