If you typed private pool villa Haeundae Busan into Google, you were probably picturing something on the sand. Apartment Pool Stay 4RMS sits above the sand, on Dalmaji-gil, the hill road that climbs out of Haeundae and curves east toward Songjeong. The full address is Dalmaji-gil 117beon-ga-gil 219, and the stay occupies the third and fourth floors of that building.
The short version: this is a whole apartment with its own pool, on a hill with a sea view, about ten minutes by car from Haeundae Beach. It holds a 5.0 rating on Google, though from only three reviews. Three is a small number. Treat the score as a signal, not a guarantee, and read the rest of this page before you send money.
🏊 What a private pool villa in Haeundae, Busan actually means
Korean listings use “pool villa” loosely. It covers everything from a two-metre plunge tub on a balcony to a proper heated lap pool. The word tells you the pool is yours and nobody else’s for the night. It does not tell you the size, the depth, or whether it runs in February.
So the pool is the first thing to ask about, before the bed count or the view. Three questions, in this order:
- Is it heated, and is it heated in the month I am coming? Many Korean pool stays run the heater from spring to autumn and shut it off in winter.
- Is it indoor, semi-outdoor under a roof, or fully open? This decides whether rain ruins the night.
- Is there a cut-off hour for using it? Buildings on a residential hill usually have one, because sound carries at night.
Ask all three in one message when you book. You will get one answer back and no back-and-forth across a time zone.
📍 Why Dalmaji-gil and not the beachfront
Dalmaji-gil translates roughly as “moon-greeting road.” It runs along the ridge between Haeundae and Songjeong, high enough that the water sits below you rather than in front of you. Cafés, small galleries and a few good restaurants line it. Almost nothing on it is open late.
That is the trade. Down on the beachfront you get convenience stores at 2 AM, fried chicken delivered in twenty minutes, and a crowd on the sand until sunrise in August. Up here you get quiet, a horizon, and a hill you have to solve every time you leave.
For a pool stay, the hill is the point. You are booking a place you will spend the evening inside. If your plan is to be out every night until late, a base closer to the station serves you better, and our guide to where to stay in Busan lays out the four realistic bases and who each one suits.
🚇 Getting up there
From Gimhae Airport
With suitcases and a pool bag, take a taxi or the airport limousine toward Haeundae and finish the last stretch by car. Dragging luggage up a ridge road is the kind of decision you regret at the halfway point. We break the airport options down with real numbers in Gimhae Airport to Haeundae without the guesswork.
By metro
Jung-dong Station on Line 2 is the closest stop. From street level, Dalmaji-gil starts climbing almost immediately. On foot, budget twenty minutes and expect most of it to be uphill, on pavement that tilts. Do it once in daylight without bags, for the walk itself. Do not do it at 11 PM carrying groceries.
The practical pattern for a stay up here: metro to Jung-dong, then a short taxi for the last leg. Have the address saved in Korean on your phone so you can show the driver the screen instead of pronouncing it.
Save this line before you land: 해운대구 달맞이길117번가길 219. Show it, do not say it. Korean street names with numbers in them are hard to pronounce correctly, and a taxi driver will take the screen happily.
Which map app
Google Maps will not give you walking directions inside Korea. Install Naver Map or Kakao Map before the flight, and Kakao T if you want to call taxis without talking. On the hill, Naver Map’s walking mode is the one that understands the stair shortcuts between switchbacks.
☎️ Booking, and the phone number that tells you something
The listed number is 02-3411-0525. The 02 prefix is Seoul, not Busan. That usually means reservations are handled from an office elsewhere and the building itself does not keep a staffed front desk waiting for you.
Plan around that. Confirm in advance how you get in: a keypad code, a lockbox, or someone meeting you. Confirm what time the code becomes active. And confirm who you call if the code fails at 10 PM, because the Seoul office may not be answering then.
The name reads as four rooms, which points at groups rather than couples. If you are two people, ask whether they rent a floor separately or only the whole thing. If you are six or eight, ask how the beds are actually split, since “four rooms” and “sleeps eight” are different promises.
Things to settle in writing
- Total price for your dates, including any extra-guest charge. Korean stays often price per person above a base occupancy.
- Check-in and check-out times, and whether early bag drop is possible.
- Parking. A hill address and a rental car is a combination worth resolving before you arrive.
- Whether the pool is included in the rate or charged separately.
- Cancellation terms. Get the date, not the word “flexible.”
Korean hosts answer messages fast and answer phone calls faster, but written confirmation is what you want in hand at the door. Screenshot it.
🌅 What you do with the days
A pool stay changes the shape of a trip. You go out in the morning, come back mid-afternoon, and the evening happens at home. Build the days around that instead of fighting it.
Morning, on foot from the hill
Moontan Road is the walking trail that threads through the pines along the ridge, shaded most of the way and mercifully flat once you are on it. It is the best thing about waking up on Dalmaji-gil, and it costs nothing.
