[Hotel Review] The Ritz Carlton Xi’an

On By Satu KosongIn China, Executive Club Lounge, JW Marriott, Marriott Bonvoy, Xi'an

Terracotta Tripping 2024

This was 50% of why I wanted to visit the city. New RC Club experience – yay~

Address – No 50 Keji 2nd Road, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China, 710075. Website.

Contact – Tel +86-20-4008885551. Email: there was no generic email address I can locate for the hotel unfortunately. I did correspond with specific staff for my arrival arrangements, but I think better not list person-specific emails here just in case.

Location – The property is located in the Southern section of the city, in the business center of the Gao Xin District. It is located right beside a fancy shopping mall (complete with quite scary prices for some stores) which apparently leads you to the nearest metro station. Otherwise just based on what I can see, there is nothing else substantial around the hotel, especially tourist sites.

Price – RMB1,680++ a night for a Club Access Double Bed booked via their website under the USD100 Luxury Credit Card rate courtesy of my Marriott Bonvoy card. The credit can be used towards incidental spends including dining, spa, and hotel creational activities not managed by a third party. Booking a King Club access room was more expensive so I figured I’d book this way then request to change to a king bed config thereafter. But nonetheless, it is a very good price for a RC Club!

Prior to arrival – I received a pre-arrival email 4 days prior with an infosheet about the hotel facilities. When I enquired further about the Club benefits and meal presentation timings, I was given the times but also quoted an upcharge for the access which I found slightly off-chord given that they should know my original booking was for a club access room. I also made a few other requests which were all duly noted eg my preference of a king bed, and a RC lion mascot to add to my collection.

I also enquired about being picked up from JW Xi-an and was quoted a scary RMB880 onwards in a Tesla-X for the 45mins ride which I declined.

Getting There – I ended up taking a cab from JW Marriott which cost me RMB50 though it was a rather run down local taxi. Felt almost sheepish pulling up into Ritz’s driveway in the vehicle but the RC team was very welcoming still yay.

Check In – I was attended to very quickly at the empty front desk (boo to no check in at the RC Club) and offered a welcome drink which was tasty. I took this time to take in the classy arrival lobby’s high ceilings and gold black tones – very nice!

The staff informed that my request for a king bed has been noted and they had a Suite ready if I wanted to wait (4hrs!) or they had an available Larger King Room available right away. I chose not to wait as I really wanted to unpack and check out the RC Club as soon as possible. Semi-bummer.

Part of the process was also the Guest Recognition Account adding me on WeChat so they can communicate directly with me if need be (but ended up of no use). I was also given printed welcome letters accordingly:

Room – I was escorted to my room 1229 (luggage will be brought to me separately) and along the way, I noticed that the guest room common areas were also quite photogenic.

My room at 74SqM was very spacious and certainly a very nice modern RC room – Once inside, the staff briefed me on the room’s features – I took this opportunity to request to see the Suite when it is available so I know if I should book it the next round. I was told they will reach out to me on Wechat to make the necessary arrangements.

But I did feel like some parts of the room felt underused almost as if they didn’t quite know how to fully utilize a corner room space and just left the blank parts….blank.

Anyways, right after stepping in is the wardrobe closet area in a rather narrow walkway which is not the most pleasant to step in as functional as it is: the spot is split into 1 cupboard for ironing board, umbrella and safety box, while the other contains the bathrobes, more hangers, and laundry bags. slippers etc.

Stepping out and heading into the walkway sees a little vanity area which became my bag stand of sorts.

Opposite this spot is the bathroom with a bathtub complete with loofah and bath salts, double sinks with adequate countertop spaces, and separate shower and toilets areas. Toiletries here are the standard RC Diptyque ones which is always a treat. However, the amenities were Asprey ones – I really missed this purple stash!

The bedroom area is a nice spot of a king bed with very generous bedside tables which holds a pull-out design to reveal the powerpoints and light / blind controls. The wall-mounted TV facing the bed I later realized can be swiveled if you so desire.

Somewhat adjacent to this area lies the living area – I actually really liked the design of this cosy nook which comes complete with sofa seating, a tea set of sorts, and loads of local accented touches. I only regret not knowing the swivel function of the TV earlier and hence was mourning the design of not being to watch TV in my living area. User problem, sorry.

