This was the first time staying at a Chinese hotel and it was wonderful. The staff is super helpful even though I only speak a little Chinese (the staff spoke much better American then I do Chinese). Everyone there made sure my husband (an executive for a Major US hotel brand) and I were well supplied with directions anywhere we wanted to venture. We like to hang out with locals instead of tourist when we travel so that we can really experience the area.The doormen/bell staff also spoke to the cab drivers to make sure we weren't overcharged. The rooms are beautiful with cherry trim, french milled soaps, deliciously comfortable beds and a seating area. The courtyard view was beautiful as well. The restaurant had the most incredible dishes and the staff was very professional. The prices were amazingly low but the service was top notch. We were the only Americans staying there and it was apparent by the shock when we arrived to check in that it isn't a normal occurance. The "Jazz Bar" was a nice place to relax after a late night walk after dinner, but don't expect jazz or mixed drinks. The wine is top notch, the liquor is straight with soda on the side and the beer is tall and cold. It helps to smile when you are in another country. The neighborhood is beautiful with treasures tucked here and there. Even when we spent the day doing various activities we went for evening walks because of the beauty and safety of the area. Thanks John Cena, Sally, Ann and everyone else. We'll see you again in 2011.

Our family just spent two nights at the hotel as part of a tour package. The previous reviews made me look at the hotel pictures to be sure we were at the same hotel. The lobby looked nice as we entered, so we were hopeful this would be a good place to stay. The room size was adequate with comfortable beds and the bathrooms seemed clean. The carpet, however looked like it had been on the floor of a barn. It was almost black with stains. Our room smelled really smokey even though we requested a non-smoking room, and the floor had not been vacuumed (hair all over and even a toothpick under a chair) so we asked to change rooms. The front desk was very helpful in finding another room. The carpet was just as dirty in that room as in the first, as was the carpet in our friends' room.
After walking around the hotel, we wondered if it had just been recently reopened after several years of abandonment. We felt like we were walking around a ghost town. Other than the lobby and the restaurant in the atrium, the rest of the hotel seemed deserted. The pool was empty and appeared to need a lot of repair before it would be functional. The banquet room was now a storage room for stacks of broken chairs and tables. The paint was peeling from the walls and ceiling and the drapes were sun faded and damaged. We found the workout room but it looked like it was not open and the room marked "massage" appeared to be a janitor's closet now. Also, there was a sign above a door off the main lobby that said jazz bar, but we saw no indication that it was ever open. We walked around the grounds outside of the hotel, and like the inside, looked like at one time it had been nice, but now looked like it had gone a long while without maintenance.
Bottom line-rooms were fine except for the filthy carpet. No useable amenities. Location was about a mile from Great Goose Pagoda. Lots of new construction in the area so there may soon be restaurants and shops close by. Breakfast buffet was okay.

We moved in the middle of our stay in Xi'an from a hotel that was closer to our friends' home to this hotel because we wanted our daughter and her friend to be able to go swimming over the Spring Festival Holiday. We checked in late in the morning and asked about the breakfast buffet (not included in our reservation - were told 45 yuan per person and half price for our 4 year old) and asked if we were allowed to bring friends to swim. We were told that 2 guests could swim for free. We went to look at the pool and were told that it would be open from 2pm - 2am. We again asked about friends and were again told that 2 guests could come for free. That evening we invited our friends to come to swim. Unfortunately, at that time we were told that 2 HOTEL guests could swim for free - outside guests would be charged a fee of about $8 per person. BUT that didn't matter because the pool was not usable. Apparently they do not heat their indoor pool nor the room that houses it. In January, it is freezing cold. The next morning we went to the breakfast buffet - which was fairly typical for hotels in China. When the waitress brought the bill it was 150 yuan - 50 yuan per person including our 4 year old who ate about 5 bites. After a lengthy argument in Chinese with 2 waitresses and a manager about what the front desk did or did not say and whether it mattered if we had been lied to or not and the manager took our daughter's meal off the bill.

The room was decent (comfy, huge bed, nice towels and bath robes - although the bathroom was quite small), and the atrium where breakfast is served and the grounds are lovely, but the dishonest customer service ruined our stay.

We stayed here in April 2005. The hotel is visually very impressive - looks more like a top five-star hotel - and the bedrooms are wonderfully clean, comfortable and large. Overall, it's extremely good value for money, but we had a couple of quibbles.
First, it's very soulless. The staff are attentive but you get the feeling they're terrified of making a mistake rather than eager to help. Second, the restaurant is outrageously expensive by Chinese standards, so what you save on the rooms you lose on the food. The fact that it's in a 'five-star tourism ghetto' on the outskirts of the city makes it a bit difficult to find other eateries nearby, so you have to plan well if you don't want to pay their prices.
It also seems to be a favoured hang-out for the movers and shakers in Xian, lots of banquets and formal evening events with big brass in attendance.
The pool is lovely and the staff there are much more relaxed and friendly than elsewhere in the hotel.
If you plan to do a lot of trips in Xian and don't mind being a 20 minute taxi ride from the centre of the city (taxis are very cheap)then you couldn't do much better than this hotel, the bedrooms are wonderful to come back to after a hard day's sightseeing. It's also a great place if you want a bit of glamour that doesn't cost too much. Personally, however, Xian is such an interesting and lively city that I would pay a bit more for my room next time and stay closer to the centre.