Xi'an Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza Parking Lot — Hotel in Xi'an

As a long time Platinum member of IHG Rewards and a patron of the brand, I have been accustomed to excellent service from IHG Hotels specifically the various Crowne Plaza and Regent Hotels in China. Unfortunately this review will be negative. The Crowne Plaza Hotel in Xi'an does not live up to the expectations of similar hotels of its category in China. Overall my experience during my stay over the May Holiday Weekend in 2023 was quite negative. Many problems contributed to my negative impressions. Firstly the biggest drawback was the staffs overall lack of preparation in dealing with International Guests, and failure to provide payments systems that cater to their needs. In my case, the staff on duty was not able to process payment with my international (German) Visa credit card, to the point that they implying that there was a problem with my card, that I should contact my bank (at 12:20 am in the night) and that I should offer an alternative form of payment. The same card had been used multiple times in various other Crowne Plaza and Regent Hotels in China without any issues. Concurrently upon verification at my own expense with my bank in Germany, through international long distance phone call, it was confirmed by my German Visa bank that there was no issue with the card and that the problem was related to the hotels machines. The second problem was the hotels lack of facilities for Platinum members. As a platinum member, I have indeed enjoyed the upgrades to suite class rooms when staying at Crowne Plaza and Regent hotels in multiple Chinese Cities, some even going above and beyond to provide very impressive accommodation experiences. This is one of the reasons why I strive to be loyal to the IHG rewards program and always select IHG branded hotels. During my family stay at the Crowne Plaza Xi'an the hotel staff was unable to provide a double bed room of similar quality offering only a minor upgrade to the double room that I had booked at FULL price. The overall accommodation experience therefore was below par, as we were forced to share a room between 3 people on 2 beds. I was hence quite disappointed. The last a most dissatisfactory aspect of our stay at the Crowne Plaza Xi'an was the breakfast offering. Of all my Crowne Plaza, Regent, Holiday Inn and Intercontinental experiences in China, the Crowne Plaza Xi'an was definitely the hotel that catered less to western customers expectations. The overall offering was quite poor, and the staffs attitude was also very low. Upon attending breakfast from the first day (non busy weekday), Platinum status was not recognised. there is indeed no dedicated area, nor does the staff cater to such. There was no offer of coffee or table service meaning we had to wander for some time until we understood that each coffee had to be individually ordered at the bar counter. Western breakfast dishes were limited at best. Lacking basics such as bread, pancakes and French Toast. There is no cold meats ( only some very cheap and unidentified sliced products) or fish ( salmon selection) and no cheese provided. The cereal selection is limited to basic 3 local varieties. Once some items are exhausted, such as preserved fruits, toast slices, orange juice and similar they are not replenished. Most glass counters are empty or populated with Lego items or other plastic toys and Gimmicks. The only non sweet bread available was cheap toast slices, that as mentioned before was not replenished once exhausted. The overall staff attitude was quite negative, with no possibility to have some dishes like eggs prepared personally. After pointing out to the staff that there were no basic pancakes available, even though they had a pancake cooking maschine and batter visibly present, the staff complained and refused to make any. Some days later though we eventually did find some pancakes being offered. To be fair there is indeed a huge variety of local chinese dishes but definitely not catered to western travellers expecting an international experience. The overall breakfast experience got so negative at one point that my wife refused to come down , and preferred having her breakfast at the starbucks nearby. Definitely a better offering of coffee and other basic items. I was not offered a refund for the sub par breakfast offering even though I had paid in full for the expensive breakfast option on the IHG website, falsely advertised as "Good Breakfast" at an already higher room rate compared to better offerings in other Chinese Cities. Very LOW value for money overall. I have not offered any kind of refund or points compensation yet. Therefore in my personal experience I can not recommend he Crowne Plaza Hotel in Xi'an to international guests expecting a western...

