Haiyue Hotel - Xining

This is definitely a 3-4 star hotel and nothing higher. We had feared that it might be a nightmare based on reviews from other travellers but we were pleasantly surprised. When we exited the airport in xining, the taxi drivers tried to rip us off. We had been warned about this so we weren't surprised and went back to our original plan of taking the bus into town. This turned out to be a great idea because everyone was very nice in trying to help us and the bus stops almost right outside haiyue hotel's front door! We got lucky and had a very nice English speaking employee who checked us in and helped us find our package containing our train tickets that had been delivered days before we arrived. They also helped us find things on the map we had and the staff happily arranged for transport to the train station which was 20min away. Our room was clean, the bathroom was fine, wifi was slow and the beds were a bit hard. There is a good chinese restaurant and a supermarket around the corner. Everything is within a comfortable walking distance (including the muslim quarter). Definitely an acceptable choice for a one night stay based on the price we paid.

We travel mostly budget style and this was a treat for us. If you know U.S. hotels, this was a good 3* to 4* hotel for the cost of a Days Inn. The breakfast buffet was Chinese style but the biggest I've seen. Staff was helpful and supervisors spoke English. Very nicely located only 4 blocks north of the only old market in the downtown area.

There were very few hotels in Xining available on booking.com, and this seemed to be the best. We had 2 rooms, and although we had booked non smoking rooms, there were ash trays in the room and a strong smell of cigarette smoke. The bed was large and clean and comfortable and the bathroom had good pressure in the shower so we were OK. In China hotels need a special license to host foreigners which is why although there are lots of hotels in Xining, not all will accept foreign guests. They also have to register you with the local authorities. This is why we stayed at this hotel. It has a spa ( well 2, one for women and one for men, with a large jacuzzi, and steam rooms but no swimming pool ). The hotel is in the centre of the city and we walked out to eat a couple of times in the evening. There are also taxis passing the hotel all the time so it was easy and cheap to use these to get about. Get a card from reception with the hotel details and address in Chinese, to show the taxis drivers when you want to get back to the hotel. The reception staff spoke good english and were helpful. The restaurant breakfast was dire and we only had it once, and the coffee was the powdered stuff with milk and sugar already in the pot and was undrinkable. The tea was good though and we liked the ginger tea a lot.