Hoi Tak Hotel Xinjiang — Hotel in Ürümqi

For those who visit Xinjiang for the 1st time, take note that security is tight (most evident in hotels, stores, tourist sights, large restaurants and highway-stops). Visitors need to go through metal screening detector and bags need to go through x-ray each time you enter the hotel lobby and all the above-mentioned places.||||Here are what's good in this hotel :||1. Room is huge||2. Nice view of surroundings if your room is on the high floor. Some rooms look out onto Renmin Square without any obstruction - gives you a good sense of space around the hotel ||3. Large and diverse breakfast selection - one of the best I had in this region||4. Close to local restaurants, fast food outlets, supermarkets and malls (5 to 10 minutes on foot)||||What's not good :||1. Outdated, old fashioned furnishings - they would have looked good 30 years ago. The room is in need of a renovation if the hotel still claims itself as a 5-star establishment||2. Incredibly old hairdryer (fixed on the wall in the bathroom) which has turned yellow over the years (it should have been replaced with a newer model a long time ago!) So antiquated and inefficient to use (overheats very quickly) .....||||With so many choices available, it'll be wise to choose your hotel...

I was surprised at the condition of this hotel based on the fact it is considered a 5 star hotel. My guide said it used to be the best hotel in town but has gone down hill, and he living in town he would know. I was surprised at several things, the desk staff spoke no English; we had to wait for our guide to deal with our issues. I had trouble connecting to the advertised free WiFi only to learn it only works for local mobile phones. Our room was freezing cold and regardless of how we adjusted the thermostat, nothing helped. Our guide spoke to the front desk staff and we continued to sleep in a freezer following his several attempts with them. The room just never really looked clean. I certainly did not feel comfortable putting my bare feet on the carpet or tile. The restaurant was ok; there was a morning buffet with seating at a premium and the dinner options were actually fine. I really don't know what the other hotels in the area are like but if I were to return I would look for somewhere...

Cleanliness and location are great, as well as the price. But where this hotel lacks is service. There was a MAJOR hiccup in how front desk handled my situation. I came back at 4am after a night out and lost my room key. The front desk really struggled to find my room number. After about 5 minutes of searching, she found my room and handed me a new key. Except IT WAS THE WRONG ROOM. I walked into a room that had 2 complete strangers asleep in the room. They were startled and I closed the door immediately. Went back downstairs and had to ask the front desk for another key, which the lady searched for another 5 minutes before finally finding my room. Needless to say, this is BAD. You CANNOT give someone’s room key to a stranger. That is an absolute sin in the hospitality industry. I hope they will retrain their staff and learn from...