Xi'an - Motel 168

Looking for a hotel close to the Xi'an metro that wasn't too expensive, I somehow ended with Motel 168 through internet searches.  It seemed like a better idea just to turn up, than to book on-line, but a couple of hotels later I think that's a bad assumption.

The scrolling marquee advertised a room for 108 RMB / night, but that room had no windows.  The next step up was 138 RMB / night, which was what I went for.  This is actually approximately what I would have paid per night, had I booked on-line.

The room itself was a bit dingy, with the wall to the right being dirty and having a hole in it.

Outside the window was a rooftop of a lower building within an alley.  On the roof were an array of garbage and assorted unwanted or lost objects, including one fancy looking sneaker.  Below the desk, under the kettle the wall was a panel that gave access to the "shower forest".  The room came with free internet access, but I needed to request a cable from the front desk.

The internet access was slow.  1990's dial-up access slow.  I gave up on it, until after using my VPN to access a site behind the Great Firewall, I noticed that access through the VPN was very usable.  After that, no worries!

The bathroom was more modern looking, and excepting the shower was in good repair.

The shower was interesting.  That metal doodad hanging from the ceiling gave water at a good pressure, but the drain couldn't keep up.  The wall tiles were a bit wonky and in need of repair.

I'd recommend Motel 168, it is pretty standard for a Chinese hotel.  Although in retrospect, while it doesn't seem natural to live in a room like it, the cheaper room with no windows couldn't be much more dingy.

As for conveniences..  The metro is a half block and a street crossing to the north, and there's a supermarket right beside the metro entrance.  The train station is about 15 minutes walk down to the south corner and off to the east outside the city walls, this is also the place where you can catch a bus to the terracotta warriors.  I found it pretty handy, and the staff while they didn't speak English, got by with my limited Mandarin.