Hilton Xiamen — Hotel in Xiamen

A pretty disappointing stay here unfortunately. We booked an international brand at this time as we felt during this time of uncertainty it would give us security and also provide a more international service and support (plus as we’ve only been in China a few months English speaking staff), I was specifically looking at using concierge for help and information as it’s not a normal time for travel. ||Check in - we walked past several staff as we checked in a nobody offered to help with our bags or acknowledged us. I had selected my room via the app about 1hr before arrival but on check in it wasn’t ready. I’d requested an upgrade (paid) but this was not offered / available it wasn’t mentioned. We were given very little information about the hotel, the lifts were pointed out to us and no offer of help with bags. The lobby is in the entrance to a mall so there isn’t really a lobby lounge. Staff requested our paperwork and QR codes. ||Room - we had a really lovely, spacious and spotlessly clean room. Loved it. ||Restaurant- the staff at breakfast were very friendly and attentive. They were professional and helpful. Breakfast was adequate, it improved towards the end of our stay when there were more guests. ||Front desk - be aware that concierge do not speak English. It took me ages to get a map and get very basic information, I was advised to use the map on my phone instead. I definitely got the impression this isn’t a tourist hotel, there is no information about the local area / tourist sites. On very helpful member of staff booked us tickets to Gulangyu island which we really appreciated. He was a great member of staff and very considerate. Some attractions are closed / on reduced numbers so keep this in mind. ||Pool - this was a nightmare really. First morning we walked up to the pool and there were no cushions on the loungers or umbrellas up. We waited. We looked for a member of staff - nobody. In the end we had to go down to the lobby to get someone. They didn’t know what cushions were, eventually after using a translator they were found and an Allen key for the umbrella. The pool itself is gorgeous. Next morning same problem, nobody around. We wait and find someone. This was the same every day. Even mornings when we walked past staff in the gym next to the pool nobody ever thought to put out cushions or put up umbrellas (in 100 degree heat). We wasted so much time trying to find staff. Once we asked for a drinks menu but we were told not until after 1pm. Another time it took over 30min to get 2 beers. This is not a place to relax. It seems that if someone is using the pool they have to have a member of staff sit about 10 meters away at all times which is a bit uncomfortable. They also seem to resent having to do this. During our 5 day stay only 2 other people used the pool. There is no pool bar for drinks + food until after 1pm it seems and even then it is an effort as you have to find someone for a menu then wait for them to take an order and then wait again.||Location - it is great having the mall attached for places to eat. There is no open supermarket in there though. DiDi is easy to get. ||Check out - terrible. We had booked a package which gave us 188RMB a day to use in the hotel but we only did this once as it was so painfully slow. On check out we’d been charged for our drinks and I explained (tried to) this was part of our package. They agreed to remove these from the bill but it wasn’t necessary, I’d paid for that in my package which nobody seemed to understand. They didn’t know what the package included so we basically paid for a package we couldn’t use. When the bill was redone they then charged my credit card which I asked them to cancel. I hadn’t agreed to pay by card. They had not asked how I wanted to pay. I said I wanted to pay via wechat which they said they had done. I’ve just checked my account now and this bill went onto my uk credit card so the stay cost me more than expected due to currency conversion. I am very annoyed as they assured me it went through wechat. This hold up at checkout took ages and we were flustered as it was taking a long time and we had a train to catch. Nobody asked how our stay was on check out, helped with our bags, said goodbye etc. ||We did give feedback at breakfast about these issues but it wasn’t followed up.||I would go to Xiamen again, I would not stay at this hotel which is a shame because the room was lovely and so was the pool and the service at breakfast. |It is not a hotel for tourists who want help / advice / recommendations/ or interaction with staff regarding...

The hotel is located within a mall and well connected to the metro station so very ideal for visitors.||||However, the services of this Hilton is terrible.||1)We booked a room with the Hilton app and had our rate BPG to a lower rate but the assistant front desk manager Wang refused to honor it as first rudely saying that it can’t be that cheap during the holiday even we showed him our booking email. After he agreed to made a few phone calls to verify our actual rate he finally agreed with the BPG rate but 20 mins had been wasted.||||2)The executive lounge is currently closed so all the diamond members and executive floor guests will be having the happy hour in the Chinese restaurant but because of the full occupancy of the Chinese restaurant all the diamond members and executive floor guests will be having complimentary buffet dinner at the western restaurant for the national day weekend. ||However, the AFOM Wang said that because of the room rate confusion he caused so he would go ahead to ‘upgrade’ our Hilton diamond happy hour to buffet dinner that is specially just for us. Instead of telling us the truth because of the full occupancy of the Chinese restaurant so we will have to have enjoy our diamond benefit at the western restaurant buffet, he used it and lied about it telling it was a special personal offer just for us. That is very dishonest of him so actually he offered us nothing to recover the bad service he caused.||||3)We are non smokers and were given the smallest room on the 15 floor and we asked about a ‘downgrade’ from executive room to premium room which has more space. Wang said no to us very rudely without checking. The 16 floor is the smoking floor and has a stair to connect to the non smoking 15 floor but because of the open air stair, we can smell the cigarette coming from the 16/F to the hall way and our room. Also we saw the room 1503 opened his room door to smoke and talk on the phone very loudly but this is a nonsmoking floor and the noise was very disturbing. I reported that to the hotel but I didn’t see they have taken any actions and housekeepers walked by this room normally like nothing happened.||||I reported all of those problem to the management team before check out but have not received any feedbacks from the hotel at all. It kind of shows that the hotel did not really care about...

Due to so few recent reviews here, I will add mine. FYI the location is off, the actual location is about 1/2 mile SE. I suggest using Baidu in China and vpn. Baidu is only in Chinese but you can translate w /google lens to get more accurate mapping in China.

BTW I am HH Diamond, and upon arrival I was offered an upgraded suite, early check in and late check out, W/O asking. (I never assume I am ENTITLED). Everyone I encountered was friendly and helpful. (My thought was that every Hilton in the US should do their training here; it was that good!) And get this, DAILY HOUSEKEEPING without requesting! Those from US will know how rare that it!

The room was clean and comfortable. The breakfast was great. Executive lounge decent. Wi-Fi was fast and didn't need a VPN in the hotel.

It disturbs me that many western people downgrade a hotel in a foreign country, because the staff may not know English! Really? YOU are the foreigner, try learning a bit of the language! And with so many apps to translate now...come on.

For local transport I used Didi and NEVER waited more than 2 minutes for a car, and very inexpensive! Foreigners like myself, can now use Alipay easily for Didi and payment in most shops. Also many attractions are free if 65+ but you will need your passport!

(Hint: As a tourist, If you want to go to Gulangyu you need to use the Cruise terminal...there is a lot of incorrect/conflicting info out there.) You also need to carry your Passport as many things require ID,...