This hotel is just outside the city center of Xian. You will still need a taxi for a 10 minutes drive only. The rooms are clean but in poor condition. The size and ceiling heigth are border line. This is OK for a night or 2 but nothing more. I asked to check some recently removed ones, They are indeed better but still suffer of the lack of ceiling height. It gives a very oppressive feeling. Very good breakfast, you will have to come before the rush hours: The personal is then overloaded and there is nowhere to seat. Evenso I like the Shangri-La hotels I will probably not return to this one. There must be some better ones in Xian.

We didn't choose this hotel (it was booked for us by Trailfinders) but it was quite the best hotel we stayed in in China, and one of the best we've ever stayed in! It was perfectly clean and very shiny. The room was very large and had every facility we wanted, and plenty we didn't. Breakfast was excellent. I don't know whether we were close to the centre of Xi'an, but the taxis were cheap and the hotel staff happily explained to the drivers where we wanted to go. Xi'an itself is great fun (although the driving was hair-raising and we saw one accident which could easily have been fatal) and there's plenty to do apart from the Terracotta Warriors.

The Shangri-La Golden Flower is a luxury hotel for the area . . . actually, probably a luxury for any area! We flew in/out and stayed one night as a family group of five: two over 60, two in their 30s, and one in his 20s. The Shangri-la was a great stay and very comfortable for the parents. Caveat: we were so, so lucky to have a Mandarin speaker with us. This made everything much easier. You may expect fluent English in Beijing or Shanghai, but not so much in Xi'an. We arranged in advance with the hotel for cars/drivers to pick us up from the airport (Mandarin required and even then it took a while). This wasn't free but surely did make things easier. We were able to easily change $USD at the front desk (note you will need your passport in hand to do this). Cabs/drivers also were easy to come by at the front door of the hotel - be sure to bargain - and we arranged for two cars that took us directly to the Terra Cotta Warriors, then picked us up afterward. Again, Mandarin very helpful, but I believe the drivers spoke some English. The front desk staff was very eager to please and helpful. The young Shangri-la concierge did have English enough to reserve us for the local tourist attraction: the "Tang Dynasty Music and Dinner Show," but we were too tired and had to cancel. It was no loss. The dining at the Shangri-la was terrific. The dinner menu seemed to have it all, and as I recall there were pictures if not English translations. Breakfast was easier to navigate: an extensive Eastern/Western breakfast buffet that included wonderful marinated bamboo shoots, smoked fish, "Dragon Eyes" (a fruit the size of a shooter marble - peel off the leathery skin and be careful of the large pit), dried fruit, fresh melon, pastries, dim sum, and all the Western standards as well, including omlettes made to order. In Xi'an, we visited the Terra Cotta Warriors, the Moslem Market, and the downtown drum and bell tower. We flew in during the morning, and out the following afternoon. It was a bit rushed. We could have spent another half-day quite comfortably. If you feel like a splurge, this hotel is worth every penny.