Xiamen Marriott Hotel & Conference Centre

The beach out front feels like another world from busy old Xiamen downtown, with miles of clean sand, neatly trimmed grass, and palm trees. The hotel and its surroundings even reminded me of Sanya beach on Hainan Island when we arrived. It’s a lovely place to unwind, and I’d recommend splitting a Xiamen visit between a few days downtown and a day or two here if you have the time. The rooms felt tiny compared with all the open beach around the hotel, even the supposedly large one we booked. The windows are arranged oddly: they provide privacy, but from many angles they make the hotel look deserted, with no lit windows in view. Food choices at the hotel are limited, though there’s a small mall just outside with more options.

I’ve been here on business for 6 weeks and have no complaints. The hotel staff and service have been nothing but the best!

The location shown on Google Maps is wrong. The hotel is about 2km south of the marked spot, right by the beach. It still seems very new, probably opened around the end of 2018. My room was nice and clean, and all rooms have balconies, most with very good views. Both the indoor and outdoor pools are nice and clean too. If the hotel is full, there might not be enough sun chairs around the pool. The Chinese don’t really seem to like hanging out there anyway. The beach is close, but swimming there isn’t allowed. A wide jogging and biking path runs between the hotel and the beach. The restaurants are all worth recommending, including the Fish bar and Japanese restaurant on the third floor, as well as the buffet restaurant. It works well for a short vacation combined with a conference or customer visits nearby. They’re currently building a Renaissance hotel next door, probably due to be finished around the end of 2019. Apart from that, there aren’t other hotels or restaurants nearby.

The hotel itself is nice, the service was perfect, and the beach is beautiful, but swimming in the sea isn’t allowed. The hotel is farther south and closer to the coast than the listed location. I don’t know how to change locations in China, but if someone does, please do it. We had a real Odyssey with the taxi driver trying to find the hotel.