The hill also holds a small cluster of galleries. Most of them close on Mondays, which catches people out. If your trip includes a Monday, read Johyeon Gallery Dalmaji first and rearrange rather than walking up to a locked door.
Afternoon, downhill
Haeundae Beach is ten minutes by car. Cheongsapo, with the Sky Capsule and the blue-and-white cars running along the old railway, is the other direction along the coast. Both fill up on summer weekends, and both are calmer before 10 AM.
One planning note for July and August: the pool at your stay is the reason you booked. Using the beach for swimming and the pool for lounging usually works better than the reverse, because Haeundae sand in high summer is a crowd sport.
Evening, back up the hill
Restaurants on Dalmaji-gil tend to close earlier than you expect and several take a fixed day off each week. Book before you climb. Fiotto on Dalmaji-gil is dinner only and shut two nights a week, which is exactly the sort of detail that turns a nice evening into a taxi ride back down.
The alternative is the supermarket run. Stock up in Haeundae or Jung-dong on the way home, then eat by the water you are paying for. Convenience-store options on a residential ridge are thinner than in the flat city, so buy while you are down there.
🧾 The facts, in one place
| Name | Apartment Pool Stay 4RMS (아파트먼트풀 스테이 4RMS) |
| Address | Dalmaji-gil 117beon-ga-gil 219, floors 3 and 4, Haeundae-gu, Busan |
| Phone | 02-3411-0525 (Seoul number) |
| Google rating | 5.0, from 3 reviews |
| Nearest metro | Jung-dong, Line 2, then uphill |
| Rates and hours | Not published publicly. Confirm directly when booking. |
Everything above comes from the listing itself. Anything not in that table, including price, pool temperature and check-in time, you should get from the host in writing rather than from a blog. That includes this one.
⚠️ Where people go wrong with hill stays
The mistakes repeat, and they are all logistical.
- Arriving on the last metro. Line 2 stops running around midnight. Land late and you are taking a taxi anyway, so plan for it instead of sprinting.
- Sandals on a wet slope. Dalmaji-gil is steep and the pavement is smooth. After rain it is genuinely slick.
- Assuming there is a lobby. Floors three and four of a building are an apartment, so nobody is holding your bag at 9 AM unless you arranged it.
- Booking the pool for a rainy week. Busan’s rainy season runs through late June and July. Ask about cover before you commit to those dates.
- Bringing no cash. Cards work almost everywhere in Busan, but small hill cafés and older shops still have their preferences.
None of these ruin a trip. All of them cost an hour each, and an hour on a two-night stay is a real amount of the trip.
🧠 Is a pool villa the right call for your Busan trip?
It works well for a group of four to eight who want one shared space, for a trip where the accommodation is part of the holiday, and for anyone travelling with kids who need somewhere to burn energy that is not a beach at 34 degrees.
It works less well on a two-night first visit where you are trying to see Gamcheon, Jagalchi, Gwangalli and Haeundae. On that trip the hill eats your evenings and you never use the pool you paid for. Stay flat and central, and come back for the villa on trip two.
For general planning, seasonal events and official listings, Busan’s tourism office keeps an English site at visitbusan.net.
❓ The short answers
Where exactly is Apartment Pool Stay 4RMS?
Dalmaji-gil 117beon-ga-gil 219, on the third and fourth floors, in Haeundae-gu, Busan. It is on the hill road above Haeundae Beach, heading toward Songjeong.
How do I get there from Haeundae Station?
Jung-dong Station on Line 2 is one stop further east and closer to the hill. From there it is a short taxi ride up, or roughly a twenty-minute uphill walk with no luggage.
Do I need to book in advance?
Yes. A four-room stay with a private pool has limited inventory, and summer weekends in Haeundae go early. Rates are not published publicly, so contact them directly on 02-3411-0525 for your dates.
Is the pool usable in winter?
That depends on heating, which the listing does not state. Ask before booking any date between November and March.
Is 5.0 from three reviews reliable?
It is a good sign and a small sample. The one written review says the guest wants to return, which is worth more than a number, and it is still one voice.
Can I walk to Haeundae Beach?
Downhill, yes, in a reasonable stroll. Uphill on the way back with wet swimwear and a full stomach is a different experience. Most people take a taxi one way.
✅ The whole thing in six lines
- Apartment Pool Stay 4RMS is a private pool stay on Dalmaji-gil 117beon-ga-gil 219, floors three and four, above Haeundae.
- Google rating is 5.0 from three reviews. Small sample, positive signal.
- Reservations run through 02-3411-0525, a Seoul line. Confirm entry method, price and cancellation in writing.
- Jung-dong Station on Line 2, then a short taxi. Walk it once in daylight, never with bags.
- Ask three pool questions before paying: heated, covered, and any night-time cut-off.
- Shop and book dinner on the way up. The hill closes earlier than the city below it.