I was looking for a hotel in Xi'an and found that many are a good distance from the center of Xi'an. I then found out about the Hq Guesthouse and after reading the reviews, I decided to give them a try. Overall, I was not disappointed.

I arrived in Xi'an by air and took the Airport Shuttle Bus to the Melody Hotel, near the Bell Tower. Sandy met us in front of the hotel minutes after the bus arrived and walked us to the Hq Guesthouse, a short distance (perhaps 1/2 Km) away.

Our apartment was a two bedroom apartment with one room locked (we only paid for a one
bedroom one). It was clean, roomy and comfortable. During our stay, Sandy asked us to move to another apartment since the one we were in was equipped for larger parties, the 2nd apartment was larger and even nicer.

Sandy was quite helpful, offering advice on local sites. During one of the evenings we were staying in Xi'an, she invited us back to her aunt's (Mei's mother) apartment where we had a pleasant conversation for over an hour. Sandy's aunt was also very hospitable and does a great job keeping the apartments clean for guests. Regrettably, her command of English is on par with my command of Mandarin (pretty minimal) ... she seems to be a very nice lady ... would have liked to have gotten to know her better.

Sandy and her Aunt arranged early morning taxi transport for us to the Airport, including having her aunt take us to meet the taxi at 5:30 AM.

Location-wise, the Hq Guesthouse is really hard to beat. We were probaby 200-400M from the end of the Moslem quarter where we found quite a few good eateries and also gift shops. It is also a short distance from the Bell and Drum Towers, the center of Xi'an and the hub for almost all public transport.

I had one minor complaint about the rooms ... The shower in both apartments were simply a curtained off area of the bathroom. It was hard to keep the rest of the bathroom floor from getting wet, leading to a slippery bathroom.

This is a two bedroom apartment centrally located with the convenience of a modern washroom, living room, basic kitchen and a access to a computer with Internet. The communication was very good right from our booking to the end of our stay. The owners Mei and Todd were not available during our stay but Sandy, their go to person was at the train station upon our arrival even when our train was very late. Sandy arranged transportation to take us us to the apartment where we met Mei's mother who provided us tea and was very warm and welcoming. You are able to arrange tours through the apartment and our tour we chose was provided by Sandy, who was very gracious and well spoken. We would highly
recommend HQ Headquarters as an alternative accommodation to our friends and family! Thank you from Wendy, Mary and Susan (Winnipeg Manitoba, Canada)

Excellent central location, very close to major attractions, amazingly quiet. Everything independent-minded travelers would need; a home away from home, but much more than just a place to stay, due to Hq Guesthouse's fully professional and genuinely personalized service. Sandy, who is a wonderful guide, was managing Hq during our 5-night stay and consistently did everything she could to make our stay comfortable and to ensure that we got the most out of our time in Xian, providing exceptional assistance that went far beyond our expectations - we greatly appreciated her thoughtfulness and care. Mei was also very helpfu and engaged despite being out of the country at the time. I'm so glad we stayed at Hq; I definitely recommend it!

Our two bedroom HQ Guesthouse apartment was great for our three day stay in July. The bedrooms and living room are enormous, and even the bathroom is very spacious. It was very hot during our stay, so we were grateful for the air-conditioning in the bedrooms. The apartment was in a quiet area, but within easy walking distance of the Drum and Bell Tower and the Muslim Quarter. (The markets of the Muslim quarter were very colorful and lively, and we ate most of our main meals there, snacking extravagantly on the luscious dried fruits). We also enjoyed playing some of the many DVD's on the up-to-date computer in our apartment, and we liked having internet access as well. Most of all, we liked having such nice lodging from which to launch our visit to see the Terra Cotta Warriors.