Luxury Hotels Atlas / Places / South Korea / Geoje / Tomonoya Ryokan
Tomonoya Ryokan
Geoje, South Korea · Tomonoya · Accessible Luxury
Two hundred thirty meters from Mongdol pebble beach, a hotel in Dongbu-myeon was running under 30 percent full when Choi Chang-hoon bought it. He spent four months joining the 36 rooms into 18, set a hinoki tub in each one facing the water, and put breakfast and dinner on the bill. Occupancy climbed to about 90 percent, winters included, and he never bought an ad. This was the first Tomonoya. Namhae, Gyeongju, and Daecheon followed. You sleep between a tatami sitting room and a queen bed, and the tub is why you came.
- 18 rooms
About Tomonoya Ryokan
- More than thirty copycat ryokans opened on Geoje after this house worked, Choi Chang-hoon told Chosun Ilbo in 2023.
- Breakfast and dinner are served at Gochiso, a Japanese restaurant on the first floor of building B, with six private rooms and one hall.
- The lot is modest: 940 square meters of land and 1,668 square meters of floor. Choi aimed every hinoki tub at the sea.
History
The building was an ordinary hotel in Dongbu-myeon, about 230 meters from Mongdol pebble beach, and it was losing. Occupancy sat under 30 percent even with the campground and the seafood restaurants along the shore. Choi Chang-hoon, of MRHM, bought it. He had wanted a ryokan soak since his student years in Japan, and he had watched a Japanese-style hotel in Gyeonggi stay full every night. The remodel took four months. Pairs of rooms became one. Thirty-six keys became eighteen. Each room got a large hinoki tub aimed at the water, a tatami sitting room, and a queen bed, and the rate included dinner and breakfast so a guest never had to leave. Occupancy went to about 90 percent, higher in winter, by word of mouth alone. He then opened Tomonoya houses in Namhae, Gyeongju, and Daecheon. In 2023 he told Chosun Ilbo that more than thirty imitators had followed on Geoje. Meals are served at Gochiso, on the first floor of building B.
The setting
Dongbu-myeon, about 230 meters from Mongdol pebble beach, with a campground and a row of seafood restaurants along the shore. The beach is the walk from the door. The shipyard hotels of Jangpyeong are a different Geoje, up the island to the north.
Restaurants and bars
- ごちそう (Gochisou) — Restaurant · Japanese
Experiences
- Phytoncide-rich ryokan experience — A lifestyle concept built around a phytoncide-rich ryokan experience designed for the guest.
Amenities
- Hinoki bath in every room
- Himalayan pink salt bath additive and premium spa amenities
- Various complimentary amenities
- Breakfast and dinner provided for all guests
Open Tomonoya Ryokan in the atlas for live weekend rates, photos, and the full folio.