[Sportschosun Reporter Kim Jun-seok] Broadcaster No Hong-cheol said he booked an expensive hotel while traveling in the UK, only to face an unexpected and absurd situation.
On the 9th, a video titled "The shocking treatment No Hong-cheol received at a hotel in the UK (No air conditioning, assigned to the basement)" was uploaded to the YouTube channel "No Hong-cheol."
In the video, No Hong-cheol recalled his trip to London and said, "When I travel alone, I still want to stay in a decent room, so I booked a place to stay. It was not a very expensive hotel, but it was supposed to be generally acceptable."
But once he entered the room, he had no choice but to be stunned. Both the room and the bathroom were smaller and older than expected, yet the nightly rate was about 300,000 won.
No Hong-cheol said, "This costs 300,000 won. The prices in London were truly shocking."
The bigger problem was the air conditioner. Europe was in the middle of a record-breaking heat wave at the time, but the air conditioner in the room did not work.
No Hong-cheol explained, "I found out after returning to Korea that Europe was experiencing an unprecedented heat wave then. In Europe, many places are legally allowed to operate without air conditioning, and some hotels do not have it because installation is expensive."
He immediately informed the front desk, but the response was baffling.
No Hong-cheol said, "The staff told me, 'The engineer is off today, so could you use a fan instead?'" He added, "I asked for a refund, but they said that was not possible either."
When he kept asking for a refund, the hotel offered an unexpected alternative.
No Hong-cheol reported, "The staff said there was a basement room that was slightly larger than the one I had originally booked, and asked if I wanted to move there."
In the end, he stayed in the basement room for one night.
No Hong-cheol laughed as he said, "When I thought about paying 370,000 to 380,000 won, including breakfast, just to sleep in a basement, it was really absurd."
Even so, he did not lose his trademark optimism.
He said, "Once I actually slept there, there were no windows, so I did not even need blackout curtains, and I ended up sleeping very well." He added cheerfully, "I guess every situation has its pros and cons."
narusi@sportschosun.com
