Jang Man Weol is the superficial and fashionista owner of Hotel Del Luna, a peculiar hotel that accepts only a certain kind of clientele: ghosts who aren't ready to leave for the afterlife due to their unresolved grudges. Besides offering them a place to stay, Hotel Del Luna provides services (to pay, obviously) to help these ghosts to end up their affairs so they can serenely leave.
Koo Chan Seong starts working for Man Weol because of a deal his father made with her, almost 20 years before. At first, he's frightened by them but slowly gets used to seeing ghosts and becomes a valid asset for both the staff, befriending with Kim Sun Bi, Choi Seo Hee and Ji Hyun Joong, and the hotel's guests.
Since it has been over 1000 years, Man Weol looks forward to that, but her beliefs begin to falter once she gets to know Chan Seong, the only person she allows to see her hidden, generous side. She tries to get rid of him, but he also starts to develop feelings for her and isn't easily discouraged!
Eventually, the hotel 'hires' another human, Kim Yoo-Na, a high school girl who will immediately bond with Hyun-Joong and will help a bunch of murdered ghosts to find their killer. Once found, the killer will become a serious problem for Man Weol and Chan Seong but will also bring someone who has been really important in Man Weol's previous existence back into her life.
My Opinion👍👎
The love story portrayed in
this drama differs from the ones we are used to since female leads usually
lie to themselves, claiming they don’t like the guy or are more or less oblivious
about their own feelings, while Man Weol is almost straightforward about hers towards Chan Seong.
FINALLY, a character who speaks frankly and without hiding things!
Her character is much more believable than others' leads who are more virtuous or righteous.Plus the comical dialogues between her and Chan Seong are exhilarant!
I have been SPAMMED like never before in my life with ads about
this drama ever since earlier this year so obviously I ate the bait and
watched it!
Besides earning a lot of praises in Korea, Hotel Del Luna reached the peak of popularity among
viewers also thank the SNS strategies behind it, with the drama’s official IG
profile (run by the IU herself).
Special mention is due to
the series’ stylist: each episode's outfits are always prettier than the previous and inline
with Man Weol’s personality
Settings and atmospheres are a well-balanced mix
between horror/noir thriller with lighter tones every now and then. It's similar to Tim Burton's Dark Shadows, serious but not so much (logic, uh?!)
In contrast with ‘Angel’s Last Mission: Love’ which was about angels and, overall, positiveness... here we have ghosts holding grudges, an ancient 'curse', reincarnations and characters like the Grim Reaper (an old acquaintance for those who watched 'What's Wrong with Secretary Kim?') and God Mago to deal with and some of them are crazily scary (both ghosts and humans).
I have to say that I liked this story (I'm a nerd when it comes to paranormal + religious folklore), it was well-acted and the script was compelling and engaging. Probably not for everybody's tastes, but I can see why it has been so successful.
The only thing that bothered me was that from episode 10 on the scenes with pathos (a.k.a the actors facing each other, not talking, while a sad song starts playing) were uselessly long just to add minutes to the episode. Episodes 13 and 14 were especially boring when it came to these kinds of scenes. But thankfully the final episodes restored the drama's enjoyable and engaging flow, with yet again a lot of plot twists and 'No Way!' kind of moments!
I'm surely going to miss this eccentric hotel, its ghostly staff, and extravagantly trendy Man Weol!
The only thing that bothered me was that from episode 10 on the scenes with pathos (a.k.a the actors facing each other, not talking, while a sad song starts playing) were uselessly long just to add minutes to the episode. Episodes 13 and 14 were especially boring when it came to these kinds of scenes. But thankfully the final episodes restored the drama's enjoyable and engaging flow, with yet again a lot of plot twists and 'No Way!' kind of moments!
I'm surely going to miss this eccentric hotel, its ghostly staff, and extravagantly trendy Man Weol!
Ranking: 4½/5
Ph: asianwiki.com and screenshot
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