Grand Metropark Hotel Xian, Xi'An

I've stayed in the Xi'an Hyatt two times; once in 2003 and once in 2006. Unfortunately, it just keeps getting worse and worse. During my last stay, the first room they gave me had a missing window pane on the shower door! The bedroom light on the night stand didn't work! And, even though the hotel was virtually empty, they gave me the smallest room they had (like, smaller than a match box). The first time I stayed there (Jan, 2003), I had just come from a remote village (Pucheng). I ordered a steak in the restaurant. The steak came out raw! So, I sent it back and asked for it to be cooked medium. It came back RAW! I was starving, so I ate just the semi-cooked meat around the edges. I had this "meal" at 8:30 PM. At 1:00 AM, I was violently ill. I woke up with with nausea and left a line of fecal matter from the bed all the way into the bathroom. The Hyatt kitchen gave me the worst case of diarhea I've ever had! The good news is, they don't charge you extra for all the their ill mannered intestinal microbe. I was sick for an additional 16-20 hours. So, if you're a masochist, and willing to pay a high price to be physically and financially abused, then I highly recommend the Hyatt in Xi'an. There are better hotels at lower prices in Xi'an.

The rooms were a total disappointment (we have been to 3 other Hyatts in California). We were expecting the Hyatt standard, but we first got a 2 star hotel room. We rejected the first room for stained carpets, hole in the curtain, worn-out/outdated furniture, and a layout that was just wrong. After checking 3 more rooms, and pondering if we should just change to another hotel, we settled for a "upgraded" suite, which was about the standard of an Embassy Suites (3 star). I think that the photography in the web made the rooms look much better than they really are. The food at the Regency Club was average, without much sparkle. The staff was helpfull, and that was the only good point of the hotel. When we go back to Xi'an, we will check other hotels, such as, the Sofitel and the Shangrila.

This is a great hotel for short visits. It is clean, staff really helpful and friendly, great restaurants, excellent location. We really enjoyed this hotel - and everything went smoothly. We were especially surprised at the staff's helpfulness.