Westin Xian, China [Master Thread]
Apr 5, 2012, 8:33 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Seattle, Wa.
Posts: 21
Westin Xian, China [Master Thread]
Westin Xian is open now. Just returning from a 3 week stay through the end of March.
The hotel is physically only 5 floors (actually 4 stories since floor 4 does not exist in China). The hotel is wide through; takes up the entire block southwest of the Large Wild Goose Pagoda (Dayanta). The overall hotel style/decor I would describe as clean and modern.
The single rooms have the nicest large working desks I've seen. The corner rooms have a living room, bedroom, guest bath and master bath. Depends on your needs - I almost liked the single room layout better since I usually never use the living room, and I like the larger desk. The rooms on the north side have a very nice view of the Pagoda. There is one lift so you may be walking back and forth a bit to get to the room, but it's probably less than 90 seconds total from lift to the room worst case.
The restaurant is open on the ground floor. Breakfast there is very nice. Western selections, eggs and noodles cooked to order, hot vegetables, congee, juices, cereals, fruit and so on.
The executive lounge is on floor 5 facing north with a great view of the pagoda. The food in the exec lounge was very good. Canapes, cheeses, breads, 4-5 hot selections, 5-6 desserts, fruit, beer, wine, liquor. The staff in the exec lounge is warm, friendly and professional. The exec lounge also has an outdoor patio where smoking is allowed.
Staff and Management went out of their way to provide great service and generate a warm and welcome atmospehere. The executive lounge, front desk, concierge, doormen, bellboys and restaurant staff could all speak english, some very well. Many come from other Xian hotels. The staff was always happy to talk to me and provide tips about about the local area or Xian in general.
There is construction going on and street noise on the north and east facing rooms. Since the hotel only has 5 floors it is audible at all times of day and night, except between about 4 and 7 AM. The quieter rooms are south or west facing, but no view. The pool is not available yet and they need to work on the room temperature control. The AC was not on yet since it was still early spring so I turned off the thermostat and opened up all the windows. That worked fairly well to cool off the room. They will need to switch on AC soon since the rooms are hot.
The Large Wild Goose Pagoda area is south of the main wall. The area is newer and upscale. It's a long hike to get to the Xian south wall (45 minutes maybe). Taxis are plentiful most of the time. Get the concierge to write the address in Chinese. And get a hotel card. Since the hotel is new, the taxis have a hard time getting there sometimes. Take the bus if you want, those work well or even better than taxis sometimes. The area surrounding the pagoda is very nice though and deserves a walk through.
In summary I believe that Westin has a good product in a good area of Xian. Aside from a few growing pains of the opening, this hotel is a great place to stay and will only get better as all of the facilities open up and the hotel and area surrounding the hotel matures.
The hotel is physically only 5 floors (actually 4 stories since floor 4 does not exist in China). The hotel is wide through; takes up the entire block southwest of the Large Wild Goose Pagoda (Dayanta). The overall hotel style/decor I would describe as clean and modern.
The single rooms have the nicest large working desks I've seen. The corner rooms have a living room, bedroom, guest bath and master bath. Depends on your needs - I almost liked the single room layout better since I usually never use the living room, and I like the larger desk. The rooms on the north side have a very nice view of the Pagoda. There is one lift so you may be walking back and forth a bit to get to the room, but it's probably less than 90 seconds total from lift to the room worst case.
The restaurant is open on the ground floor. Breakfast there is very nice. Western selections, eggs and noodles cooked to order, hot vegetables, congee, juices, cereals, fruit and so on.
The executive lounge is on floor 5 facing north with a great view of the pagoda. The food in the exec lounge was very good. Canapes, cheeses, breads, 4-5 hot selections, 5-6 desserts, fruit, beer, wine, liquor. The staff in the exec lounge is warm, friendly and professional. The exec lounge also has an outdoor patio where smoking is allowed.
Staff and Management went out of their way to provide great service and generate a warm and welcome atmospehere. The executive lounge, front desk, concierge, doormen, bellboys and restaurant staff could all speak english, some very well. Many come from other Xian hotels. The staff was always happy to talk to me and provide tips about about the local area or Xian in general.
There is construction going on and street noise on the north and east facing rooms. Since the hotel only has 5 floors it is audible at all times of day and night, except between about 4 and 7 AM. The quieter rooms are south or west facing, but no view. The pool is not available yet and they need to work on the room temperature control. The AC was not on yet since it was still early spring so I turned off the thermostat and opened up all the windows. That worked fairly well to cool off the room. They will need to switch on AC soon since the rooms are hot.