This is our first visit to Xian. The hotel is the highest building in the central city, you can't miss it if the taxi driver don't know where to go. Our room was upgraded to the club floor on high floor, could see the view when the sky is clear. Arrival was a bit mishandled by perhaps inexperienced staff dealing with PC Platinum member, no welcome nor expressing any benefits given to us. But soon after getting to our room, I realized we were not given any benefits nor access to the Club lounge. With the free internet, I quickly emailed to the Guest Relation office, and immediately receive a phone call from the Guest Relation Office apologized for the mistakes of the check in staff. My sister in-law's room (also booked with my husband's PC membership) was upgraded to our floor next to our room, which we were so pleased. Our rooms were filled with welcome fruit more than we expected. What a treat.

We were assured that being on the Club floor, we have access to the Club Lounge for high tea and Cocktail. It was wonderful caring attitude to PC member, thank you.

The staff at the Club Lounge were all outstanding, not just serving us but they gave us more valuable information of what and where to see in Xian, as we couldn't find any Tourist office outside the hotel to help tourists like us. The girls at Club Lounge gave us the best hospitality that we were sad to say good bye after our stay.

The room was spacious and with all amenities well thought of preparing for us. The bed and pillows are so comfortable, love it. The breakfast was well catered for every one, with freshly squeezed juice and the best Dim Sim in a breakfast buffet I have ever seen. The staff at the breakfast was very attentive and quick to clean the table, The only thing missing was peanut butter, for my toast and waffles. Hope that my next visit will find that peanut butter, as promised by the manager!

Top mark to the Concierge and assistance, all were very helpful and informative. The best team of Concierge I have ever seen.

After a long day of sightseeing, we arrived back to the hotel at 8:30pm, and so decided to have dinner at the hotel's Chinese restaurant. It was fine dining beautiful restaurant, with caring staff who recommended the dishes that we must try in Xian. She was right, we enjoyed all the dishes and we still think that dinner was the best meal we had in Xian, the price and portion were very reasonable and well worth it, better than eating elsewhere.

Our stay at this hotel was the best highlight of our first trip to Xian, beside visiting the Terracotta...

We stayed at the Crowne Plaza Xi'an in Jan 2024 for a very important personal occasion for our family. I had stayed there before for business travel, and I deliberately picked this hotel for this personal occasion based on my previous experience, and I was not disappointed.

Firstly, the hotel room and bathroom were very comfortable, luxurious and clean - absolutely excellent (we were on the Club Floor). The range of breakfast choice was one of the best of any hotel that I have stayed in (I have stayed in alot!). I could gladly spend weeks there just sampling the breakfast variations - Asian, European & American. We had booked the Club Lounge along with our room specifically because we needed convenient evening food that was more flexible and easier than going to a restaurant. The Club Lounge was very spacious and comfortable, and the choice of food and drinks was excellent. It was perfect for what we needed and we spent alot of time there. It is one of the best Club Lounges that I have enjoyed. The pastries and desserts were fabulous.

The second and most important point is that the staff fully recognised the personal importance of our stay there in Xi'an and went to great lengths to help and support us. And we needed a lot of help during our stay! The staff were fabulous; at reception, at breakfast, in the Club Lounge and housekeeping. I had problems with my credit card (standard credit card problems when trying to make a payment in China), the reception staff were very understanding and trusting and allowed me a few days to get my card unblocked to make payment. The breakfast staff watched for us coming every morning and were ready to help us.

Of all the wonderful staff, in particular I must mention Jeffrey (Director of Rooms) and Sanni and her colleague (Club Lounge). Jeffrey understood what we were doing and made sure that all of the staff watched out for us and helped us. We are indebted to Sanni for the unique way in which she helped us through the early days with our new daughter - 'thank you' just would not be enough and she will always be part of our memories.

Crowne Plaza Xi'an is now a very significant part of our family story and it is the hotel we most want to return to in the whole world, for many happy reasons. Thank you...