Hotel del Luna

Sometimes it's better to just try again

To be honest it took me 2 tries to watch this and here's why. I tried to watch it last year around this time but it didn't affect me any way and it's because I wasn't used to sitting back and watching something for around hour and 20 minutes. The reason why I wanted to watch this at first was because of the appearance of Kim Soo Hyun in the last episode. But I dropped it at 3rd episode. But right now I don't understand why. I found peace and happiness in this drama I didn't find this sad in any way. I just feel stupid because I wanted to watch 16 episodes an hour and a half long each just because of 30 seconds of the last episode. Have a good day<4

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One of the most heartfelt Shows I've ever watched

I never imagined that a show about ghosts, the afterlife and darker themes would be so incredibly heartwarming. This is an amazing example of how to take tropes that have been done time and time again and transform it into something new and exciting(plus P.O is a great bonus haha). You can tell this show had a higher budget - the location atmospheres are so incredibly captivating and visually stunning, the story is well done with little -if any- room for improvement, and the cast (despite having 2 idols which is normally look down upon) is also simply amazing. There is a great diversity in character archetypes which I personally belive isn't seen much is many dramas - it isn't just a strong female lead but the background characters are also unique and something rarely seen!!

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Aesthetically very pleasing

For the first 8 episodes I thought I would definitely give this drama a 10. The acting was great, the shots and editing was fantastic and IU's wardrobe was simply stunning. It was a joy to watch. At the same time, the characters seemed interesting, the ghost stories got me involved and both the present and the past storylines were equally enganging which doesn't happen often. However, close to the end the drama was getting worse and worse and it was mainly due to the script as the actors themselves were definitely top notch. The plot became all over the place, their problem resolutions were totally unsatisfiying and for the last few episodes it wasn't even interesting to watch anymore. The glaring problems with the script became evident and even the beautiful sites couldn't hide them anymore (20+ hours of just stunning aesthetics with no meaning is definitely too much). The only well developed character was that of Jang Man Wol, even Gu Chan Sung was underdeveloped and existed mainly as a plot device to JMW's character. It was also advertised as a rom com but I definitely did not get the feeling that it was. It was quite funny and unlike many others I don't have complains that the main couple did not have chemistry, they did it was just completely different. More of a mature romance / deep friendship than cute head over heels romance. For me the drama could have ended on episode 15 and nothing would have changed much as for the storyline itself. There was no resolutions or questions left to be answered in the last episode, just unnecessary scenes that couldnt even decide whether it was to be sad or hopeful or what. I was left unsatisfied with the development and the direction it has taken. The only reason why the score is so high is that production value and acting was through the roof.

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As my headline, Kim Soo Hyun ending the show, can we just let our hearts burst? Why was he so fucking sexy, though??
When he stood on the steps and just looked like a freaking god, I felt every part of me being on fire.

Also, can we just take a minute to thank Sulli for her last ever appearance in drama before her passing. Rest in Peace, sweetie.

Now to the important stuff, I adore IU, but this show hasn't gotten the right appreciation for the males in the show.
Yeo Jin Goo, Pyo ji Hoon, Shin Jung Keun, Kang Hong Suk, Lee Do Hyun, Lee Tae Sun and Jo Hyun Chul.

I'm going through each of the males because I have a lot to say: (Also I'm saving the ones I have most to speak to the last).

Sanchez (Jo Hyun Chul): I felt for him when he lost his girlfriend. Honestly, I thought she was cheating or something. Most of the time, I felt like he was very much in love with his girlfriend, who also seemed imaginary, but when Chan Sung sees her in Sanchez house and knowing that she's already gone, Oh my lord my heart almost combusted because I felt for him, and her. And I realized it was a great side storyline; it made me very sad for Sanchez, though.

Sa Shin (Kang Hong Suk): Honestly, this grim reaper is like the most compassionate I've ever seen (Well, let's not talk about Lee Dong Wook's Grim reaper in Goblin). Sa Shin is most definitely in the same league, but also, I like how he had a funny side to him, especially when he was drinking with Sun Bi.

Kim Sun Bi (Shin Jung Keun): Okay, this back story had me so sad, how he was screwed over and made to look like not con artist but a fraud. Having his past cleared up and for him to move on. And also to be a hell of a bartender.
He was one of the funniest, always putting his foot in it, and being proud thinking he's done so well.

