Empark Grand Hotel Xian

This is a truly excellent hotel. It is in a well to do residential neighborhood in Xi'an, and the location is a plus (I had originally intended to stay near the bell tower, but that is far too chaotic, hectic, and noisy). There are some great small restaurants up the street (try the Hunan Steamed Dishes restaurant) and a marvelous spa next door. There are buses available at the corner that will take you downtown, and taxis are inexpensive. The hotel is very clean and modern, and the staff are very eager to help. The one down side is the check out process - no fault of the staff, they are still using a mix of paper and computer records - it took me about 20 minutes to check out! Otherwise, no complaints. One last note - I speak Chinese fluently. Some of the staff are still working on their English. Be patient - they really are eager to help. The rooms are a good size, we had a nice view of the city, and I swear that the place was being cleaned every time I turned around. I will definitely make this my place to stay in Xi'an