Just spent 7 days here for a conference. Found this hotel to be very good, service above Chinese standards, and one of the better airline-managed hotels, unlike Air China or HNA hotels which can be atrocious; Xiamen Airlines seems to understand hospitality a bit better.

Location is southwest of the city, but really since Xiamen is pretty compact it only takes a few minutes to get anywhere interesting. It was an 8-12 rmb cab ride to the Botanical Gardens, Zhongshan Road, train station, the Ferry terminal (to Gulangyu), etc. The hotel is on the south side of Yundang Hu, a small and peaceful lake. On the north side of the lake are a row of superb seafood restaurants, mostly catering to groups. Parallel to Hubin South Road, where the hotel sits, is Hexiang Xilu, a street with lots of shops, teahouses, etc. There is a Macdonald's, a Trust Mart (=Chinese Walmart), TD Records book and music shop, and lots of small clothing boutiques. A block east of the hotel is a large hospital, and a branch of the popular Shangdao cafe, with a very modern interior and large, comfortable sofas seats. A block west of the hotel is Buynow, an electronics supermart. Airport to hotel is only about 25 minutes using the tunnel and with little traffic.

I had a standard, lakeview corner room, with a good view of the lake in front and Bailuzhou hotel to my left. Bed was fine, slightly firm. Carpeting was showing some age, especially since it was beige you can notice old stains if you're looking for them. My queen-sized bed came with four pillows, which were pretty flimsy. They do have a pillow menu with 8 different choices though. Room was neither big nor small, bathroom same. Shower (no tub) had one of those mobile hand-held heads, and it was a bit tough to position it properly. Bathroom wasn't bright enough for me, with a single halogen above the sink and one above the shower stall. Tough to see when shaving. Room was well stocked with amenities, including slippers, cotton nightgown, shoeshine pad, etc. Bathroom had everything you can use, including disposable razor and hairband.

Food. The Japanese restaurant on the third floor is, though not very cheap, decent. I had the 3-variety sashimi (3 pieces each of 3 different fish--salmon, tuna, and something else), seaweed salad, and fried bacon-potato patties for about 100 rmb. A couple of small snack dishes and tea were complimentary. The cafe on the ground floor is fairly big, and even on busy mornings I didn't wait more than a minute to get a table for breakfast. Food selection is better than average, quality fair. Good mix of western and Asian. They did alternate some dishes on consecutive mornings, but not many. Unfortunately, one of my favorite dishes at breakfast, the freshly-made wonton dumplings, was one of those that was alternated. Juice selection included the usual watery orange juice, and pink guava. My biggest complaint is that the room service menu is very limited. There weren't many other choices outside of a steak, fried rice, or club sandwich.

Lobby. Big and bright. Cafe area in the middle is a good place to relax, but the coffee, e.g. iced mocha for 48rmb, was way overpriced. There is a small convenience store with some good local snacks for souvenirs, in case you didn't get to venture out to buy any. There's a Xiamen Airlines ticketing counter, right next to the long reception desk, with a monitor displaying status of the day's flights.

Service. Check-in was on the slow side but check-out was pretty quick. The mini fridge in my room wasn't working, and when I spotted a worker in the hallway I told her about it. She first tried to fix it herself, but when she couldn't she called maintenance for me. After only a few minutes' wait she accompanied the maintenance guy back to my room. When he couldn't fix it either, he took it away and came back with another one. Doormen also very helpful, answering several questions about some tourist attractions. One went to the street to hail a taxi for me, and although it took a while, I appreciated the effort. Good stuff.

Overall, although I wouldn't go so far as to say this hotel was spectacular, it is definitely solid throughout.