Xiamen Hongdu Hotel

The location is what led us to Best Western on our recent trip to Xiamen, and for the price it worked out pretty well. It's about a 13rmb taxi ride from ZhongShan Road, and taxis also make it easy to get to ZhongShan Pedestrian Street, Bailuzhou, and SM. The area is busy in the morning and afternoon, with plenty of taxis and small restaurants and fast food places within walking distance. It's not a touristy area, so we didn't get tourist noise or prices. At night it quiets down and there aren't many people around, but it still felt safe. Hotels nearer the CBD or ZhongShan Road have become much more expensive. This and many other hotels in the city were renovated during Covid, and I thought this one was well done for the price. We stayed in a Deluxe Executive room for around 100 usd. It was spacious, with a sitting area and table, and came with either one queen bed or two twin beds. The bathroom had both a tub and shower. There were several outlets, plus a multi-cable charger in case you forgot yours. Room layouts vary: in some two-bed rooms, outlets are behind the beds, which is awkward. The table has a small nook for outlets and cables, though its USB ports didn't work. Some rooms have safes and some don't; mine didn't. The TV signal and picture weren't very clear, and the TV's position in the middle of the room was in the way. I also had to guess which light switch controlled which lights. In the bathroom, one switch controls all the lights, so there's no dim option when you're getting ready for bed. Breakfast is served buffet-style in the cafe, but I found the selection limited. There were noodles, cooked eggs, a few Chinese dishes, a small choice of salads and cold cuts, plus some Western options like bread, jam, and egg tarts. We didn't try the restaurant in the building, so I can't comment on its food. The hotel has a gym, which I looked at but didn't use, and a self-service laundry area that seemed especially useful. We didn't use it, but there are washers and dryers, and you can iron or steam clothes there. It's free as part of the stay. The room also came with slippers, bathrobes, and a fridge stocked with free water. The staff were very nice. The people working at breakfast were friendly and hospitable, even though the buffet wasn't what I had hoped for. Housekeeping was thoughtful too. They saw that we drank a lot of water and had bought extra bottles because we weren't sure how many free ones we'd get each day, so they doubled the usual number they left for us. The room was always clean when we came back, and sometimes they had finished while we were still at breakfast.