Citadines Gaoxin Xi'an — Apartments with a Kitchen and In-Unit Laundry, an Ascott Base Built for Families and Long Stays
Picture coming back after a full day of sightseeing in Xi'an to what feels like your own apartment — a kitchen corner where you can boil noodles or heat up a late-night snack, and a washer-dryer right in the room so you can do your own laundry instead of dragging a bag of dirty clothes on to the next city. That's everyday life for guests at Citadines Gaoxin Xi'an (西安馨乐庭高新公寓酒店), Ascott's Citadines serviced apartments planted in the heart of the Hi-Tech Zone (Gaoxin) in Yanta District, on the western side of the city. Score 9.6/10 from around 422 real guest reviews. Honestly, if you're travelling as a family, bringing young kids, or planning to stay in Xi'an for several nights, this is a comfortable base for settling in — at a noticeably lighter rate than the five-star serviced apartments in town.
Here's what sets this place apart from an ordinary hotel — these are serviced apartments, not hotel "rooms". Every unit is designed to actually live in, with a sitting area, a work desk, and crucially a kitchen in the room stocked with cookware and a fridge, plus a washer-dryer in the unit (studios get a compact open kitchenette, while the one- and two-bedroom units get a fuller kitchen). Guests travelling with family or staying several nights repeatedly say this is the thing that changes the trip: with kids you can warm a bottle and cook a simple meal yourself instead of finding a restaurant for every meal, and you can do laundry mid-trip without a second thought.
One guest sums it up: "The room was clean and tidy, the staff were helpful, the rooms are large with everything you need, breakfast was tasty, and it's great value. Getting around was easy with the metro nearby."
The rooms are the real star. There are four main layouts, starting with a Studio around 37 sqm (king or twin beds), up through a 1-Bedroom Deluxe around 56 sqm that separates the bedroom from the living room, and a 2-Bedroom Deluxe around 88 sqm that comfortably sleeps four. The look is clean and modern with plenty of storage, and guests are unanimous about how spacious and clean the rooms are. The building holds 139 units, and the shared facilities are fuller than you'd expect at this price — a gym, a yoga room, a sauna, a steam room, a pool/table-tennis room, a residents' lounge and a breakfast lounge.
On getting around, it helps to understand the district first. Citadines Gaoxin sits in the Hi-Tech Zone (Gaoxin / 高新) in Yanta District, on the western side of the city, at the junction of Keji Road and Tuanjie South Road — a business and office area, not the Bell Tower / City Wall / Muslim Quarter old-town core. The nearest metro is Yanpingmen station (Line 3), about 2 kilometres away, roughly a 14-minute walk (or a short taxi or shared-bike hop). From there it's around 20–25 minutes by metro to the Bell Tower and old town. The upside of this area is that it's quiet, with malls and restaurants all around — great if you want privacy and calm — but if you intend to walk the old town or eat Muslim Quarter street food every night, factor in that journey.
Service is another thing guests rate highly. Even though these are apartments, you still get full Ascott hotel service — housekeeping, a 24-hour reception, multilingual staff, luggage storage, and an on-site launderette in addition to your in-room machine. Guests describe the staff as attentive, warm and easy to communicate with, and the breakfast earns praise for being both tasty and varied. That's the advantage of an apartment stay that still comes with hotel convenience — you don't have to choose one or the other.
A score of 9.6/10 from around 422 real reviews shows how consistently guests come away pleased — the recurring praise is for the spacious, clean units with their kitchens and laundry, the value, the attentive service, and the quiet area. The criticisms are real and worth knowing first. The first: the location is in the western Hi-Tech Zone, away from the main sightseeing landmarks, and the metro is a ~14-minute walk rather than right at the door. The second: there is no on-site car park (you'll use nearby public parking at around ¥3/hour), and there is no swimming pool — if either matters, look elsewhere.
Standard rates start at around ~¥450 (฿2,250) per night for a studio, with a typical range of ฿2,250–4,500 depending on season and unit size (the two-bedroom family units run higher). The value really shows the more nights you stay or the more people you bring — the per-person cost drops because you get the extra space plus a kitchen that saves on meals. China's long holidays — Golden Week (October 1–7), Chinese New Year, and Labour Day (May 1–5) — are when rates climb fast and rooms fill quickly, since Xi'an is a hugely popular destination, so book several weeks ahead and take a free-cancellation rate to be safe.
The honest summary, friend to friend: Citadines Gaoxin Xi'an is for travellers who want spacious apartments with a kitchen and laundry, plus Ascott hotel service for a family trip or a long stay, at a lighter rate than a five-star apartment. If having a home-away-from-home in Xi'an matters to you more than sleeping next to a landmark, this is great value. But if you'd rather stay right by the old town for nightly strolls, or you want a swimming pool and a full kitchen in every single unit, compare it against the Fairway Place Xi'an (Marriott Executive Apartments), also in the Hi-Tech Zone, or the Shangri-La Xi'an, which has a pool, first.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ Serviced apartments with a kitchen/kitchenette and washer-dryer in every unit
- ✓ Spacious 37–88 sqm units, some with a separate living room — ideal for families/long stays
- ✓ Fuller shared facilities — gym, sauna, steam room, pool/table-tennis room
- ✓ Great value, attentive service, and a quiet area
- ! In the western Hi-Tech Zone, away from landmarks — metro into the old town each time
- ! No on-site car park (nearby public parking) and no swimming pool
- ✓ The kitchen and laundry save on meals and make a long trip far easier
- ✓ Roomy, clean units with lots of storage, big enough for the whole family
- ✓ A sauna, steam room and gym to unwind after a full day of sightseeing
- ✓ Breakfast earns praise for flavour and variety
- ! Rates spike and rooms fill fast during the Chinese long holidays
- ! The metro is a ~14-minute walk, not right at the door
- 💡If you mean to stroll the Bell Tower, City Wall, and Muslim Quarter every night · This place is in the western Hi-Tech Zone, not the old-town core — a ~20–25 minute metro ride, plus a ~14-minute walk to the station · Fix → if you want to sleep right by the old town, look at the Atour Hotel Xi'an Bell Tower South Gate (by the City Wall's South Gate) or the Hilton Garden Inn Xi'an Bell Tower in our list
- 💡If you're driving or you want a swimming pool · There is no on-site car park (nearby public parking is about ¥3/hour) and no swimming pool — just a gym, sauna and steam room · Fix → for a pool in the same Hi-Tech Zone, look at the Shangri-La Xi'an, or the Fairway Place Xi'an (Marriott), which has free parking, in our Xi'an hotels list
- 💡If you're a solo traveller staying just a night or two on a tight budget · The spacious, kitchen-equipped units pay off most when you bring several people or stay several nights — a short solo trip may pay for more than you need · Fix → solo or budget travellers should look at the JI Hotel or Atour branches in our list, which come at lighter rates