Xi'an Hotels
 

Anybody have suggestions for hotels in Xi'an?
I am looking at the 3 Starwood hotels because I can get my friend's friends and family rates:
Westin Xi'an
Sheraton Xi'an North City
Sheraton Xi'an Hotel

Any suggestions on which of the 3 is best? Thanks!

I'd appreciate advice on this as well, both as to hotels and whether the location is desirable. I know the warriors are out of town, so that's irrelevant, but is it worth trying to be relatively near the Bell and Drum towers, or are there areas that are worth being in?

The Sofitel and Sheraton seem to be in one area,
The Shangri-La and Hilton in another area, somewhat less convenient.
And there's a new Westin near the Big Wild Goose pagoda, which I think is a bit further from the center of town.

I'm focused on western-style hotels for the usual reasons.

Sheraton was great. We had a quite and the turn down amenities were nice. There's a good sized lounge for club level rooms and the breakfast buffet has massive food turnover which in my book makes it a better option for dining. Talked to a few ex pats who had visited the Westin as well. THey liked the location but felt it offered less for Platinum guests.

I went to Xian during the Easter break, and had a lot of frustration getting taxis as many drivers refuse fare, especially at night. We suspect it's because they try to fill up their vehicles with individual passengers, so if you don't happen to go where their minibus is going, they ignore you and drive off. While grabbing a taxi at the hotel should not be a problem, heading home may be. Once you can get a taxi, the fares are very cheap by Western standards.

Sofitel @ Renmin Square is a 10-minute walk to the Bell Tower and there is a metro stop there. To avoid the taxi problem, you can access many attractions using the metro. For the Warriors, it's a short taxi ride from Sofitel to the train station where the tour bus departs.

Both Westin and Sheraton Xian are not near metro stations. Between the two, Westin is closer to the attractions, being right across the street from the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and a 20-minute walk to the Shaanxi History Museum. Sheraton North City appears to be on the metro line based on Google Maps but it is a new property so check with them to make sure.

In addition to the fancy western chains you should look at Jin Jiang Inns -- it's a chain of very nice hotels with more than one location in Xi'an.We stayed there, it was modern, clean, good service, nice breakfast, fast internet, great experience. See http://www.travelchinaguide.com/hote...efang-road.htm
Taxis are famously annoying in Xi'an. Take the subway or the bus instead. See http://www.chinatouronline.com/china-travel/xian.html for some pointers.

Oh and don't just go to the terra cotta warriors. Few people realize that there's an even more spectacular buried-soldier site nearby -- the Hanyanling mausoleum. The soldiers there are smaller, but more beautifully done and well preserved. The above website has good descriptions of all the many things to see in Xi'an. We actually found the Daming Palace site to be one of the highlights of our visit.

I wouldn't bother with Jinjiang Inns in Xi'an, myself.... just go with one of the unbranded hotels near the Drum Tower if you're on a budget.

I just stayed at a Jinjiang in Xi'an and was quite pleased. This tends to be my go-to Chinese budget chain in a lot of cities. But it doesn't sound like that's what the OP is looking for....definitely more downmarket.

Not convenient, but the Holiday Inn Xian was a nice property and provides club access for free to plat members.

Also, updating the FAQ thread to include this thread, thanks to the OP.

Among the SPG offerings, the Westin would be my choice since it's next to Large Wild Goose Pagoda (I like). The drawback is that it's kinda far away if you want to get to Drum/Bell Tower, although taxi or bus can get you there. The surrounding area of Westin is more upscale and there's many more international restaurants, as well as full Chinese spectrum including fine dining, noodles of all kinds, street barbeque, ruo jia mo, fried bread, etc.

Sheraton Xian is decent too, Same issues with location outside wall and far away from Bell tower. Surrounding area there is less upscale, but I still found a famous dumpling restaurant, a barbeque area, ruo jia mo, soup noodles and massage all close by within walking distance. Need taxi or bus to go into the wall. Has great breakfast and lounge, probably better than Westin.

There are good western hotels in other areas too. Sofitel and Hilton both have good properties in good locations. Can't comment on Sheraton North City, Shangrila or Crowne Plaza. All of those are outside the wall.

