Normal service was resumed as we returned to a non-chain hotel. This was discovered through a variety of web searches and looked as if it was in the heart of ancient Xian. We soon discovered it was way out of town in a residential district and even with hotel-supplied instructions, not one taxi driver had any idea of just how to get there. This difficulty didn’t help and then on arrival the check-in staff managed to complete the necessary paperwork with no interaction with us at all – not even a smile. The building looked traditional and the courtyard gardens were lovely. The room was basic but perfectly adequate and had large wooden doors opening out onto a small private area in the courtyard garden. The bathroom was small and dark with awful plumbing (smelly too); the toilet refused to flush and then suddenly refused to stop flushing! After a time we called housekeeping who came with a plunger. With the toilet clearly not working they eventually moved us to another room but only after management had arrived to check we hadn’t done anything to it – we had only been in the room 10 minutes when the problem started! The location was perfect for the newly restored /rebuilt tourist area but it was a real mission to get to the real gems of Xian (terracotta warriors and old walled city). Breakfast was only traditional Chinese fare but we were more than happy with it; the breakfast room was a large communal room with hot plates continuously refreshed with a good choice of dishes.
PROS: Good breakfast. Gardens very calming. Lots of activity in the surrounding area if you don’t mind being surrounded by tourists.
CONS: Terrible plumbing. Long way out of city. Unfriendly staff. Difficult to find taxi drivers who know where it is even with directions.
Hotel Website: www.tangdynastyartgardenhotel.com
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