The Large Wild Goose Pagoda area is south of the main wall. The area is newer and upscale. It's a long hike to get to the Xian south wall (45 minutes maybe). Taxis are plentiful most of the time. Get the concierge to write the address in Chinese. And get a hotel card. Since the hotel is new, the taxis have a hard time getting there sometimes. Take the bus if you want, those work well or even better than taxis sometimes. The area surrounding the pagoda is very nice though and deserves a walk through.
In summary I believe that Westin has a good product in a good area of Xian. Aside from a few growing pains of the opening, this hotel is a great place to stay and will only get better as all of the facilities open up and the hotel and area surrounding the hotel matures.
Last edited by LftMn; Apr 5, 2012 at 8:39 pm
Apr 7, 2012, 5:42 am
#2
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Malta
Programs: LH HON, BA Gold, Bonvoy LT Titanium
Posts: 416
I stayed there yesterday for one night, had 3 rooms booked for 7 people. Agree with everything OP said, except the English skills of the staff.
The place was empty, 2 tables occupied for dinner, 4 for breakfast in a vast dinig room. However, Suites were "none available" for my stay. The room on the executive floor was indeed nice, the other rooms did have less space, no possibility for a third bed.
I was especially pleased that the concierge could buy our train tickets to Beijing a few days before our arrival, CC authorization, Passport scans, etc. worked very well, great response. His replacement the following morning had diffficulty sending a postcard though.
Amazing dinner buffet for 230 RMB. Unpleasant smell in the public areas, will probably disappear with time.
Only a fraction of the points due posted, have to claim.
The place was empty, 2 tables occupied for dinner, 4 for breakfast in a vast dinig room. However, Suites were "none available" for my stay. The room on the executive floor was indeed nice, the other rooms did have less space, no possibility for a third bed.
I was especially pleased that the concierge could buy our train tickets to Beijing a few days before our arrival, CC authorization, Passport scans, etc. worked very well, great response. His replacement the following morning had diffficulty sending a postcard though.
Amazing dinner buffet for 230 RMB. Unpleasant smell in the public areas, will probably disappear with time.
Only a fraction of the points due posted, have to claim.
May 30, 2012, 8:51 pm
#3
Company Representative - Westin Hotels Xian
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 2
Thank You
Dear LftMn,
Warm greetings from the Westin Xian!
I would like to personally thank you for choosing to stay with us during your trip and hope you had safe travels to your next destination. We trust you had a refreshing stay and we do hope we extended the true Westin service we are renowned for!
It was a great pleasure to hear your experiences in the hotel regarding the services and how they met and may have exceeded your expectations. It is always wonderful to hear praise such as yours, as it gives real life examples of service excellence. I will ensure that your comments are cascaded to our team appropriately.
Thank you once again for your feedback and please feel free to contact us if you would like any assistance in making a booking at The Westin Xian in the future.
Looking forward to catching up again soon!
Be well,
Billy Xu
Director of Sales & Marketing
The Westin Xian
Warm greetings from the Westin Xian!
I would like to personally thank you for choosing to stay with us during your trip and hope you had safe travels to your next destination. We trust you had a refreshing stay and we do hope we extended the true Westin service we are renowned for!
It was a great pleasure to hear your experiences in the hotel regarding the services and how they met and may have exceeded your expectations. It is always wonderful to hear praise such as yours, as it gives real life examples of service excellence. I will ensure that your comments are cascaded to our team appropriately.
Thank you once again for your feedback and please feel free to contact us if you would like any assistance in making a booking at The Westin Xian in the future.
Looking forward to catching up again soon!
Be well,
Billy Xu
Director of Sales & Marketing
The Westin Xian
May 30, 2012, 8:54 pm
#4
Company Representative - Westin Hotels Xian
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 2
Dear Zorro,
Greetings from The Westin Xian!
Thank you for taking the time to discuss your recent experience with us on the Flyer Tea website. Our team at The Westin Xian were very pleased to have you stay with us and we hope that you will return in the not so distant future.
We appreciate your comments and we are happy to let you know that are suites are available and very comfortable with an additional bed in the room. As we are a new hotel the restaurants are fairly quiet due to the market exposure that we are still attracting in the city. We will ensure that your feedback is put to good use so we can avoid similar experiences in the future and provide that revitalizing service that guests would expect from a Westin Hotel.
If you wish, I can personally contact the SPG centre to assist you in claiming the points that you have mentioned were short. Please contact me on [email protected] and we can discuss the situation in further detail.