I would agree that for the taxis, it is sometimes challenging to return to the hotel. There is language issue if you can't speak any Chinese - learn how to say the hotel name and the street name of the hotel (as well as north, south, east and west road if that applies). A hotel card is hit and miss for return. I agree that in Xian it's a benefit to know how to use the bus routes. There are times when you will not be able to get a taxi (shift change, rain, busy times on busy streets). You will see streams of busses passing you by as you wait for a taxi. Learn a few of the routes and you will be thankful.

I was just in Xian last week - my second time there. I'm an SPG guy but both times in Xian I've stayed at the Sofitel on Renmin Square. In terms of location, it's tough to beat the Sofitel. It's just over 1km to the Bell Tower and surrounding shopping areas; it's walkable and definitely an easy cab ride away. I always get a card ("namecard") from the hotel which has hotel name & address in Chinese. This makes it easier to get back in a taxi.

The Sofitel is luxurious and quite comparable to a Westin. Bathroom amenities are L'Occitane en Provence and turndown service features small dark chocolate squares along with refreshing of towels etc. The room itself includes the usual Asian amenities of slippers, bathrobe, kettle, tea, comb, toothbrush etc. Wired internet in the room is free and I think there's wifi as well; I use my own wireless router so I'm not sure what the wifi was like.

The Sofitel has 2 wings (East & West). Oddly, breakfast on day 1 was in one wing but the other wing on day 2. The breakfast buffet is your typical affair of western choices along with the standard Asian choices as well. The Sofitel does offer a very welcome better-than-average bread selection which is reflective of their French heritage. I also noticed a pancake and waffle station with real maple syrup though I didn't indulge.

The Warriors out of town are of course a must-see. But Xian (inside the wall) is actually quite a nice town and it's worth taking time to wander around. The Shanxi Art Museum is large and (when I was there) quite crowded but nonetheless very interesting and again, worth a visit. Also outside the wall was the Big Wild Goose Pagoda which was a rather nice area to see. In town, I rather enjoyed the Tang Dynasty Dinner Show which at 500 RMB per pax is expensive by Chinese standards, but I enjoyed the tasty and plentiful food and the show of course, is one of those things that only the Chinese can do.

I thought the Sofitel was pretty good, but not without its flaws. The breakfast-in-the-other-building was a bit of a hassle (we were in East wing, Breakfast in West wing), as was having the pool in the other wing. I would advise asking for the West wing when you book to avoid this hassle (although apparently sometimes breakfast is in the East wing).

The taxi cards were also really hard to read--most hotels have them printed out in decent sized letters/characters, but the Sofitel's was graphics and really small. Our taxi driver couldn't read it (I'm not sure if he couldn't read or if he couldn't afford reading glasses).

Overall, the Sofitel seems like a pretty good bet, but it's not without its flaws.

Hi all,

I am off to Xi'an soon and his old thread had the closest title to what I'm looking for. I have 2 free nights at a Kempinski (I'm a GHA Plat member) but the reviews aren't great so I will save them for Shanghai.

I am trying to choose between the Hilton (1 night points, one cash) where I am a Diamond and will get treated well, or the Westin which I would book on points if I can book up to a Club room. The Westin does look pretty sweet, though!

Any thoughts between these hotels in terms of location, gym or lounge?

Thanks

Dr. PITUK

I'm trying to make the same decision. Hilton or Westin? Which location is better for a tourist? I'm a Hilton Diamond, no status with SPG, but the Westin rates are lower for the dates I'm looking at in September. Any advice appreciated. Thanks.

I've only been once and stayed at the Westin. We loved the hotel and I think it is a great spot for a tourist. The Big Goose Pagoda is right across the street, but the pagoda itself isn't the reason to stay there. The park around it is nice, there are lots of restaurants to pick from within a block or two. There's a big mall also right across the street, which is worth checking out just for the giant video ceiling. The Westin staff recommended the China Folk restaurant in the mall, and it was really a great experience with an interesting menu.

We had no problems taking a taxi to the city walls and back (about 10-15 min. ride, inexpensive).