Ji Hyun Joong (Pyo Ji Hoon): I want to give him a big applaud. We've been told his entire story from the beginning, and he had his goals, but when he falls for the soul trapped inside the body of Yoo Na. They are adorable, he's funny and very supportive towards her because she's supposed to be dead. But he also has a goal that when his sister dies, he'll pass over with her, and that broke my heart so hardcore.

Yun Woo (Lee Tae Sun): This death was like the worst one for sure. I cried with him, and I cried with Man wol, who cried for him. He was the best brother and friend to her, and he loved her as only a sibling would, yet they weren't related, but he really proved that family isn't based on blood. But how you treat someone. And the fact that Man Wol gets to meet him in the present time and he's dating her enemy, that even made me angry. I wished for Man Wol and Yun Woo to have more interaction in the current time. But she only really looks over him, but I can tell she wants more but never takes the step for it. And the fact that he finds her familiar breaks my heart.

Go Chung Myung (Lee Do Hyun): Can we just take a minute, I have to have a minute.

The fact that he stayed next to Man Wol for those thousands and thousands of years. Because he loves that much, it got me so hard. It makes me teary-eyed just thinking about it. Their story was one that really grasped me, no matter how much he had to hurt her, it was so obvious how much loved her. Even when he betrayed her, he did everything for her sake, when he had Yun Woo's life taken away it was all to protect Man Wol, and their love story breaks me because she hated him for all that time. And just wanted revenge, when he was there watching her hate him. He took his punishment just to be close to her. I had the theory that Chan Sung was the reincarnated Chung Myung, but it was just Chang Myung showing the man that was about to fall in love with the love of his life why she's like she is. Chung Myung is the hero of this drama for sure. And his love made me really fall for this drama—also the right actor for the role.

Goo Chan Sung (Yeo Jin Goo):
To start with, I felt like Jin Goo wasn't really right for the role, but at the same time, now one couldn't have done this role as well as he did. (I think he looked way too young for the age he was trying to portray). As I said earlier, I thought for a long that Chan Sung was Chung Myung, and by the looks of it, so did Man Wol, even though she hoped it wasn't so. She was right. But Chan was really the start of the drama, he showed compassion, reality checking, optimism. Also, he was a hell of a good friend to his friends. It's sad he had been slandered and hurt before, but it also made him into Chan Sung. The fact that he helps Sanchez see his dead girlfriend for the last time, and also comes to terms with the tiger and being able to see ghosts. And the fact that he'd go to heaven to see Man Wol if he had too. He becomes a beacon and is really the hero of the show.

I'm noy going to lie, love IU as a fiesty woman, she really made me happy this show. (The whole Scarlet heart feel, but a bit more bitter.)

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Can't get enough

A series with a really good love story, that might have even been better without it.

Jang Man Wol (played by IU) is such an interesting character. Outwardly she is very vain with many flaws, but it becomes apparent why she is this way as the story unfolds. Her flaws make her even more likeable as a character. So much so that even though the story itself is really good, I think that they could have explored her character more if they were not rushing to the romance. Man Wol has been around for centuries, and there is so much to her character that it feels like we only scratch the surface before its over.

Aside from the FL, the show does a fantastic job at drawing you into each of the other characters too. The ML and all of the side characters have depth that really gets you attached to them.

My only criticism of the show is how quickly it comes to an end. The series showcases a lot of subtle character development, but when it arrives at the climax it does so almost without warning. It then quickly decelerates to the finish line, and you're just left wanting a little more because the characters (especially all of the ghosts) are just so interesting.

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Haunting, Enchanting, and Incredible

My goodness, IU, and co-star Jin-goo did such an incredible job! The production felt so clean and exquisite, and each of Jang Man-wol's outfits was astonishingly beautiful. I was hooked from the very beginning, and the drama perfectly balances romance, fantasy, comedy, and soul. Many of the side characters had touching backstories, and I'm so happy the writers gave them each a satisfying ending! The OST soundtrack was one of the most memorable things from the drama, HEIZE and Chungha (to name a few) did a fantastic job adding a haunting and emotional touch to the deeper scenes. Easily one of the best dramas I've seen by far!

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Creative and visually stunning, but a few steps short of perfection . . .

The set-up and mythology is very different and fun to watch. From the idea of a ghost inn, to a goddess with many avatars/faces, to the beauty & the beast type romance with the genders switched. I was blown away for the first eight episodes.