I wish to thank you for your valued comments and we sincerely hope we will have the opportunity to serve you again in the future. Please do forward me your reservation details once confirmed, so I may personally look after your booking and ensure you are suitably looked after.
Be well,
Billy Xu
Director of Sales & Marketing
The Westin Xian
Greetings from The Westin Xian!
Thank you for taking the time to discuss your recent experience with us on the Flyer Tea website. Our team at The Westin Xian were very pleased to have you stay with us and we hope that you will return in the not so distant future.
We appreciate your comments and we are happy to let you know that are suites are available and very comfortable with an additional bed in the room. As we are a new hotel the restaurants are fairly quiet due to the market exposure that we are still attracting in the city. We will ensure that your feedback is put to good use so we can avoid similar experiences in the future and provide that revitalizing service that guests would expect from a Westin Hotel.
If you wish, I can personally contact the SPG centre to assist you in claiming the points that you have mentioned were short. Please contact me on [email protected] and we can discuss the situation in further detail.
I wish to thank you for your valued comments and we sincerely hope we will have the opportunity to serve you again in the future. Please do forward me your reservation details once confirmed, so I may personally look after your booking and ensure you are suitably looked after.
Be well,
Billy Xu
Director of Sales & Marketing
The Westin Xian
May 30, 2012, 10:40 pm
#5
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: YVR
Programs: AC*SE MM, Marriott Titanium, National Executive
Posts: 1,586
Westin Xian is open now. Just returning from a 3 week stay through the end of March.
In summary I believe that Westin has a good product in a good area of Xian. Aside from a few growing pains of the opening, this hotel is a great place to stay and will only get better as all of the facilities open up and the hotel and area surrounding the hotel matures.
In summary I believe that Westin has a good product in a good area of Xian. Aside from a few growing pains of the opening, this hotel is a great place to stay and will only get better as all of the facilities open up and the hotel and area surrounding the hotel matures.
I might try it next time.
Jun 16, 2012, 8:24 am
#6
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: YYZ-YVR-PVG-LAS
Programs: AC -SE, SPG-PLT, HH-G
Posts: 58
Impressive for 2nd tier city... keep up the great work
Stayed at Westin Xian two weeks ago in May... absolutely impressed... probably the best starwood experience I have had this year so far.
I like the positive spirit of the staff... and I know this is not the easiest to achieve in China... and the english from all the staff from the bellboy upwards was very good... better than in Shanghai where I spend most of my time in China...
Executive lounge staff were very helpful.... awesome location, u guys lucked out...
For the price I paid... I left very very pleased...
Hope you can maintain these impressive standards consistently...
CHeers from Toronto
I like the positive spirit of the staff... and I know this is not the easiest to achieve in China... and the english from all the staff from the bellboy upwards was very good... better than in Shanghai where I spend most of my time in China...
Executive lounge staff were very helpful.... awesome location, u guys lucked out...
For the price I paid... I left very very pleased...
Hope you can maintain these impressive standards consistently...
CHeers from Toronto
Nov 17, 2012, 11:49 pm
#9
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: YYJ
Posts: 2,230
Very Nice Stay at the Westin Xian
we spent a couple of nights at the Westin in Xian in October 2012.
The hotel is gorgeous inside. The hotel is only four stories tall and is thus spread out. The manager explained that this is because they weren't allowed to build it higher than the Wild Goose Pagoda right across the street.
Some have mentioned the odor in the lobby. It's true that there is a strange smell but i didn't find it offensive. The rooms manager explained that the floors are made from a certain type of clay mixed with oil and that since it is new, it is still a bit noticeable. It will fade with time. The odor didn't reach our room and by no means detracted from our stay.
We ate one night at the restaurant that has a buffet. There was a huge choice of asian and western food. there was a salad bar and desserts. It was all very good.
The lounge was very comfortable with a small selection of snacks and drinks. I say small because it wasn't as big as some of the other starwoods we stayed in but bigger than others.
breakfast in the lounge was very good with cooked to order eggs or noodles.
there is a very large area being developed to one side of the hotel that has cinemas and shopping centers which are not all open yet. they're also building a monorail that looks like it will be very nice. i get the impression that it's more for fun and sightseeing than transportation. too bad it wasn't finished when we were there.
now I don't know if I should post this in case I set your expectations too high but we were upgraded to a very large suite. the bedroom was very large as was the bathroom. super comfortable and warm. it had a very nice vibe.
our stay was really fantastic. the staff was super friendly and efficient. we used the hotel car, an audi A6, to take us to the terracota warriors. i think it was well worth the difference in price based on our experience in beijing. the driver was excellent and very cautious. i highly recommend this service.
