A friend suggested this hotel,and I'm glad we listened. It is a block away from the main Bell Tower area of Xi'an. I would expect those hotels on the square to be quite noisy, but this one is tucked away in a neighborhood a block away with lots of good, little local shops on the way. We stayred 4 nights, got a 298rmb rate on ctrip.com

Union Alliance is a newer hotel owned by Air China. There is no pool or fitness center, but it has comfortable, soft beds, good a/c, and a nice, strong shower. Better than most 3-4 star hotels that we have stayed in so far. They speak English, too.

Did not try the restaurant. They have an expensive buffet that looks pretty tired after a while. We splurged on a French Restaurant, La Seine, on the top floor of a building near the central square. Our $85 dinner for 4 was very exquisitely prepared and a nice departure from the two weeks of Chinese food that we have had so far.

This is the 6th hotel I stayed since 6/9/2009. I just look for clean hotel in convenience location since we just need a place for sleeping only. Everything is excellent! It is also very quiet since it is a block away from the main street. The buffet breakfast (30Y extra) worth every penny of it. I will stay with this hotel again if we are back to Xian.