We stayed at the Homeland Hotel for just one night after a late arrival at Chengdu Airport. Located near the 3rd ring road, it's still within the city, near the airport but away from downtown. We made the mistake of taking the hotel up on transportation -- a very nice van was waiting (2 staff, tons of bottled cold water). They even did the research and found out our plane was reschedule 2 hours late. Still, the 10 min ride cost 400 Yuan (a taxi would have been 40 Yuan) -- you live and learn!

The hotel itself was very nice. Big, beautiful lobby and restaurant. Plenty of English speaking staff. It would prob. be a 3.5-4 star hotel in the US (like a nice Hyatt or Renaissance) but is a 5 star in China. No apparent damage to the hotel remained from the large earthquake (although several overpasses around Chengdu had collapsed and were being rapidly repaired). The rooms were good sized. Still, they had the hard mattresses prevalent in China. Nice big flat panel TV. Good sized bath with shaving mirror. There was a bowling alley on the 2nd floor. Bikes were available for hotel guests (no charge) and the hotel had a fitness center and large pool. Rooms were quiet and well cleaned. The breakfast buffet was large and impressive - much, much better than any of the other 5 star hotels at which we stayed in China but not as good as the little family place in Yangshou.

Checkout was the only problem. There was a large conference leaving on a tour all at the same time. Prior to completing the checkout transaction, they had staff check each room to be sure nothing was missing, no damage, etc. making the checkout line horrendous and slow. I think China is still getting used to the idea of keeping the credit card on file in case of damage/theft like US hotels.

Overall, a fine experience -- nothing fantastic -- we just didn't investigate small places with more charm given the plans for the 1 night stay in transition. The Homeland served its purpose for a one night stay after a late night airport arrival.

The room is actually fairly decent. Our room seems to be recently renovated. This hotel qualifies as a 5-stars hotel but an average 5-stars. Restaurant breakfast buffet is decent. There's also a bowling alley in the hotel but I didn't visit that myself.

The large, nice lobby and pool area are really the only things that make this hotel seem five-star. The rooms are downright dismal, as they are worn, small, with tiny one-sink bathrooms. The aircon worked poorly, and if one is sensitive to noise, ensure that your room doesn't face the highway which is about 100 meters from the hotel.

The location is close to the airport, so for a transfer hotel, it's ideal, however don't plan to spend too much time here. The hotel does offer a few free shuttle buses to the city center, but English is a must.

Twice during our 1 1/2 day stay (one day too many), the hotel experienced a power outage, one time it was during a formal ceremony being held in the lobby area. The lobby bar doesn't sell western "grape wine", though all other spirits seem to be available.

If you overnight in Chengdu for any amount of time, locate in the city center as there does seem to be a lot to do in the University area.