Orient Hotel

An hour's drive from Xi'an North station and almost at the same distance from the airport is Orient Hotel. Not in the walled city area where many tourists prefer to stay, but still in a busy shopping area. The hotel is massive and is surrounded by many eating places including a Starbucks outlet. On the ground floor of this hotel is another coffee-cum- fast-food outlet. Occupancy seemed high as we stepped in but check-in was pretty quick and we were handed over our room keys. As we entered our room in one of the higher floors, we were impressed by the way the room was done up. Good carpeting, comfortable beds, large TV and enough space to move around. Topped with a large tub in the bathroom which was not only neat but well-laden with toiletries. As we looked out the window, we could see the road below through the smog-filled atmosphere. The hotel has many banquet halls and is connected internally from one of the intermediate floors to 4-5 malls. Easy to shop. Dining area is another huge area and the breakfast spread though large had very few options for vegetarians. Special mention must be made of the staff in the dining area who went out of the way to try and help us with vegetarians choices, language barriers notwithstanding. WiFi however is up and down as is elsewhere in China.

A perfectly reasonable hotel by Chinese standards, with friendly staff and a wide choice of breakfast buffet, high-quality banqueting facilities and a built in Shaanxi fast-food restaurant on the ground floor. It's seen better days, but haven't we all? Some reviewers have noted that the location is far from the usual tourist sites but this is a little unfair. It's within walking distance of the Xiangshan temple and the Little Goose Pagoda, and a block away from the Xiao Zhai shopping area, which includes a subway station. When I heard I was being placed here at a conference, I was actually pleased, as it is close to the best bookshop in town. So even if you are a skinflint who doesn't want to pay two bucks for a taxi anywhere in town, it's not hard to get around. In a problem common to aging hotels in China, the oddest thing about the Oriental is the lack of provision of power points. Designed for an age where you were lucky if a guest even needed a hair dryer, there is nowhere to plug in a laptop at the desk, and I had to work on the bed.

This hotel was better than any in London and service was the best you could get I was there in 1994 just after a earthquake and it was still ok sad to see some of the photos of the rooms it does not give its true quality my room was clean in the room and bath room everything was as you would expect from a 4 star hotel would recommend to anyone to stay at this hotel cannot wait to visit again.