Sofitel Xi'an on Renmin Square, Xi'an

Xi'an is a fascinating walled city in the heartland of China. The ancient capital of many Chinese dynasties, Xi'an is a popular destination for tourists coming to see the Terracotta Warriors (but don't miss the Hanyangling underground museum - less well known but no less spectacular). The Sofitel is a contemporary hotel, now 6 years old, with 414 rooms and 208 suites - a bit too large to provide consistent five star service.

Rooms are quite attractive with elegant contemporary styling and sophisticated color schemes. We stayed in a Junior Suite. Sofitel provided one of the most comfortable beds I've ever slept in (Sofitel's MYBED) and a perfect pillow; I slept very comfortably. On the other hand, the bathroom's design was flawed. There was but one small vanity with no shelf on which to keep toiletries. The glass enclosure around the WC served no purpose than to make a small bathroom even smaller; I walked into the glass on two occasions. The bathroom also had a small glass-enclosed walk-in rain shower and a soaking tub. The frosted glass door that closed the bathroom from the bedroom but did not block light, a problem if one guest used the WC in the middle of the night or showered early.

There are just a few lead-in Superior Rooms, and we were not shown one. The second room category, Luxury Room, was attractive but on the small side, a typical "Superior" room. We stayed in the third room category, Jr. Suite, and also saw a Luxury Suite, a proper 1 BR Suite. I would recommend a Jr. Suite for most clients.

Amazing breakfast buffet (and dinner buffet with sashimi and sushi, among other choices). Though not Virtuoso, we were told that the sales managers would extend the equivalent of Virtuoso amenities.