We took a short overnight trip to Gijang (기장), on the eastern edge of Busan.
My kid is obsessed with swimming, so this time I wanted a place with a pool attached to the room itself. After a lot of scrolling I landed on Villa de Himmel (빌라 드 히멜), tucked away in the Ilgwang (일광) area.
It’s about a 30-minute drive from Haeundae, and there’s a Shinsegae outlet nearby, so getting around was easy.
Where it is, and the basics
Villa de Himmel (빌라 드 히멜)
89-10 Janggok-gil, Ilgwang-eup, Gijang-gun, Busan
Phone: +82-10-4523-4032
Check-in 15:00 / Check-out 11:00
You can park right in front of the building, which made hauling our bags in painless.
📍 View Villa de Himmel (빌라 드 히멜) on Google Maps →
The place opened in 2023, so everything still feels brand new — not a scuff anywhere.
I booked through their website (a Korean booking platform; a translation app handles it fine if you don’t read Korean). One thing to note: pets aren’t allowed.
Villa de Himmel is split into three buildings — Himmel, Mir, and Chilam — and there’s a big communal outdoor pool in front of the Himmel building.
We arrived in the late afternoon, and once the lights came on the whole place felt different. I can only imagine how good a summer pool party would be here.
The owner came out to the parking lot to meet us and walked us up to the room himself.
He explained everything carefully, so even on a first visit we settled in without any fuss. A quick heads-up for international guests: he doesn’t speak much English, but he’s warm and patient, and pointing or a translation app gets you through just fine.
First look at the loft suite
The room is a loft layout.
The moment I opened the door, the high ceiling and the open sightline hit me — it felt so spacious.
But the real winner was the wide living-room window with the Gijang sea stretched out behind it. That view alone made me feel like I’d chosen well.
Warm wood floors and clean, simple furniture made the space feel cozy, and the sofa by the window was the perfect spot to just sit and stare at the water.
My kid claimed it the second we walked in.
A kitchen that has everything
The kitchen is small but covers all the bases.
There’s an induction cooktop and a tidy sink, so simple cooking was no problem at all.
The next morning I pulled a coffee from the Nespresso machine, and it was such a nice way to start the day.
The capsules come with the welcome kit, so there was nothing extra to bring.
Under the stairs there’s a neat little nook packed with a fridge, a water purifier, a washer, and a dryer.
The purifier dispenses ice and hot water too, so there was no need to buy bottled water.
I like making fizzy vitamin drinks, and being able to grab ice on the spot was genuinely handy.
Having a washer and dryer in a pool villa is a quiet game-changer.
You can throw your wet swimsuits and towels straight in and take them home dry and fluffy.
I washed my kid’s clothes too, so we left with a much lighter bag.
The hair dryer is a Dyson.
My hair dried in no time, and it made drying my kid’s hair after swimming quick too.
They leave out plenty of towels, so we never ran short.
The dishware is a matching Odense set.
I didn’t expect a place you stay one night to put out dishes this pretty — even plain food looked good plated on them, which made me want to photograph everything.
A thoughtful welcome kit
There was a welcome kit waiting on the table at check-in.
Cup ramen, snacks, coffee capsules — a good mix that cut our grocery run way down.
The detail that stuck with me was the Gijang seaweed (기장 미역) they included — a nod to the region.
I brought it home and made seaweed soup with it, and yes, Gijang seaweed really is that good.
Small touches like that made it clear how much thought goes into hosting here.
A spotless bathroom
The bathroom has a separate shower stall, with shampoo, conditioner, and body wash in wall dispensers.
Being new, it was spotless — no water stains anywhere — and they provide disposable toothbrushes and toothpaste, so there was nothing to pack.
A loft bedroom with hotel-grade bedding
The bedroom sits up in the loft, reached by a staircase.
The stairs aren’t steep, so going up and down was easy — just watch your head, since the ceiling up there is a little low.
The bedding is hotel quality — soft and plush — and the mattress was just right, so I slept incredibly well.
At other pensions the bedding has left my back aching, but none of that here.
The long window beside the bed framed the view like a painting.
Waking up to that the first thing in the morning just lifted my whole mood.
The highlight: our own heated pool
The real draw of Villa de Himmel is the private pool that comes with each room.
Open the terrace door and there it is — a pool just for your group, no strangers, no self-consciousness.
It’s bigger than I expected, and my kid was diving and splashing around for hours.
The sea sits right beyond the pool, so you’re looking out over the Gijang coast while you swim.
You can see both the pool and the water from the dining table too, which meant I could keep an eye on my kid the whole time we ate.
You can choose between warm or hot water for the private pool.
Lukewarm-warm runs ₩50,000 (about 28–34°C) and hot runs ₩70,000 (about 35°C and up); you just request it the day before, when the owner checks in about heating.
We went with the warmer setting, and even on a chilly day the water held its temperature well, so we played late into the night.
You can swim until 10 p.m., and once the sun sets and the lights come on, the mood shifts entirely.
It felt like night swimming at a resort — even the grown-ups got swept up in it.
The communal pool in front of the Himmel building is gorgeous after dark too.
It was too cold to use that night, but I can picture spending ages out there in summer.
An evening to remember, and a sunrise
All that swimming worked up an appetite, and barbecue took care of it.
You can rent an electric grill on request — and honestly, what’s a pool villa without grilling some meat.
We grilled whatever we’d picked up at the store, heated a pizza, and ate it all crowded around the table — and somehow it tasted amazing.
When the place itself is this pretty, even the simplest food looks like a feast.
A note for international guests: nearly every restaurant and shop in Korea takes credit cards, so any internationally accepted card will work without worry. And there’s no tipping culture here — you don’t need to leave a tip, and trying to can actually leave the staff a little flustered.
Once we were full, we lingered over a beer with the tangerines the owner had set out, just chatting.
A cold beer with the sea in front of you — that was its own little happiness for the night.
The next morning we caught the sunrise.
The floor heating kept the loft warm, so I slept soundly, and the sunrise I woke to was beautiful.
Watching the sun come up from a warm room, I thought this would be a wonderful place to spend New Year’s Day.
How I felt leaving
This works beautifully for both family trips and couples.
The number of beds varies by room — ours comfortably slept our whole group — and there are smaller two-person rooms that are perfect for a quiet getaway.
It’s clean because it’s new, the appliances are genuinely well thought out, and most of all the owner’s warmth made the whole stay feel good.
We’ve already decided to come back in summer to make full use of the communal pool too.
If you’re looking for an ocean-view pool villa in Gijang, Busan, Villa de Himmel is an easy one to recommend.
Location & How to Get There
Villa de Himmel sits in Ilgwang-eup, Gijang-gun, on the eastern edge of Busan, about a 30-minute drive from Haeundae.
You can park right in front of the building.