WHAT’S IT LIKE? Previously with the IHG ANA Hotels Group, Grand Castle has emerged from a rebranding exercise that has also aligned its marketing activities with Summit Hotels & Resorts, known for its I Prefer™ programme featuring benefits such as priority check in and late check out, room upgrade and complimentary internet access.
As a result, the hotel underwent an extensive six-month facelift in its 14th year that included public areas and guestrooms, and now also offers a new executive floor with a lounge and five additional meeting rooms. There are plans to build a spa by the year-end.
In sync with the feel and hues of historic Xian, capital of Shaanxi province, the hotel sports a muted purple-pink exterior topped with a distinctive pagoda roof. Upon entering Grand Castle, guests are greeted by a spacious atrium lobby and lounge. The Veranda Café Restaurant, some meeting facilities and a gift shop are also found on the ground floor.
WHERE IS IT? From Xianyang International Airport, it takes about 45 minutes by car to the city centre. The hotel is within walking distance of the South Gate city wall dating back to the Ming Dynasty. The area, which also boasts the Howard Johnson Ginwa Plaza Hotel, will benefit greatly once Xian’s first subway line, linking the northern and southern parts of the city, is completed before 2010.
HOW MANY ROOMS? 338 rooms ranging from 24sqm to 173sqm in a contemporary style with Chinese decorative elements.
ROOM FACILITIES: Guests are provided broadband internet connection at a daily charge of up to CNY60 (US$8.80), 32-inch LCD TVs, “King Coil” beds and a good-size workdesk. The key-card accessible doors are without peepholes to comply with fire-safety standards.
RESTAURANTS: The Veranda Café Restaurant offers 156 seats, with some tables placed near the floor-to-ceiling windows allowing in copious natural light, as well as a private dining area near the counter for seafood grill, dim sum and soup noodles.
Alternatively, the Yue Chinese Restaurant provides seating for 110 including five private dining rooms, and specialises in Cantonese lunch and dinner, which includes the Empress Dinner at CNY240 (US$35) per person. The 10-course spread comprises braised fish maw and seafood broth, deep-fried perch fillet in sweet Thai-style chilli sauce, dumplings in local-style spicy and sour soup and others.
BARS: The lobby lounge in the atrium rising nine floors seats 72 and a pianist plays during the evenings.
BUSINESS FACILITIES: A variety of functions can take place in the Yong Ning Ballroom (divisible into two) with a spacious foyer and Chang Le meeting room on the first floor, as well as An Yuan and An Ding meeting rooms on the second floor leading to an outdoor garden. The business centre operates between 0700 and 2300 and Wi-Fi is available in public areas within the hotel.
LEISURE FACILITIES: The fitness centre and sauna room on the 10th floor, which were being renovated at the time of our visit, will be ready by the year-end. There is no swimming pool. Sightseeing tours can be tailor made and arranged through the hotel’s chief concierge, Jerry He. Attractions near the hotel include the ancient city wall, sites of the Bell Tower and Drum Tower, and the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.
PRICE: From CNY600 (US$88) nightly for a weekday stay in early December.
VERDICT: No glitz is promised, but the room provided the comfort expected of a hotel stay.
CONTACT: 12 Xi Duan, Huan Cheng South Road, Xian 710068, Shaanxi, China, tel 86 29 8760 8888, fax 86 29 8723 1500, www.grandcastlehotel.com
Julian Tan
