sundogg99
Oregon
mrs_soleynni
New Mexico
I would highly recommend staying at Canaan International Hotel:
http://hotel.travelchinaguide.com/xian-hotels/canaan-international-hotel-xian-200410200356300174.htm
We were very pleased with this hotel, and it seemed to be fairly close to everything (to the best I can remember). Of course, being an international hotel, it is easy to get a taxi right outside. And the Terra Cotta Warriors are outside the city walls anyways, so you will need a taxi, unless you will be on a tour.
I’m sure there are others, but I can only recommend the one we stayed at while in Xi’an.
I hope this helps,
Mrs_Soleynni
sundogg99
Oregon
Thank you for your advice – this looks like a very good option, and well within my price range.
Jesse Cheng
Shenzhen
I think this answer is very good, Chanan International Hotel is really a good choice for you, and the Bell tower hotel could be your 2nd choice, these 2 hotel are very near, taxi could be easyly called outside each hotel…and I would like to suggest that if you have only 2-3 days, 1 day is enough for you to visit Terra Cotta Warriors, it is located in the east of Xi’an (outside the city), if you take a taxi, it would take you about 2 hours to get there from hotel, you may spend about 300 RMB ( within this number I think ) in a round trip for a taxi.
I lived in Xi’an for about 9 yrs, I love this city
Wish you a good trip!
BTW, I’m in Singapore now, you can contact with me by MSN: ninjas_cj@msn.com , if you need help during your trip in Xi’an city… I’ll try my best to help you. :)
sundogg99
Oregon
Thanks for this information, Jesse. I know I will not have enough time to see everything in Xi’an, but I’m very excited to visit, and I hope to come back again!
Carrie Marshall
Banciao
Believe it or not, I stayed at the Canaan International Hotel as well. It was cheap and well situated to everything. There are a few hotels in the area that have some international buffets that are well worth investigating.
You’ll need a day for the Terracotta Warriors. We were able to fit the Bell Tower, Drum Tower, Big Goose Pagoda and the Muslim Quarter into one day – although we were super tired when we got back to the hotel. I’m sure you’ll have a blast!
sundogg99
Oregon
Hi, and thanks for your suggestions. I just made my reservation for three fun-filled days and nights at the Canaan International Hotel! I don’t see any way to pack everything I want to do into three days in Xi’an – but I’m going to give it a try.
dadi
Sheffield
Hi, there,
I am not quite sure about your budget on living cost, as you know, the price is dependent on the location (even though the hotels located in the centre of city), quility of the rooms and serveices etc., therefore the price could be quite different from one to another. It’s very convenient in Xi’an as there are lots of coaches and buses can carry you from city centre to anywhere, of course those famous places as you mentioned such as Terracotta Warriors, Muslim Quarter, etc.. So, dont worry about the transport, just be careful when you get on/off the coaches, especially the local buses, someone will be very interested in the things in your pockets and handbags, that’s the way my girlfriend and I lost both of our phones. However, most of people in Xi’an are definitely nice, so dont worry, just keep an eye on it and dont let it ruin your joy :)
Hope you enjoy your trip in China, Xi’an is really an amazing city, in a certain degree, it’s even better than Beijing. Actually there are many attritions worth visiting, I would love to talk about something interesting (food, shops, etc..) if you already have a plan.
Cheers
Wei
sundogg99
Oregon
I wasn’t very explicit in my question, was I? From what I’ve seen of Xi’an hotel prices, I will be very comfortable in a 3-4 star hotel.
I will be in China for business and only have about 3 days to devote to sightseeing – still, I’m going to Xi’an and see as much as I can in that short time. I’ve wanted to visit there for years, and I’m not going to pass up this opportunity!
Thanks for the warning regarding pickpockets – they are an unfortunate fact of life almost everywhere. I agree with you that the only sensible response is to be alert, but not paranoid.
I’m excited about visiting Xi’an and would be very happy to get any suggestions you may have for dining, shopping, or sightseeing.
Xie xie!
dadi
Sheffield
Hi,
To be honest, I am not good at picking those star hotels (every time I went to Xi’an, I stayed in my friend’s house), however, in my opinion, Bell Tower Hotel Xian is the best choice. First of all, it locates in the heart of city, next to Bell Tower and Drum Tower, both of which are almost the symbol of the city, besides, around the hotel, there are two famous shopping centre, especially Century Ginwa shopping centre, is just at the foot of the hotel. Second of all, it’s very convenient for you to go those historical sightseeings, there you can easily find coaches and buses to anywhere.
For food:
Trust me, you must go to Dapiyuan (locals call it Muslim Street, as all the restaurants are operated by Muslim). It is quite near from Bell Tower Hotel – within 1 minute walking distance – through the Drum Tower, you can see there are hundreds of restaurants and local stores, there you can taste traditional Muslim food and buy some local artworks as well, don’t worry about the language problem, some waiters/waitresses know some English and in some restaurants English menus are available. There are lots of foreigners come from all the countries, it wont be a problem at all even through you go into a restaurants alone. Although there are some other famous restaurants in Xi’an, this street is my favourite, actually I had all the dinners and launches there. It’s better to go there after 7pm, the Bell Tower is very nice in the night and Muslin Street is crowded and busy, it’s fun eating there. (you can see this page: http://www.blogcn.com/User/dadi/blog/4321569.html, the pictures shown are Bell Tower and Muslin Street in the night.)
For sightseeings:
Terracotta Warriors and other historical sites are out of city area, although they are not far away, 44km to Terracotta Warriors site for example, you can ask the information desk in the hotel if they provide a kind of one day tour or something like that, or at least they can tell where you can buy the tour tickets. It takes one day to visit thoese sites. In the city area, I recommend the Tang Paradise, you can call it a garden or a park, all the buildings in it are Tang-Dynasty-styled. There are lots of shows in the day as well, overall, you can experience what it is like in Tang Dynasty. In the evening, about 7:30pm, there will hold an amazing movie – water is the screen – images made by laser are reflected on the water wall, it is really worth waiting.
At last, what I would like to say is I never have lived in Bell Tower Hotel, the reason why I recommend it is that the hotel locates in a pretty good position, and it holds a locally good fame as well, I asked some friends if they had any ideas about the hotels in the centre of city, most of them said Bell Tower Hotel is good, however, it’s your call, you decide :)
I find some website for you, I think it would be much helpful if you have a look.
Xi’an trip, including information of views, eating, hotels and everything in Xi’an (recommend), http://www.xatrip.com/english.htm
The website of Bell Tower Hotel, http://www.belltowerhtl.com/e_index.asp
Some pictures I took in Bell Tower, the Tang Paradise, The Big Wild Goose Pagoda and Shaanxi History Museum: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gotowest/page11/
OK, I hope it will be helpful to your trip, I am out to London for two days, I would like to help if you have some questions when I am back.
Cheers
Wei
sundogg99
Oregon
Wow! Thank you so much for all this information – I appreciate your help.
The Bell Tower Hotel sounds like a perfect choice – great location and reasonable price. I will definitely visit Muslim Street for eating! Tang Paradise sounds very interesting – I hadn’t heard about it before.
Finally, thank you for sharing your photos. I look forward to taking my own photos soon.
Best wishes for your enjoyable visit to London, and thank you again for all of your help.
