Orange Hotel Xi'an Bell Tower Huimin Street — Step Out Onto the Food Street, Step Up to a Drum-Tower Rooftop
Picture heading up to the hotel's 3rd-floor rooftop terrace in the evening, ordering a cold drink, and watching the floodlit Drum Tower glow right in front of you — close enough to read the calligraphy on its eaves — while below, Huimin Street (回民街), Xi'an's legendary Muslim Quarter food strip, hums on until late. That's everyday life for guests at Orange Hotel Xi'an Bell Tower Huimin Street (桔子酒店 西安钟楼回民街店), a midscale design hotel from Huazhu's Orange (桔子) brand sitting at No. 1 Beiyuanmen, right at the mouth of Huimin Street. It's about 40 metres to the food stalls and 60 metres to the Drum Tower, with the Bell Tower just a touch further. Opened in 2021 with only 76 rooms, it scores very highly on Trip.com from around 2,500 real guest reviews. What sets it apart from chains on the same corner is warmer design, that Drum-Tower rooftop, and — remarkably — genuinely good soundproofing in the middle of the noisiest district in town.
The first selling point here is a location that's hard to beat for anyone visiting Xi'an to walk the old town and eat their fill of street food. The hotel sits at No. 1 Beiyuanmen, Lianhu District — effectively right at the mouth of Huimin Street (回民街). Guests say the same thing again and again: walk about 40 metres out of the door and the Muslim Quarter's food stalls begin straight away. From there it's roughly 60 metres to the Drum Tower, another 160 to the Bell Tower and the central square, and the Great Mosque sits deeper inside the same quarter, an easy stroll away. It's the kind of spot where you can step out in the morning and start sightseeing immediately — no taxi, no planning around transport.
Getting around by metro is easy too. Zhonglou (Bell Tower) station on Lines 2 and 6 is about 260 metres away — a few minutes on foot. From there you can reach the rest of the city: the City Wall's South Gate (Yongningmen), Xi'an Railway Station, or onward toward the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. For the Terracotta Army, take the metro or a taxi to Xi'an Railway Station and catch the bus from there. The railway station is about 4 km away and Xi'an Xianyang International Airport roughly 36 km out. This kind of location suits travellers who want to rely mainly on public transport and explore the old town on their own two feet.
One guest recalls: "The location is brilliant — the room is right on Huimin Street, so you can pop down for great food all day. But the surprise was the soundproofing: close the door and you barely hear anything outside, so we slept beautifully. The room was spotless, with a faint orange scent and smart switches you can control by voice. Up on the 3rd-floor rooftop the Drum Tower looks gorgeous at night. Such good value for a spot this central."
On the rooms, it helps to understand the Orange brand first — this is Huazhu's design-led midscale chain, warmer and more contemporary than the average chain, with wood-and-orange tones, a signature orange scent, and tech touches like voice-controlled smart switches in some rooms. This branch has a decent spread of room types: a Queen Room at around 19–22 sqm, a Room with 2 Beds at 20–22 sqm, a Superior Twin at 20–25 sqm, and the roomiest Scenic Twin at 23–26 sqm. The recurring praise is for cleanliness, a comfortable bed, fresh and genuinely useful in-room kit, and — standing out in particular — the soundproofing, which is rare for a hotel planted in the middle of a food district this lively.
The criticisms are real and worth knowing first. The first: check-in is fairly late, from 16:00 (check-out is 12:00), and a few reviewers mentioned check-in being slow when it's busy, so if you arrive in the morning or early afternoon you may need to leave your bags first. The second: a handful of reviews mention people smoking in the lift or lobby despite the non-smoking policy — that's down to other guests rather than the hotel itself. And the third is simply the nature of the location — even though the rooms are quiet, Huimin Street outside is crowded and buzzing from early evening until late, so if you dislike weaving through crowds on the way in and out, go in prepared.
Overall the Trip.com score is very high, drawn from around 2,500 real reviews, which says guests are seriously pleased — above all with the location, cleanliness, soundproofing, and warm, helpful staff. The hotel serves a Chinese-style buffet breakfast (07:00–10:00), with a lounge in the lobby, a gym, a laundry room, and parking, and the highlight is that 3rd-floor rooftop terrace used for check-in and for photographing the Drum Tower. Worth flagging: this hotel has no swimming pool and doesn't allow pets — it's a midscale design chain built around good rooms and an unbeatable corner, not resort-style facilities.
Standard rates start at around ~¥350 (฿1,750) per night, with a typical range of ฿1,750–3,000 depending on season and room type. China's long holidays — Golden Week (October 1–7), Chinese New Year, and Labour Day (May 1–5) — push rates up and fill rooms fast, since the Huimin Street quarter is one of the top draws for domestic tourists and the hotel has only 76 rooms, so book several weeks ahead if you're coming then. The honest summary, friend to friend: the Huimin Street branch of Orange Hotel is for travellers who want a well-designed, quiet, clean room right at the mouth of the food street and the Drum Tower, at a midscale price. If you can live with a 16:00 check-in and a lively district, it's an excellent old-town base — but if you want an international brand with a pool and a big gym, compare it against the Novotel or Mercure Bell Tower branches in our list first.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ At the mouth of Huimin Street — 60 m to the Drum Tower, old town on foot
- ✓ Rooms are remarkably quiet despite the lively food district
- ✓ Fresh, spotless rooms with warm design, an orange scent, and smart switches
- ✓ 3rd-floor rooftop terrace with a beautiful Drum Tower view at night
- ! Late check-in, from 16:00, and check-in can be slow when busy
- ! Huimin Street outside is crowded and buzzing from early evening until late
- ✓ Warm, helpful staff with genuinely good service
- ✓ Chinese-style buffet breakfast served 07:00–10:00
- ✓ Walk out to street food and photograph the Drum Tower and Bell Tower all day
- ✓ Range of room types, from a 19 sqm Queen to a 26 sqm Scenic Twin
- ! No swimming pool and no pets allowed
- ! A few reviews mention smoking in the lift/lobby despite the non-smoking policy
- 💡If you arrive in the morning or need an early room · Check-in starts at 16:00 (check-out 12:00), and the queue can be slow when busy · Fix → leave your bags at the lobby and head out to explore and eat, or ask ahead about an early check-in if a room is free
- 💡If you're sensitive to smells or dislike crowds · A few reviews mention smoking in the lift/lobby, and Huimin Street outside gets very busy in the evening · Fix → the rooms themselves are quiet and non-smoking, and you can flag any corridor smoke at the front desk
- 💡If you want a pool, a big gym, or an international brand · This is a midscale design chain focused on good rooms and a great location, with no resort-style facilities · Fix → see the Novotel or Mercure Bell Tower branches in our Xi'an hotels list