On a humid afternoon, I found myself in Seongnam, a city just an hour south of Seoul. Heading away from the centre of the city, into what feels like the middle of nowhere, there is a large silver building by the name of Hotel, Theilma.
As you can guess from the name, the café, restaurant and store had a theme, a hotel. The space was a large grey rectangular building that was a stark contrast to the undeveloped lots and older style buildings in the neighbourhood. Although the outside was completely silver and gave off a factory feel, the inside was the opposite.
The floor and the walls were all wood. The walls were a darker stain of wood, while the floors were a light stained wood. This part of the space had a high ceiling which made the space feel huge. There was also a large tree growing in the centre of the room which added a true sense of nature to the space.
In line with the hotel theme, the entrance of the building was the lobby. There was a large counter at the rear of the room which was the reception desk. Here was where you must order. This was also made of wood with a mirror behind which also widened the space.
To the right of the lobby was the select shop that sold clothing and jewelry. Thelima is a clothing brand and the store sold the brand as well as some other selected brands. If you order food you could get a 5% discount coupon for the select shop. This part of the space had a more of trendy feel. Although still carrying through the dark wooden walls, the floors were concrete with splashes of white paint and the windows were tinted green.
On the other side of the building was the restaurant and café. This part of the building also carried through the wooden walls, however here it was a lighter honey tone. The floors were polished concrete but without the paint splashes. There was also white that was painted onto some of the walls and ceiling. Hints of blue were also seen from the chairs and logos scattered in the space.
There were large windows in the area that let in lovely natural light, while paper lantern light fixtures added decoration to the space. The kitchen, where the crepes were made, gave off atmosphere of a luxury hotel buffet, which added more to the hotel theme.
Since the café is so popular, you must put your name on the waiting list. Then once your number is called, before being seated you must ‘check in.’ Like in the lobby of a real hotel you place your order at the reception desk.
Although a very cool concept, the process of being seated could be a little confusing if you don’t know Korean. So that is one thing to keep in mind. Moreover, even on week days you have to wait a little, so if you’re going on the weekend, be warned, you might be waiting for a long time.
For drinks you will be given a buzzer and you collect the drinks at the ‘check-in’ counter and if you order food, it will come to your table.
There was inside and outside seating and I was seated outside. The seating was mostly for groups of four and twos, with also a bar along one of the windows. The inside seating was all wooden while the outside seating was green metal picnic style tables. The outside didn’t have much design aspects since it was right next to the parking lot and especially on a ridiculously humid day, wasn’t ideal.
Due to the waiting time and price of the drinks I wouldn’t recommend the place for working and just ordering a drink. It was much more a space for having a brunch date rather than working or just chatting over a drink.
For me, I got an iced chocolate and a basil pesto and cheese crepe. The iced chocolate was nothing special. It was quite bitter and for its size it was quite overpriced at 7,500 won. However, the crepe was delicious and full of flavour. The crepe was cooked nicely and the fresh pesto and roasted tomatoes balanced out the creaminess of the melted cheese.
Hotel, Thelima is an amazing space with a creative and well thought out concept that will having you waiting. In dead beat terms, if you don’t mind the price and waiting, this space isn’t one to miss. The hotel concept is executed fantastically and the crepes were super tasty. As a café and drinks, the space is probably not worth it, however to dine in and be able to fully take in the experience, it’s worth the trip.
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