You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess. It's a love story baby just say yes. –Taylor Swift

'Rakrang' would remind many Koreans of the country’s old tale of love between the prince of Koguryo State and the princess of Rakrang State who, despite their states’ feud, deeply fall for each other, leading to the Princess sacrificing her life for love and her nation – a kind of Korean Romeo and Juliet tale.

Today, one of Pyongyang’s 18 districts is named Rakrang and so is a hotel located there.

Newly opened to foreign tourists, Koryo Tours was honoured to ring in the New Year by staying at this very hotel as its first Western guests.

Opened in 2010, the Rakrang hotel has up until now mainly been used for local guests and foreign business people. The four-story (sorry, no lift) hotel manages to balance a capital-city style with a super cozy ambience, friendly and charming staff – making it a perfect Pyongyang-home for tourists, with a great amount of facilities to fill your evenings with (from hairdressing to billiards to vapor baths, saunas, a couple bars and a coffee shop).

Located at the bank of the Taedong river, opposite Turu Islet which houses the capital’s SciTech Complex, the hotel offers great river and architecture views. In summer, this perfect spot allows for clam barbecues on the river bank. In the winter, the hotel own, Alpine hut-style restaurant has some amazing steamed seafood / barbecue on offer.

A great addition to Pyongyang’s hotel landscape we are happy to announce that the Rakrang Hotel is from now on open to tourists travelling with Koryo Tours.

'Hotels of North Korea' is a blog posting dedicated to the fascinating world of accommodations in the DPRK. Check out #hotelsofnorthkorea and #hotelsofdprk on Instagram.