MMMIO Design Residence

AccommodationsHotelsSeoulKoreaSouth Korea

Jul 10

Tucked into the warren of gritty neon textures and saucy smells that embody Seoul’s Myeongdong, hides the hipster-chic hotel MMMIO Design Residences.

Here, off an alley thin street, a day cool coffee shop becomes the evening entry for a tucked away basement bar, too edgy to be posh, too tasteful to be a dive, it sits playfully in it’s precarious position of unique cool. Above the lounge, cafe and open to courtyard co-working space, contemporary apartments are woven cleverly into the reclaimed rooms of Seouls historic printing district.

Hospitality is styled strictly hands off in Seoul. An impression, rendered consistent during my stay in several places in the city. Hoteliers provide a place to stay and a way to access it and the rest is truly up to you. An experience unique to my travels in Korea; you carry your own luggage, find your own room and for the most part you are your own concierge.

MMMIO stays true to the rule yet its apartments cater comforts and those important details that make you feel truly at home. Everything you need is right here and the shopping, malls, eats and underground of bustling Myeongdong is yours to step out and explore.

It could be said cafe culture is one of the highlights of Seoul, boasting many concepts fully flushed from lush garden bakeries, to New York themed java shops, to heart warming puppy cafes. Themed social sip and sits are nearly as plentiful as the city’s prolific PhotoBooths. Yet in Seoul like in any city, a solid cup of coffee is a gem to those who have fallen down the rabbit hole that is third wave and we all have to admit if we are truly honest, that access to wifi is as important as the provenance of the beans. MMMIO’s cafe is a remote work lounge, fully equipped with the essentials that make it your home office for the day.

Guarded by an aqua colored vespa, a cast iron spiral stair links MMMIO’s street facing courtyard cafe with its ‘work & chill’ balcony lounge. Above and below find themselves fast friends in the open air concept that makes this haunt feel spacious while keeping cozy.

Vintage details are scattered throughout it’s spaces like a seek and find book. Choice lamps, steamer trunks, typewriters, and various elegantly eclectic ephemera give off the feel that you’ve found yourself in an antique store on the West Coast of the U.S.A.

Venture downstair if you dare for drinks and delicacies before stepping out as evening falls and the street at your doorstep becomes the scene as Seoul’s nightlife stirs and then hums to full throttle.