Manxin Hotel Xi'an Bell Tower — Warm Design, Surprisingly Roomy, Planted on North Street in the Old Town
The charm of Manxin Hotel Xi'an Bell Tower (西安钟楼漫心酒店) is that it feels more like a warm, lived-in home than a typical chain — from the softly lit lobby with its pink-and-wood lounge seating to rooms that start at 30 square metres and stretch to 50 in the family category, unusually generous for a midscale hotel in the heart of Xi'an's old town. It's a Manxin (漫心) lifestyle design hotel from Huazhu, planted at No. 188 North Street (北大街), Lianhu District — the main avenue that runs straight north from the Bell Tower. It's just about a 6-minute walk (~700 m) to the Bell Tower and the central square, with Beidajie metro on Line 2 only ~410 m away. Opened in 2024 with only 87 rooms, it scores a high 9.6/10 on Trip.com from around 2,469 real guest reviews. Guests say the same things again and again: the rooms are spacious, spotless, good-looking, and the location makes the old town easy to explore on foot.
What makes this Manxin branch so popular is really a combination of a central location and rooms that feel larger than the price suggests. The hotel sits at No. 188 North Street (北大街), Lianhu District — the big north–south avenue that runs straight from the Bell Tower up toward the City Wall's North Gate. Guests report it's only about a 6-minute walk (roughly 700 metres) to the Bell Tower; from there the Drum Tower and the mouth of Huimin Street (回民街), the Muslim Quarter food strip, are just a few minutes further, and the ancient City Wall is around 15 minutes on foot. In short, you sleep within walking range of every major old-town sight, while sitting on a wide, open avenue that's calmer and more convenient than the food-street crush.
Getting around by metro is easy too. Beidajie station on Line 2 is about 410 metres away, a few minutes on foot. Line 2 is Xi'an's main north–south route: one stop south brings you to Zhonglou (the Bell Tower), then it runs on to the City Wall's South Gate (Yongningmen), Xi'an North Railway Station (the high-speed-rail hub), or you can change lines toward the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. For the Terracotta Army, take the metro and connect to the tourist bus at Xi'an Railway Station. Xi'an Xianyang International Airport is about 35 km out, reachable by the airport metro line or a taxi.
One guest recalls: "The room was so spacious it took me by surprise — I booked a King and got something that felt like a suite, with a sofa and a work desk, and a spotless bathroom. The design is warm and photographs beautifully, the staff were lovely and recommended places to eat, and it's an easy walk to the Bell Tower and Huimin Street. Coming back to sleep, it was quieter than I expected. Brilliant value for a location this central."
The rooms are the real star here. Manxin is Huazhu's upper-midscale lifestyle design brand, leaning on warmth and usable space rather than rock-bottom pricing, and because this branch opened in 2024 everything still feels brand-new. There's a good spread of types, all generous: a Xinyi Standard King at around 30–31 sqm, which is already roomier than the average chain; a Xinxiang Deluxe King at 40–45 sqm with a sofa and a sitting nook; a Xinmeng Bathtub King at 48–50 sqm with an in-room tub; and the Xinmeng Bathtub Family at around 50 sqm. The recurring praise is for the space, the cleanliness, the comfortable bed, and the good-looking design — many guests say it feels like a suite at a standard-room rate.
The criticisms are real and worth knowing first. The first: a few reviews mention the air-conditioning being hard to get just right, especially in the shoulder seasons when the central system may not run as cool or as warm as you'd like — if you sleep cold, it's worth flagging at the desk. The second: service and responsiveness aren't fully consistent — most guests praise the staff as warm and helpful, but a few hit moments of slow replies or limited English. This is a Chinese hotel whose core guests are domestic travellers, so a translation app on hand makes things smoother. And the third is noise — although it sits on a wide avenue and is quieter than the Huimin zone, a few reviews still picked up sound from the corridor or neighbouring rooms, so ask for a higher or interior room if you're a light sleeper.
Overall the Trip.com score is a high 9.6/10 from around 2,469 real reviews, which says guests are genuinely pleased — above all with the spacious rooms, cleanliness, design, and location. The hotel serves a Chinese-and-Western buffet breakfast (07:00–11:00), with a free gym, a restaurant, a 24-hour front desk, parking, and luggage storage. Worth saying plainly: there's no swimming pool here, because this is a design hotel inside a city-centre building rather than a resort. The draw is good-looking, roomy rooms and a walk-everywhere location — not a full sweep of facilities.
Standard rates start at around ~¥400 (฿2,000) per night, with a typical range of ฿2,000–3,500 depending on season and room type (the bathtub and family rooms climb higher). China's long holidays — Golden Week (October 1–7), Chinese New Year, and Labour Day (May 1–5) — push rates up sharply and fill rooms fast, since Xi'an is one of the top draws for domestic tourists and the hotel has only 87 rooms, so book several weeks ahead if you're coming then. The honest summary, friend to friend: the Bell Tower branch of Manxin is for travellers who want a roomy, good-looking room right in the old town, within walking range of the Bell Tower, Drum Tower, and Huimin Street, at a midscale price. If you can live with occasionally fiddly air-con and service that isn't always polished, it's an excellent, comfortable old-town base — but if you want an international brand with a pool and a spa, compare it against the Mercure or Novotel Bell Tower branches in our list first.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ Very spacious rooms, 30–50 sqm — many guests say it feels like a suite
- ✓ Central spot on North Street — about a 6-minute walk to the Bell Tower
- ✓ Brand-new, spotless rooms with warm design that photographs well
- ✓ Beidajie metro on Line 2 just ~410 m away
- ! A few reviews mention the air-conditioning being hard to get just right
- ! Service and responsiveness aren't fully consistent
- ✓ Chinese-and-Western buffet breakfast served 07:00–11:00
- ✓ Mostly warm, helpful staff who recommend places to eat
- ✓ Walk to the Bell Tower, Drum Tower, Huimin Street, and the City Wall
- ✓ Range of room types, from a 30 sqm Standard King to a 50 sqm bathtub room
- ! No swimming pool (it's a design hotel in a city-centre building)
- ! Some staff speak limited English
- 💡If you sleep cold (or hot) · A few reviews mention the air-conditioning being hard to get just right, especially in the shoulder seasons when the central system can be unresponsive · Fix → ask the desk to adjust it, or request an extra fan/heater at check-in
- 💡If you rely on English or need polished service · This is a Chinese hotel whose core guests are domestic travellers, and a few reviews hit slow replies or limited English · Fix → keep a translation app on hand to sort out rooms and directions far more smoothly
- 💡If you want a pool, a spa, or an international brand · This is a design hotel inside a city-centre building, focused on roomy rooms and a great location, with no swimming pool · Fix → see the Mercure or Novotel Bell Tower branches in our Xi'an hotels list