We stayed at the Shangrila last month (room 1423). I do not doubt its claim to be the best in Xian but it is not up to international 5 star standard and I would rate it as 4 star. Check-in was smooth and our luggage was speedily delivered to the room but no one accompanied us to the room to explain how to use the safe, coffee-making facilities and other attributes.

On the plus side the room was spotlessly clean with an enormous bed (nearly twice the size of our super king at home), the power shower was invigorating and I was very pleased to find the L'occitane toiletries in the bathroom together with spare toothbrush, comb, shower cap and sewing kit. The hairdryer was in a drawer but had a very strong coil which was difficult to straighten out so the only way to use it was keep the drawer open and bend over it sideways.

The laundry service was good and quick but quite expesive at £6 for a shirt and £3 for a handkerchief.

I did not like the breakfast cafe which was vast, very noisy and busy. There was a wonderful choice of food however, with large islands of Chinese and Japanese food, every type of bread, cereal and fruit with smoothies and vegetable juices including celery and cucumbber. continental plus hot and cold buffet and special section where chef would cook to order. When you were shown to your table large ugly mugs were plonked on the table and a thermos flask containing tea/coffee. One morning, I had a dirty plate, chipped milk jug and stained napkin which I did report on the feedback form that was left on the table but had no acknowledgement.

We did eat in the Thai restaurant one night which was very good and reasonably priced with a glass of Chardonnay and Rioja at £7 per glass, (half the price of other hotels we stayed in China). There was also a very pleasant outside eating area called "the Yard" where two chefs cooked to order on charcoal barbecues most nights. One night after the theatre we asked if it was possible to order food from the restaurant to be brought out and although this was obviously not the "norm" two delightful young waitresses tried their skills at uncorking the wine and laying the table for us and even bought me a throw to keep warm as the night chill set in.

We selected this hotel since it was ranked top and are satisfied with our 7 night stay there. First the good stuff:
- The staff are friendly and helpful, especially the concierge who provided lots of good recommendations!
- The room was new, spacious and clean, and the gym was huge and fabulous
- The hotel was central enough for us and twice we took a short bus ride to attractions such as the Big Goose Pagoda and Tang Paradise
- It was walking distance to good restaurants, malls and a great massage establishment next door
- Our best meals in Xian were actually in the hotel: the buffet spread at the cafe, the Thai restaurant, as well as the value 99RMB lunch at the chinese restaurant

I would have rated it Excellent except for a few misgivings:
- The pool though heated was still a bit too cold for comfort
- The lobby outside our room on 11th floor smelt smoky the first few days, and the lobby lounge was just too smoky to venture close to enjoy the live piano performance
- The service at the chinese restaurant was too slow, we thought it was once off and tried it again on our last day but the food still took more than 30mins to arrive

Overall, still a very good hotel and I would return again.

the hotel is so clean.
the good facillity for sport swimming,...
the good lobby
the good breakfast and sogood dinner.
i was there for 2 times.
the SPA is good
but select the room far away the elavator
the bad things is just you can hear other room noise in some case.

Stayed here for one night on vacation. The property is stunning. Really beautiful. Wonderfully attentive staff. The spa facilities are really lovely and the fitness club/pool is wonderful. The only downside is that it is a little far from downtown, so being able to walk to things is a little bit more of a challenge (and traffic around the hotel can be a bear). The breakfast buffet was the best one we had on our 5-star trip to China!