Home Away From Home

So, it’s happened. Your family has decided that you they will be paying you a visit during your stay in Xi’an. The only question that still remains is, where are you going to stash them? Your apartment, with the spare socks and the ever talkative roommate, just won’t do. Most apartments in the city just aren’t built for houseguests and you’re not going to put good old Mom and Dad on the couch now, are you? Hotels can also be a bit hit or miss. The larger five-star hotels are wonderful, but also tend to be very expensive. This is where the Holiday Inn and Suites comes in.

The Holiday Inn and Suites at Glorious Plaza in the High-Tech Zone is not your average hotel. Many of their rooms are intentionally designed as living spaces. The room provided for this review was a two- bedroom set-up with a living room, kitchenette, and washing machine. Honestly, it was better than some of the apartments that this writer has lived in. They even clean the place for you. Mom and Dad will not have to worry about your rock hard mattress that you got for such a good deal, as each bed is nice and soft, with pillows in different levels of firmness.

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The living room comfortably seats five people, and the television has various foreign TV channels, such as the BBC, HBO, and the National Geographic Channel. The internet in the hotel was fairly fast at the time of the review, and had good signal throughout the room and hotel. The kitchenette included a refrigerator, induction burner, oven, and sink. There were a few kitchen tools already in the room and there was also a sign saying that other equipment was available upon request, just in case your parents want to you up one of your favorites.

The bathroom was small but well-appointed. The shower had plenty of hot water, with both a rain attachment as well as a detachable shower head. The toilet may very well be one of the most advanced restroom toilets in the city, with a fully-customizable control panel that sets everything from the temperature of the toilet seat to the direction and intensity of the bidet. There was even a “dry” setting on the bidet.

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Also included with the room is access to the gym, laundry room, and breakfast in the restaurant, all of which are located on the 32nd floor. The gym is not too large, but has enough equipment in it for someone to get a moderate workout in. Since each room is equipped with its own washing machine, the laundry room consists of a bank of dryers, so that you’re not stuck trying to air dry your clothes in your hotel room. Been there, done that. Not fun. The breakfast at the hotel was not the most impressive, but it did have the standards of a common Western breakfast, such as bacon, eggs, toast, and cereal, as well as a few East Asian offerings, such as congee. There are other options in the area.

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Therein lies the greatest strength of the Holiday Inn, a superb location. Just downstairs and out the door, there are a multitude of dining and drinking options for everyone. There is even a Starbucks and McDonalds if Mom or Dad are afraid of Chinese food. There is also a HeMa supermarket located in the same building. The YanPingMen subway stop on Line 3 is just a five-minute walk away and there are plenty of buses and taxies nearby. Getting in and out is ever so easy.

So if you have someone coming to visit who plans to stay a while, you might consider putting them up at the Holiday Inn and Suites. It beats sleeping on the couch!

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