The 6 Best Luxury Hotels in Xiamen
From a Heritage Mansion on Gulangyu to a Twin-Tower with Strait Views, Real Guests Rate 9.2–9.7

If you want a night where you open the door and step back in time, and have the island to yourself before everyone arrives, this is the most special luxury stay in Xiamen — Lin's Mansion 林氏府 (鼓浪屿林氏府公馆酒店) is a heritage boutique hotel in a 130-year-old colonial mansion (built 1895) on Gulangyu (鼓浪屿), the car-free UNESCO World Heritage island, once the home of Lin Erjia, the man who built Shuzhuang Garden — five villas, 37 rooms in total, fully renovated in 2025, on Lujiao Road a few hundred metres from the pier. It scores 9.7/10 on Trip.com from around 866 reviews, the highest in our Xiamen list. The draw is that it's a genuine historic mansion, not a new build dressed up to look old — high ceilings, brass lamps, stained glass, a secret garden with century-old camphor trees, an open-air sea-view bar, and intimate boutique service across just 37 rooms. The key part: once the last ferry takes the day-trippers back, the car-free island falls quiet, and overnight guests get the stone lanes to themselves like owners. Guests say it with one voice — to do Gulangyu properly you stay a night, and you stay here. The thing to know: the island is car-free and reached only by ferry; tickets should be booked ahead and you need your passport to board, and you wheel your bags over stone lanes (the good news: the hotel arranges a luggage cart from the pier). It's a small boutique with no big pool or gym, and it's the priciest stay on the list — but for the heritage experience and the island at dusk, it's an answer you won't find anywhere else.

If you want to wake to the sea and Gulangyu in front of you from a 50th-floor room, with a luxury brand you can trust — Conrad Xiamen (厦门康莱德酒店) is a luxury 5★ Conrad by Hilton occupying floors 37–54 of Shimao Straits Tower (世茂海峡大厦, ~300 m), the tallest building on Xiamen Island, at 186 Yanwu West Road in south Siming District by the strait, where sea-side rooms look clear across to Gulangyu (鼓浪屿). It scores 9.4/10 on Trip.com from around 6,675 reviews, one of the biggest review bases of any hotel in the city. The draw is the sea view from the high-floor rooms that almost every reviewer mentions, especially the sunset over the island, plus a sky infinity pool that's the guest photo spot, a spa, a 24-hour gym, and Conrad's proactive service — upgrading rooms when available and suggesting sights and restaurants. You can also walk to Xiamen University and Nanputuo Temple. The thing to know: street-side rooms catch some traffic noise from below, so light sleepers should ask for a high sea-side room; the pool has closed for maintenance at times, so check ahead if it's your priority; and it's a city luxury hotel in an office/mall tower, not a quiet resort. But for the strait-and-Gulangyu view, the Conrad brand and the sky pool, it's the most natural city luxury pick.

If you want a luxury hotel right on the sea, where you open the curtains to sunrise over the strait and there's room for the family to swim and relax — Xiamen International Conference Center Hotel (厦门国际会议中心酒店) is a seafront 5★ resort on the East Island Ring Road (环岛路) by the Xiamen International Conference Center, opened 2011 and renovated 2017, with 520 rooms, many with balconies facing the sea. It scores 9.5/10 on Trip.com from around 5,695 reviews. The draw is a seafront location with full views — spacious rooms with balconies that open onto the wide-open strait — plus resort facilities done well: two pools (indoor + an outdoor sea-view one), a spa, a sauna, a jacuzzi, and Chinese, seafood-buffet and Japanese restaurants. Guests say standing on the balcony with a coffee watching the sunrise is the moment that makes it, and it suits families who want the kids in the water and travellers in no rush. The thing to know: the location is on the east seafront, a little out from the centre, Zhongshan Road and the Gulangyu ferries — you take a taxi/DiDi or a bus and transfer to the metro to get into town — and it's a large convention-style hotel that can get busy when an event is on. But for a true seafront location, balcony sea-view rooms and family pool facilities, it's the most natural seafront pick.

If it's your first time in Xiamen and you want to stay in the middle of everything, wake to the sea and the island, and walk straight down to the pedestrian street — Hotel Indigo Xiamen Harbour (厦门海港英迪格酒店·中山路店) is a 5★ IHG design hotel on the harbour on Lujiang Road in Siming District, facing Gulangyu (鼓浪屿) head-on, a few minutes' walk from the Zhongshan Road pedestrian street (中山路), the city's liveliest old quarter. It scores 9.4/10 on Trip.com from around 9,184 reviews, the biggest review base in this article. The draw is a waterfront city-centre location that's hard to match — a walk to both the pedestrian street and the Gulangyu ferries — plus island views from the rooms and from the QUAY rooftop bar that many call the highlight, and Hotel Indigo's playful, story-led local design. Guests say opening the curtains to Gulangyu floating in the bay, then taking the lift down to eat on Zhongshan Road, makes the whole trip easier. The thing to know: it's an older building with fairly small lifts, so there can be a wait when it's busy, and being on the harbour in a lively quarter there's some noise and bustle below at times — light sleepers should ask for a high sea-side room. But for a harbourfront city-centre location, Gulangyu views and a walk to Zhongshan Road, it's the most natural design-hotel pick for a first visit.

If you want an international luxury brand in the city centre, easy to get around by metro but still calm because it faces the lake — Pan Pacific Xiamen (厦门泛太平洋大酒店) is a 5★ international hotel from Singapore in the heart of Siming District (思明) by Yundang Lake (筼筜湖), at 19 Hubin North Road, a walk from Coffee Street and near Metro Lines 1/2. It scores 9.3/10 on Trip.com from around 3,325 reviews. The draw is a central location that's very easy to get around — near Metro Lines 1/2, a few stops to the main sights like Zhongshan Road and the Gulangyu ferries — plus spacious clean rooms, a rooftop pool with city views, reliable international service, and the calm of facing a lake with its white egrets. Guests say it's a well-balanced base for seeing the city — easy on the metro yet with a quiet waterfront feel — and it's the lightest starting rate in this article. The thing to know: the location is by the lake in the centre, not on the sea or right by the Gulangyu ferries, so if you want to wake to the sea or the island, look at another pick, and it's a city hotel rather than a beach resort. But for a central location, the metro nearby and an international brand at the lightest rate on the list, Pan Pacific is the best-value, easiest pick.

If you want a European luxury brand in the city centre, beside the shopping district and by the lake — Kempinski Hotel Xiamen (厦门源昌凯宾斯基大酒店) is a 5★ hotel from the German luxury group Kempinski in the heart of Siming District (思明) by Yundang Lake (筼筜湖), at 98 Hubin Middle Road, beside the shopping district and big malls in the centre, and near the metro. It scores 9.2/10 on Trip.com from around 2,973 reviews. The draw is Kempinski's European service standards, spacious European-style rooms, a pool, a gym, a spa and several restaurants, plus a central location beside the shopping and malls that's easy to get around by metro. It suits travellers who want a city luxury hotel that's easy for shopping and dining while still keeping a lakeside feel. Guests say it's a polished central luxury hotel with good service and a complete location. The thing to know: the location is by the lake in the centre, not on the sea or right by the Gulangyu ferries, so if you want to wake to the sea or the island, look at another pick, and it's a city hotel rather than a beach resort. But for the Kempinski brand, a location beside the shopping district and a lakeside city-centre setting, it's a strong European-brand option. (We don't have a full in-depth review of this one yet — use the Trip.com/Agoda/Booking buttons for live rates and real reviews.)