Holiday Inn Xi'an Greenland Century City — Hotel in Xi'an

This was the first time I had stayed in this hotel for about 3 years, the previous few times I visited Xi’an I was put in the ZTE hotel which is nearby. There have been some changes which have improved the customer experience but might have driven some people away.||||I arrived with my hosts at about 0800 on a Monday morning and could get into my room immediately. I was in room 901 which was at one end and fairly quiet. The room comprised a large bed, easy chair, desk, TV, coffee/tea making facilities, mini-bar and safe. There was also an iron and ironing board which I like about this hotel. Particularly in this case because I stayed here 11 nights.||||Unlike previous stays at this hotel, I did not have a bath. Instead there was a large shower, always with plenty of hot water. Toiletries included body lotion, shower gel, conditioner and shampoo. A hair dryer was provided.||||Lighting in the room was generally good, both in bed and in the chair. TV channels included CNN. Wifi worked well.||||Breakfast was served on the first floor and was always open by 0630. Usually there were over 10 people at this time and the food was always ready. There was a good choice of western and Chinese food. Always plenty of fresh fruit, yoghurt, cooked food, pastries and bread. Coffee, tea and juices were also available.||||Unlike last time I stayed here, there is no buffet at lunchtime. In fact sometimes the restaurant used for breakfast is closed at lunchtimes to hotel residents because it has a booking. This is a little unfair to the residents. This happened to me on three occasions (I gave up trying after the 3rd) and I had the choices of room service, use the restaurant on the 3rd floor, or starve!||||The evening buffet is where the food has improved significantly. In addition to the Tsingato beer that was available in the past, there is also red and white wine. There are lots of seafood available, and both hot and cold foods, including pizza. One criticism I had was the food in the hot dishes was not very hot. The policy of leaving the lids open did not help. Fresh fruit and cakes were also available. The cost of the buffet is 158RMB to hotel residents (210RMB, I believe, to non-residents). This is rather expensive because there are many nearby restaurants serving cheaper food.||||The hotel has a swimming pool and gym, though I did not use either.||||The room was serviced well each day. The lady who cleaned my room was particularly good because she seemed to look out for my leaving the room and cleaned it very soon afterwards because she knew I always returned at lunchtime.||Not everybody in the hotel could speak any English but I had no problem, even though I speak no Chinese. The staff were always polite and eager to please. I think they have been very well-trained.||||Although there is building work taking place nearby on a new metro line, this did not really trouble me. The hotel provided ear plugs just in case.||||I highly recommend this hotel and would happily stay there again if...

In terms of other international Holiday Inn stays, this one is a little below average, but compared with other Chinese hotels, this is a little above average.

Pros: service was great - whenever you asked, they were very willing to help the breakfast buffet, if it is included, is a very good value. The food was just average, but they had brewed coffee! it was a very quiet hotel. Hard to find that in the city good water pressure and temperature in the showers

Cons: the carpeting in the room was not clean, even after they vacuumed it at our request the swimming pool water didn't ever seem to be cleaned. In the end the steps started to feel slimy. But at least the water temperature was nice, and it had a good layout for younger children and adults to both enjoy it. the thermostat in the room was not adjustable, even though it seemed you could. We went in the summer, and it was very cool (19 ºC), but at night we needed extra blankets! Turning it off at night made the room too hot. be warned that there is nothing around the hotel. Korea town is somewhat close by, but you'll need other transportation to get to anywhere, including restaurants. can't use IHG points to upgrade rooms

Bottom line: stil a good middle-of-the-line hotel. Some 4- or 5-star hotels don't offer much more. Location is great if you're looking for somewhere quiet, but you pay because there isn't much out there, yet. There's a big mall being constructed right...

Even though it was in March, the room was very hot and I could not get the temp to drop below 25 centigrade.

I complained to staff and was informed that they here these complaints all the time and there was nothing they could do for me.

The temperature in the halls and common areas was just fine, so I asked if I there were other floors that were cooler. Staff refused to answer this question, even when asked twice. All other questions were answered but this one. So that tells me there were other floors where the rooms would be cooler, but my comfort was not important enough for them. Even with me being an IHG gold member, they would not help.

Also had issue where last night I was in hotel I ate at restaurant, charged to room. Went up and went to bed as I had an early flight next morning. An hour later woken up by a phone call informing me I had exceeded my deposit and they wanted me to come down and pay more. I told them I would be checking out in a few hours, they have my credit card info and I had no way to 'skip' the bill. They did not care, insisting that I get out of bed, come down and pay more deposit.

So they greatly inconvenienced me getting me out of bed so I would not skip out on what was a less than 20$ usd. Again - no respect for a customer.

The staff was very friendly and nice while they were upsetting me, I will admit to that. Just not helpful in resolving my...