We reserved with Cash and Points (4000 pts + $60)
Exterior shot of the hotel. It is much bigger than what you see here.
The reception desks
Interior
Hotel bar
Hallway to rooms
Living room of suite
Hall from bedroom towards living room. Entrance to immediate right, guest bathroom second right.
Guest bathroom
A very comfortable and large bedroom with walk-in closet
Master bathroom
Seasonal Tastes restaurant in hotel
A tiny fraction of the buffet at Seasonal Tastes
Club Lounge
Area just outside the hotel. You can see the rail for the upcoming monorail.
The hotel is gorgeous inside. The hotel is only four stories tall and is thus spread out. The manager explained that this is because they weren't allowed to build it higher than the Wild Goose Pagoda right across the street.
Some have mentioned the odor in the lobby. It's true that there is a strange smell but i didn't find it offensive. The rooms manager explained that the floors are made from a certain type of clay mixed with oil and that since it is new, it is still a bit noticeable. It will fade with time. The odor didn't reach our room and by no means detracted from our stay.
We ate one night at the restaurant that has a buffet. There was a huge choice of asian and western food. there was a salad bar and desserts. It was all very good.
The lounge was very comfortable with a small selection of snacks and drinks. I say small because it wasn't as big as some of the other starwoods we stayed in but bigger than others.
breakfast in the lounge was very good with cooked to order eggs or noodles.
there is a very large area being developed to one side of the hotel that has cinemas and shopping centers which are not all open yet. they're also building a monorail that looks like it will be very nice. i get the impression that it's more for fun and sightseeing than transportation. too bad it wasn't finished when we were there.
now I don't know if I should post this in case I set your expectations too high but we were upgraded to a very large suite. the bedroom was very large as was the bathroom. super comfortable and warm. it had a very nice vibe.
our stay was really fantastic. the staff was super friendly and efficient. we used the hotel car, an audi A6, to take us to the terracota warriors. i think it was well worth the difference in price based on our experience in beijing. the driver was excellent and very cautious. i highly recommend this service.
We reserved with Cash and Points (4000 pts + $60)
Exterior shot of the hotel. It is much bigger than what you see here.
The reception desks
Interior
Hotel bar
Hallway to rooms
Living room of suite
Hall from bedroom towards living room. Entrance to immediate right, guest bathroom second right.
Guest bathroom
A very comfortable and large bedroom with walk-in closet
Master bathroom
Seasonal Tastes restaurant in hotel
A tiny fraction of the buffet at Seasonal Tastes
Club Lounge
Area just outside the hotel. You can see the rail for the upcoming monorail.
Apr 24, 2013, 6:47 am
#10
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: dca
Programs: Delta Plat, United Silver, Marriott LT Titanium, HHonors Silver, Hertz PC
Posts: 337
I received a nice upgrade to a similar suite as seen in Ben's great review in last post. I did not notice any strange smell in the lobby. The lounge had a nice selection of food both in the morning and evening even cooked to order dishes as mentioned.
I've never been to a Westin with a genuine museum in the basement, but there is one here. The owner has turned the lowest level of hotel into a museum displaying his collection of antiquities. There was an entrance charge and I did not get a chance to visit but thought it was unique.
This hotel also has very reasonable prices on its minibar and room service options, contrary to many hotels so no guilt in grabbing a night-cap from the mini-bar here!
There is also a nightly synchronized water fountain show (with music & lights) around 830 or 9 in the plaza across the street, behind the pagoda. A nice stroll in the evening if you have the time.
Overall a beautiful, unique hotel with great service and Id be happy to return again.
I've never been to a Westin with a genuine museum in the basement, but there is one here. The owner has turned the lowest level of hotel into a museum displaying his collection of antiquities. There was an entrance charge and I did not get a chance to visit but thought it was unique.
This hotel also has very reasonable prices on its minibar and room service options, contrary to many hotels so no guilt in grabbing a night-cap from the mini-bar here!
There is also a nightly synchronized water fountain show (with music & lights) around 830 or 9 in the plaza across the street, behind the pagoda. A nice stroll in the evening if you have the time.
Overall a beautiful, unique hotel with great service and Id be happy to return again.
Oct 26, 2015, 8:37 am
#15
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 6,978
Also, the taxi line may be long and you might need to stand awhile in line before it's your turn to get a taxi.
There are cities I know taxi drivers will simply refuse to take you to SPG properties because it's "not worth it" in their opinion (traffic, too close, etc.) For such reasons I would pay for hotel pickup (company reimbursement anyway so why not...)