The Hyatt Regency, Xi'an.

Thanks to our wonderful parents, Martin and I had the most marvelous time in our 'birthday hotel'. We arrived to check in at 12 on Friday and didn't leave the place until 9pm the next day! You could say we made the most of it :)



We opted for a Regency Club room, which means that we paid a set price and got all the Club bonuses included in that. Regency Club guests have their own lounge, unlimited soft drinks (the most delicious English breakfast tea ever!), complimentary cocktails and snacks in the evening from 5:30-8pm and complimentary breakfast in the morning. Lovely. We also added to that a hot breakfast downstairs in the main cafe (more feasting options!!).

The Room:

Our room was beautiful - it had a massive double bed with the softest sheets I've ever felt (quite a treat after months of hard youth hostel beds and skanky sheets in dirty cheap hotels!), 4 telephones (Martin's favourite being the one by the loo!), a huge flat screen tv, minibar, walk in cupboard, desk area to receive faxes, and a huge bathroom with both a shower and a big bath! My personal favourite was the complimentary conditioner... how my hair has missed it!! Of the time I spent in our room, most of it I just wandered around in my soft white robe and slippers and telephoned downstairs for stuff. Hee hee!

The Lounge:

The Regency Club lounge was lovely, soft music playing, big comfy couches and chairs to sit on and many waitresses to attend to your every need. Martin and I basked in the attention and enjoyed copious cups of tea and biscuits while reading English newspapers and magazines. In the evening we arrived for cocktails and snacks, only to discover that with the amount of food available, we could happily gorge our way through it and skip dinner :) We ate salad, chicken wings, cheese, crackers, bread, fruit, pudding and lots more... and accompanying all that was a lovely selection of wines and spirits, which we thoroughly enjoyed (we've been drinking only cheap beer since we arrived!!).

The Spa:

Complimentary to all guests at the Hyatt is a lovely gym, spa and sauna. We spent a good while in there enjoying the jacuzzi and getting pruney fingers and toes! We even went in the next day after being told that we didn't need to check out until 2pm.

The Breakfast:

When I woke up on Saturday morning, I didn't want to get out of bed... I was warm, cozy and sleepy. But after a nudge from Martin and a quick reminder about the kind of breakfast we might be expecting, I leapt up and was downstairs in 5 minutes. It was definately worth getting out of bed for! There was everything one could want in a breakfast... yoghurt, fruit, cereals, breads, cheeses, jams, honey, danish pastries, Chinese dumplings, bacon, eggs (of ANY kind), mushrooms, sausages, tomatoes, french toast etc etc... (I would continue but my mouth is watering and I don't want to drool on the keyboard!).

So basically, we spent more than 24 hours in pure luxury. I can't believe that some people actually have the money to spend on these kinds of hotels regularly. It was amazing, but not the way I want to travel through Asia.

On Saturday our train was only leaving at 10:20pm so after checking out, we spent the rest of the day in the lobby. We ordered a pot of tea and sat reading books for hours. Wonderfully relaxing. Before we left, we also treated ourselves to some fish and chips and onion rings. Lip-smackingly delish!



Thanks again wonderful Mum, Dad, Jan and Frank xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx