I had quite good expectations as I had read many positive reviews but I was sadly disappointed. It was not bad it was just ok but at the price they charged it should have been great. I was on a 6 week business trip and it was the most expensive hotel I stayed at - all 5 stars including Beijing and Shanghai. The rooms were large and quite comfortable with free wireless, reasonably comfortable bed and clean. Few of the staff spoke English but seemed relatively friendly although the check in staff were rude and unhelpful. What was very annoying was I had booked a club room but there was no breakfast in the club lounge ( it is only available in summer) and the club itself was a joke. It is definitely overpriced and in terms of the club a huge rip off as none of the usual club facilities you find in other hotels were available. The location was good although as others have noted not near the Bazaar. Breakfast was passable but not inspiring! I believe it is the best hotel to stay in but Sheraton needs to lower it's prices to reflect the reality of a hotel in Xinjiang.

I stayed here 2 years ago and quite liked it, but it appears that it is in desperate need of renovations. I stayed one night on two seperate occasions, but in both rooms the shower drainage did not work properly in either room and I ended up flooding the bathroom. There was peeling paint on the floors near the window, and the sink was brown and dirty. The wall behind the reception desk was filthy. This hotel really needs to clean itself up if they are going to charge 1,400RMB/night. It was a good after being well off the beaten path in Xinjiang, but not worth the price unless they start making some renovations.

What I remembered most about this hotel: drunk people throwing up in the lobby and "girl" knocking on my door at two in the morning.

But overall we had a comfortable stay. The room was huge, clean, well-maintained; bed was softer than standard Chinese bed; Free wireless internet in room; the staff, although don't speak much English, were very friendly and helpful with a can-do attitude.

Regarding the late night encounter. We bought this up to the manager the next morning and they immediately suspected the KTV business inside the hotel. They must have went to the wrong room and kept on knocking on my door, louder and louder, despite the "DO NOT DISTURB" sign. Finally it was apparent that they weren't leaving so we got up to see what was going on. Through the peep hole there was a male staff who was wearing a suit resembling the concierge, holding a walkie-talkie and seemed to be escorting a female, of who I could only assume, at this hour, was a "working girl". Having heard us speaking in English, they must have acknowledged that it was the wrong room and left. Then we heard them knocking on another door loudly.

After learning about the KTV, it made sense why we were seeing groups of drunk people in the lobby, one even in the process of vomiting, and puddles of existing vomits in different areas of the lobby. Unfortunately the KTV shared the same elevators as the hotel guests. We had to hop over the puddles while dodging drunk loud people blocking our way, and held our breaths in the elevator due to the residual sour smell.

Being a SPG gold and platinum member for the past 10 years, I have to say this was the most "interesting" stay. Although I don't understand the arrangement between this KTV and the hotel, but I can't see how it is not affecting the SPG brand and reputation with the way it conduct business and disturbing the hotel guests.

Location wise was very good. It takes about 15-20 minutes and 30-40 RMB taxi ride from the airport (don't take the airport shuttle bus. 15 RMB per person and not sure where it stops). It's in the middle of the new area with lots of malls and a big underground super market. There is a nice food court on the 5th floor at the upscale mall next door (connects to the hotel lobby). Also across the street you can find allies with street food in which the sights and sounds we enjoyed.

The most famous restaurant in town, Lee Ji (李记), is down the road, where they serve "strange flavored" cold noodles (怪味凉面) and marinated pig's knuckle (猪蹄). A woman inline told me people come from out of town to come eat here. From the hotel, walk north a couple of long blocks on Youhao North Road to Xinjiang Medical University, across the street from KFC and you should find a dim restaurant with a line outside. I never liked pig's knuckle but the gelatinous texture was actually fantastic. The noodles was up to its reputation also. If you're an adventurous eater, check out this place!

This is a nice hotel and I have stayed here several times. Be very careful about the tour desk in the hotel - it has outrageous markups compared even to any hotel operation I have ever encountered. DO NOT USE the tour desk - I am surprised they are even allowed to operate from the hotel