The mini bar here is built into part of the design and is a fancy cupboard style where you pull open to reveal the contents of a coffee machine, kettle, cupware, and a very well stocked fridge.

A welcome amenity of fruits and local snacks were later placed on the living room area.

At turn down, the housekeeping tidies up the room including placement of slippers by the bed but also leaves this cute local bookmark as a souvenir.

Cub Lounge – The Ritz Carlton Club Lounge is located on level 23 and takes up the entire floor space – I was told that its currently the biggest RC Club Lounge in South East Asia and it feels that way for sure!

The huge space is designed to contain blocks of varying vibes: a bar area, a family sofa-ish area, a cosy group seating area complete with a fake fireplace, a dining area where a TV sits alongside the wine dispensing area, and finally, more dining / larger tables nearest to the F&B area.

There is also an alfresco area of sorts but it is also where smoking is allowed so best to avoid if you don’t like that sort of ambience.

Throughout the day, light snacks eg cookies are available alongside non-alcohol drinks of course. And in line with most RC Club, wines can be enjoyed all day from the wine dispenser. You can either choose to DIY or the staff is happy to assist with recommendation or serving it to your table if need be. Out of the 4x whites and 4x reds on offer, I was happy with 2 each heh.

Sadly though, they do not serve champagne but they did have a sparkling wine which I tried and didn’t like – so didn’t bother to find out what it was.

Still, alcoholics rejoice!

Breakfast (6:30am-11:00am) – I just realized I didn’t take pics of the offerings even though I’ve gone up to have a glance. But you can be assured that it is a probably 20% of what was offered at the restaurant and would think no one would eat here unless you are later than 1030am when breakfast at the main restaurant ends.

Light Lunch (12nn-2:00pm) – as all RC Club light lunches are, this session is definitely enough for a meal. Each session sees a live station (noodles, stews) alongside 6 hot options (meats, vegs), an array of plated cold starters, DIY salad section, and cut fruits. Whilst quality was great, it is useful to note that most of the hot options are very localized so best to manage expectations here.

Afternoon Tea (2:30pm-4:30pm) – this is served in a 3-tier alongside a generous basket of fresh scones (3 flavors), and a small platter of fruits. They were tasty enough and damn those scones were good- but the treats for this session weren’t on rotation ie you’ll get the same items for consecutive days based on what I experienced during my stay. Staff were also kind enough to offer to ‘hold’ the set for me to be served at 6pm during a day where I said I’ll be back in the hotel late.

Hour D’oeuvres and Cocktails (5:00-8:00pm) – this is the highlight of my 2 evenings even though it offers the same quantity of hot food options ie live station + 6 items on the buffet stand alongside cold starters etc. I found them adequate as dinner and liked that it didn’t feel crowded at all due to the vast amount of space. Again, the hot food were very localised so some can be too salty / spicy etc.

A service highlight for me was when I gave the above feedback to a staff who asked if I liked the food – and it was merely a feedback as I was still able to make dinner out of the other stuff. To my delight, she brought me an in-room dining menu comped a dish of my choice as service recovery. I’m impressed!

The real highlight across my 2 evenings were the 6 different types of cocktails free flowing for 3hours – I may have been the reason why the staff cum bartender was so busy that 2 nights but hey why not right? Not sure why it’s not more advertised but upon request, the staff passed me an ipad and you pick from a slideshow of cocktail menu. These are some interesting choices – again very localized – and definitely not your run of the mill stuff. Very interesting and also colorful!

Cordials & Desserts (8:30pm-10:30pm) I managed to stay to experience this session one night but actually I was reminded why I don’t most times at a RC Club. It was a smattering of sweets and praline so nothing really to stay in particularly for.

Service at the Club – I have to say service by the Club team was fantastic through and through. They were warm and welcoming, efficient, and effortlessly smiley all the time. They radio-comm each other to make sure that every request is well looked after and went out of their way to alleviate any issues I had.

