Donquijotel is an independent, English-language guide to one question every traveller asks: where should I stay? We help you choose the right area, the right kind of stay and the right price band for your trip, whether you are travelling solo, as a couple, with kids or with a group of friends.
Who runs Donquijotel?
Donquijotel is run by a Korean traveller based in Seoul who has spent years comparing places to stay, first for trips around Korea and Asia and then further afield. Every guide starts the same way: we compare the options for a city side by side across several booking sites, read what recent guests actually said, check where each property sits on the map against the things you came to see, and write down what the price looked like on the day we checked. The same person also runs Korea Bestie, an English travel guide to Korea, so our Korea pages draw on local knowledge, while guides to other countries are built from careful comparison and research — and we tell you which is which.
Why “Donquijotel”?
The name joins Don Quixote and hotel. Cervantes’ knight set out on a quest that everyone else thought was impossible. Finding a place to stay that is well located, fairly priced, genuinely comfortable and right for your trip can feel just as quixotic. Our logo shows the knight charging at a windmill that looks a lot like a small hotel. We like to think we pick the right battles, though.
How we pick hotels
Every recommendation on Donquijotel is checked against the same short list:
- Location first. How long it takes to reach the sights, stations and neighbourhoods you actually came for, and whether the area feels comfortable after dark.
- Recent reviews and rating trends. We read recent guest reviews across several booking sites and look at the direction a rating is moving, not just the headline score.
- Price bands checked on a date. Prices change daily, so we describe stays by budget band and tell you when we checked. Always confirm the live price before you book.
- Accessibility. Lifts, step-free access, room sizes and family-friendly options, where the property publishes this information.
- Cancellation terms. We note whether flexible or free-cancellation rates are commonly available, because plans change.
We do not accept payment for placements, rankings or positive coverage. Some links on the site are affiliate links, which you can read about in our Affiliate Disclosure. They never decide which hotels we include.
What we have and have not stayed in
We cannot sleep in every hotel we mention, and we will not pretend to. When a recommendation is based on our own stay, we say so. When it is based on research (reviews, official information, maps and price checks), we say that too. You should always know which kind of advice you are reading.
Keeping guides up to date
Hotels renovate, change owners, raise prices or slip in quality. We review our main guides regularly and show the date a page was last updated. If a property drops in quality, we remove or replace it rather than leave an outdated pick in place.
Corrections
If you spot something wrong, such as a closed hotel, a changed policy or a price band that no longer fits, please tell us. We check every report and fix confirmed mistakes quickly. Where a correction changes a recommendation, we note it on the page.
Contact
The Donquijotel team reads every message. Write to us at hello@donquijotel.com or use our Contact page. We are happy to hear about hotels you loved (or did not), questions about a trip, or partnership enquiries. Partnerships never buy coverage.