Chongnyon Hotel North Korea aka The Youth Hotel

This hotel was recently refurbished but still holds its DPRK hotel signature retro style; long corridors, marble floors, high ceilings, chandeliers and rooms that seem straight out from a Bond movie all embodied in a tall green structure that stands proudly at the Kwangbok intersection. Please check our Youtube video below:

Westerners hardly stay here, so if in on an independent trip and looking to avoid Western tourists this may be an option to consider. Facilities are actually very good for a budget hotel.

Brief Introduction

The Chongnyon Hotel (or Youth Hotel) was built in 1989 and is a first-class hotel. First-class hotels are not the highest rated hotels in North Korea unlike deluxe-class North Korean hotels like the Yanggakdo International Hotel and the Koryo Hotel.

Not bad for a budget hotel the Youth Hotel is very retro but one of the best first class hotels in Pyongyang

Location

It is located nearby the sports village in Mangyongdae District on Kwangbok Street. This is about a 15 minute drive west of Pyongyang's city centre. Close by you will find Pyongyang Circus, Chilgol Revolutionary Site, as well as the Hyangmanru and Chongchun restaurants.

The hotel boasts great views of the Pyongyang Circus, and the Ryugyong Hotel in the background. Nearby sites include the Chilgol Revolutionary Site, as well as the Hyangmanru and Chongchun restaurants.

Views of Kwangbok street. The green structure you see is the Pyongyang circus. The enormous Ryugyong Hotel stands in the far background

Handy Tips & Facilities

The Youth Hotel has an outdoor swimming pool with a slide. So if you come during the summer months make sure you do bring your swimming trunks. You will find that many of the pool guests are North Koreans who have paid to use the pool for the day, which makes it more interesting as you will have the chance to mingle more with locals.

On the second floor of the hotel there is a souvenir shop and a bookshop and there is a shop too in the lobby. Other entertainment facilities inside the hotel include billiards, karaoke and table tennis rooms and an indoor sauna with a massage parlour as well as a big indoor swimming pool.

Indoor Pool

Sauna

Rooms

The Chongnyon Hotel has 30 stories and 465 rooms. As you enter the hotel you will see a very large reception area. This is where tour groups usually met up with their tour guides in the mornings before setting off for the day. Like most other hotels, rooms here clean, have a fridge and a flat screen tv.

There are three different types of rooms; 3rd class, 2nd class and 1st class. First class rooms have an office and small living room.

Living room in a First Class Room at the Youth Hotel in Pyongyang

First Class Room at the Youth Hotel in Pyongyang

First Class Rooms have an office

"In the Woods" - Second Class Room

Third Class Room

Restaurants

There are two bars in and a restaurant in the lobby which serves Western breakfast (toast, eggs, jam etc). But if you are craving for Western food after a few days in North Korea, then why not pop in the fast food burger restaurant just outside the hotel as well as a snack shop open until late at night? UPDATE: as of 2017 the burger place is no longer opened.

Dining Room

One of the bars in the hotel

Interesting Facts

There used to be a burger joint right by the hotel. Please note that fast food restaurants are a rarity in North Korea. Please check our North Korea Food options page for a list of restaurants in the DPRK.

Fast-food in Pyongyang - lady prepares North Korean burgers and waffles in the fast-food restaurant next to the Youth Hotel

Another, though perhaps not as interesting, fact to point out is that The Air China ticketing office is located in the Youth Hotel.

The staff members are mainly Korean but they speak fluent Mandarin

360° Image

Click on the bubble below to have a 360° experience of the entrance of the hotel.

Please feel free to ask any questions, leave any reviews or upload any pictures regarding the Chongnyon Hotel in the section at the bottom of this page so that other readers can see what to expect if staying here. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see any reviews posted!