This included being ever so helpful when I needed advice with transportation arrangements including sorting out my alternatives to get back to Beijing leg via the high speed train when my domestic flight got cancelled, and communicating with the ride hailing driver to get me to the railway station etc. And because I had to leave the hotel earlier than planned due to the interruption, the staff offered for me to pick a few items from the breakfast spread so they can pack it to go in lieu of me missing light lunch hours that day.

Awesome service and color me impressed for sure. The team even gave me a RC lion mascot as a gift when I was leaving yay!

Other Stuff – part of having club access includes the following 2 notable complimentary services which I tried and were very happy with:

  • laundry and pressing of 2 pieces per day (non-accumulative): these were duly returned all neat and tidy placed inside the wardrobe despite a miscomm when the too-enthu housekeeping took my 2nd bag of laundry meant for the next day’s sending (the club team sorted that out for me)
  • limo service within 3kim of the hotel (24hrs notice): the concierge was very kind to accommodate less notice than the stipulated and even offered to take me further than 3km if they are not busy. I ended up taking a 10mins ride in their fancy Tesla-X to a shopping street nearby which needed a 30mins stroll return trip. Not a bad way to burn off those cocktails!

Breakfast at Xian Kitchen – served from 6:30am-10:30am daily, the space is located on level 3 and is a sprawling area of seating configurations which interestingly enough seems to be styled differently from each other. Even during peak hours, the space feels lively yet not congested which is a welcome respite from other madness I’ve been to.

Food wise, this was a plethora of both local and international cuisines spread out over different stations and everything was delicious.

I was also very amused at some of the English signage – haha.

Service during breakfast was one of the best I’ve encountered – the restaurant manager made the effort to make small talk and actively recommended local dishes to be brought to the table. On my second (and last) morning, he surprised me with a small gift of phone ringholders which were so cute.

Facilities – these are located on level 5 and again the massive space took up the entire floor. I only didnt manage to view the swimming pool (7am-10pm) as it was undergoing maintenance during my stay. But otherwise:

Fitness Centre (7am-10pm) – this was a big space with plenty of equipment alongside a separate exercise room which looked like it has some spinning bikes in it. The equipment is also spaced out quite widely which was great for the antisocial me. And have rower, yay!

The Ritz Carlton Spa – I had the opportunity to try this out as I needed to burn my USD100 credit. I forgot to take pics of the menu but was able to locate it online here – it is not surprising that the prices are quite mad and even after the credit, I had to top up USD35~ for my 60mins Reflexology Foot Massage. Ugh.

There were some confusion about my USD100 though as the spa manager said I can only use USD50 out of USD100 as the other USD50 is meant for dining only. I do know about this permutation as this is what some travel advisors offer but that was not my rate which did not state the split. This was sorted out at the front desk eventually with no issues though.

My massage was done in a fancy solo treatment room and the therapist was skillful and super attentive. I was served nuts and sweet porridge after my treatment which I thought was nice.

I managed to make full use of the rest of this space before my treatment and quite enjoyed myself indulging in the cosy resting area, peaceful relaxation room, and of course the wet facilities which put JW Marriott Xi-an’s to shame.

Other Stuff – there were other small blips that occurred during my stay which I thought was worth mentioning for a balanced review:

  • I had in my pre-arrival emails requested for a RC lion mascot and it was duly noted. However, it was not placed in my room on arrival and upon a reminder, it was sent up hung on my door simply in a plain brown paper bag, not even plastic wrapped. I thought that was so weird given a RC standard.
  • I didn’t hear back from anyone regarding my request to view the suite so I approached the front desk the next day to ask about it. On the spot, they had someone bring me but the odd thing was the staff didn’t even turn on the lights in the suite as we stepped in and instead explained that the suite is a ‘display’ room only hence no lights. So I viewed the suite in relative darkness. Hmmmm…

Check Out – Seamlessly done at the Club Lounge and I was escorted to the ground floor (and waved goodbye) for my ride to the Xi-an North Railway station to catch my train.

In Summary,

Another great RC Club experience checked off my list for sure! I was also super glad that the Club team provided much advise and assurance during my few hours of anxiety due to my flight cancellation. And I got to walk away with 2x RC lion mascots too heh.

Best spot to stay in Xi-an for me!

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