Hilton Garden Inn Chengdu Kuanzhai Alley

The price felt fair for a modern, convenient hotel, though it isn’t a luxury property. The Standard Room was small but fine for one or two people. There are lots of local restaurants just a short walk away, although most are quite similar. The free washers and dryers were handy.

The location worked well for getting around by metro, but the Google pin is off. The hotel is about 450m from Tonghuimen metro stop: walk 250m west across the canal, turn right, then it’s another 200m on the left. There are plenty of good places to eat on the hotel street, including a traditional Szechuanese hotpot next door. The hotel itself is clean and modern, with comfortable rooms, helpful staff, a great breakfast, and free guest laundry with 3 washing machines and 3 dryers.

It’s hard to beat the location, just steps from Kuanzhai Alley and on the well-known Xi’an Road shopping street, with so many tempting restaurants around. Even rooms facing the street were surprisingly quiet, and the staff were warm and friendly. Still, after two stays, I’d give up that location for somewhere a little farther away if it meant getting a good night’s sleep. The biggest problem for me was smoke. Only two of the eight guest-room floors are non-smoking, and it seems to be luck whether you get one. I couldn’t on either visit. The smoking-floor rooms smelled of smoke, and the hotel’s odor treatment didn’t get rid of it. I suspect it was just chemical deodorizer or air freshener. The smell had settled into carpets, bedding, and furniture, and it lingered, especially troubling for non-smokers who are sensitive to it. At a time when nearly all upscale hotels worldwide have banned smoking, Hilton in Chengdu really stands out for this. The duvets were another issue. They’re extremely thick and heavy, so I sweated even in November, and there were no alternatives. There are also only two small elevators for all eight floors, which means long waits and crowded rides. Breakfast is plentiful, but not especially tasty. The freshly made wontons, for example, had thick, tough skins and were much worse than the ones at local restaurants.

The hotel is comfortable and really nice, but the location shown is way off. Please fix it!! 😵