But, while the historical plots tie up nicely, the modern storylines were wrapped up quickly with no real suspense making the last couple episodes complete filler.

As to actors/characters, two of the main female characters are complex and multifaceted: Jang Man-Wol and the Goddess Mago. But, the main male character Koo Chan-Seong is especially flat and uninspiring as the person who always does the right thing.

The music fits well with the show, but it doesn't linger in my memory. There were no special scenes that I feel the need to rewatch.

I grade on other criteria as well:

Complex Themes: 7.0
The biggest letdown of the show. The theme is letting go leads to peace, and you should do it, even if terrible things happened to you while alive. But there isn't a complex inspection of this, forgiveness is just always the right thing to do - and always works out for the characters that do it.
Character Growth: 8.0
The transition from vengeful to letting go is especially touching for Jang Man-Wol, the housekeeper and the receptionist. It's a shame that Koo Chan-Seong gets no complexity or real transition at all. There are also very short, abrupt plot points for the bartender, Sanchez, and Lee Mi-Ra.
Complex Female Characters: 10.0
Jang Man-Wol is great playing vengeful and cynical, with a romantic heart. She is fascinating throughout the show as she develops increasing humour and sensitivity. A very well-rounded character. The housekeeper and the Goddess Mago also have great complexity. Indeed, generally the female characters and storyline were much better developed and well-rounded then the male ones.
Cinematography/Production Values: 10.0
It's gorgeous. Truly the most beautiful TV show I may have ever seen, the colour palette is vibrant and unusual, the clothes budget for Jang Man-Wol must have been unlimited, and there's a beautiful use of camera angles, movements and framing. It has a very stylistic, fairy-tale feel.

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Ruined by ending

If i write about this drama i think this is one of the best kdrama in rom-com list. But most of the best kdrama ruined by it's stories end. I still can't understand about korean producer, director mind. They can give happy ending with alien,dity and many-more supernatural things. Only because of this kind of toxic ending many fans, hate kdrama i think. I think if a story and characters are strong enough, they deserve a good happy ending.

About this drama, this is a ill-fated story with killing beauty. You can't ignore this drama because of IU's beauty in this drama. She was just fire. I could give more than 10star if last 2-3 episode didn’t spoil it. I think this drama deserved a happy ending.

I started to watch kdrama because of Korean best acting. And their style will always drag you to see their killing beauty (for female character). After watching joy ful 10-13 episode if you got last 3-4 episode like toxic, then i think anyone will stop watching this types of drama.

At the end i will say, kdrama always disappoint you with a sad or confusing ending.

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The Bittersweet Taste of Life and Death

If I spend the next 4-6 months trapped in the ancient korean drama section of asian dramaland, this show will be to blame.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good ghost justice story but I honestly wish I had seen more of the backstory that brings about the Hotel to begin with LOL But that's just me. The point of this one is the redemption and forgiveness more than the ancient tragedy that create all the karma and punishment.

This show was a roller-coaster of emotions for me, right from the opening scene. We see our FL, Man Wol, wandering, injured, followed and insanely bitter and cold. This is where our tale starts as she finds herself confronted by a goddess, and suddenly becomes the owner of a ghost inn as part of her karmic debt to pay for her crimes.
Fast forward to 1998, and we our introduced to our ML, Chan, in his poverty ridden childhood. One thing leads to another and our ML's father makes a deal with our FL, to spare him in exchange for his son's service later in life.
Of course, his father isn't that uncaring. The money Man Wol sends to his father to help raise him, is explained was spent on taking him to america and hoping that he never return to Korea. Of course, Man Wol is an ancient spirit and finds him the moment he steps foot back in the country.

This drama follows two different stories that slowly converge beautifully into one. At first, it seems like a glamourous and quirky idea as we meet the ghosts, both staff and guests, and some of them even receiving justice for their death. If they are particularly noble in life, the reaper drives them off in a limo, instead of a bus towards the bridge of the after life.
It's all a very entertaining concept, until we start to see the effects of death on those left behind. Even a dog isnt spared from his pain, and chooses to join his master in death instead of run free.

This is a theme that runs throughout the show. It's the cold, harsh reality of death. Although a creative take on what happens after, the message is always the same. The pain of separation, things people leave unsaid, unresolved, how the people left behind must continue, while their loved ones fates are unknown. Are they happy? Are they free? Do they even remember us while we continue to suffer over their memory?

And it's theme, of this deep heartfelt human experience that slowly unravels what actually happened to Man Wol in her life, 1300 years prior to the plot. When we do finally learn what happened, honestly, I can't imagine anybody feeling like they wouldn't react the same way. It was a deep, traumatizing betrayal for all involved.
Everything is woven into the ultimate plan of the Goddess, in several different forms, who is genuinely trying to help Man Wol. It's shown over and over, with various characters that a divine plan may be in front of us, but the choice is always ours. We can give in to our anger and hate, and destroy ourselves with it, or we can let go and move on.

At the end, we are all connected in some way. Such as the side plot of having the Princess and Woo's present incarnations meet, fall in love and mention their plans to get married at the end. Two people who were enemies in Man Wol's life, and the reason for death, falling in love. For me personally, even though it is kind of joked about by the Goddess who connects them, it feels like a karma as well. The two see each other only once in Man Wol's life but they connect instantly. Maybe they knew each other even before that life. Maybe they knew each other at some point in the lives they lived between the past and the present. Maybe they even just past each other. It's this romanticism of reincarnation and living hundreds of times, that really pulled me in, and made me really feel Man Wol's fate because she's holding herself prisoner but we can all understand why. We see what happened to her.
While her enemy and beloved brother, are living different lives and finding happiness there, she's still trapped in Man Wol's life, and her pain. And when we reach our final goal of getting her to release and forgive, we are then faced again, with the pain of the one left behind. In this situation its the ML Chan. You could easily take the script and place it onto a character dying of cancer. They both know that she has to move on, and he needs to let her move on, but will he be ok? Is he really prepared to let her go?

I really appreciate that we wrapped up Man Wol's plot by ep.14, because it means that our side characters were also given the resolve that they deserved, rather than trying to squeeze it in during the last episode. So when they, one by one, cross over, I was also feeling the separation. They weren't just goofy side kicks, they were also fully fleshed out characters, with stories and grudges of their own, that they were finally able to put down and be at peace.

The romantic in me is a little disappointed that Man Wol chose not to go up to Woo's reincarnation because they chose to keep in the scene of him seeing her, and making an impact. Also that he cried after he had the drink towards the end, to let Man Wol see his memories and learn the other side of the story. Once again, in another way, even though Woo, in his life as detective Park, no longer remembers, the pain of that life time, is still there. He really was a side character and perhaps thats why I wanted more of his lifetime because his thoughts and feelings were reduced to snippets, despite the writing hinting that his thoughts and feelings had a lot to say. So I feel unsatisfied there.

Overall, this is a very visually stunning and very heartfelt serious that had really hit a nerve with me, and had me tearing up a few times, which doesn't happen often.

My only complaint is that I didnt feel the passion between the leads. I actually felt the love and sacrifice more from Myung in his small parts, than I did from ML Chan. The leads felt more like flirting school kids. I do like to think though, that the ending scene is a future life of the two being in love again, with other 3 characters running free in the area with lots of good fortune thanks to the good karma they built up during their time in the hotel.

Other than that, this was one hell of a ride, pun intended, and definitely one to remember as I now freefall down the ancient korean drama section LOL

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Super good!

Hotel del Luna is a very good and enthralling drama. Starting with more horror and thriller, it nicely shifted to more focus and romance, comedy following along with all the 16 episodes.
The staff (the inner circle) really felt like a family in the end and I enjoyed learning more about their stories.
Already from the first episode, I really felt that Jang Man Wol and Ko Chang Sung had a lot of chemistry, and they really proved themselves.
I will always be amazed by how many different dresses Man Wol wore and the dedication to make every look stand out.
The last four episodes got ten out of ten stares, one got 8.5 and the rest of the episodes got either 9 or 9.5 stars. It was really such a lovely journey!
Lee Mi Ra and Park Young Soo were so cute together, happy that they will get married and made up! I really enjoyed the concept of Mago and all the different versions there were. Seo Yi Sook really showed off her amazing acting skills here! What a nice production and clearly budget too! Most of the scenes were so pretty.

I’m honestly surprised that there were no instrumental OST, but the ones released (with vocals) fit Hotel del Luna very well.

Could have been better:The ending was a bit too vague for my liking and I feel like there were a few filler episodes that brought down the overall enjoyment considering how good the first and the final episodes were.

Best episode: Episode 13

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