Bell Tower Hotel, Xian

The hotel was the most central of the hotels I looked at. It is within easy walking distance to the Muslim Market, Drum Tower and of course the Bell Tower is just out the front. It is also easy walking distance to the south gate of the wall. This is where you can hire a bycycle and ride around on top of the wall to see the city.

I arrived about midday and my room wasn't ready. However, the staff were apologetic and helpful. I was able to leave my bag there and wander off for half an hour. Initially I was a bit dismayed to see they had trainee staff at reception, expecting communication difficulties as a result. But they were being well trained and there were English speaking staff nearby. So again not a problem. I had read mixed reviews about this hotel so was wondering what I would encounter. However, I found it difficult to fault. The room was spacious enough, it was clean and the service was efficient. However, because only instant coffee mixed with whitener was provided I did have to resort to the nearby MacDonalds for my morning coffee fix! For some reason, taxis can't come to the door unless they have been ordered previously. However, I was walked through the subway and across the road by one of the staff who hailed a cab and explained where I wanted to go - the railway station. The hotel is well located, within walking distance of many of the inner city attractions, including the Bell Tower, Drum tower, Muslim quarter and the southern wall gate. I would stay there again.

The hotel is easy to find and just aroung the corner where the airport bus drops you off right in the centre of the City (no 1 bus). The staff were outstanding and able to speak very good english, they helped us through a couple of tricky spots when we tried to get out to see the Warriors and it was chaotic out there as it was a public holiday. They also got us a taxt to go to the airport when we left as it was peak hour and taxi's were hard to find. They could have left us to our fate but they didn't, they were patient tolerant, caring and attentive - it changed what could have been a disastrous end to our time in Xi'an to a great one. The hotel was great too, good rooms, very well appointed and when we mentioned that the sir conditioning was not working it was fixed.