The perfect combination of price and quality. Modern apartment in a residential building in the heart of the city, close to the Muslim quarter (5 minutes by walk). Apartments are large, with a kitchen, balcony and free internet. The hosts are very attentive people. During our stay they supplied us with a map, a mobile phone for local calls.

As a family of two adults and one 5 year old child, we stayed here for 3+ nights in early December. All communications prior to turning up were with some called Mei. The website indicates that the place is run by Mei and her NZ born husband, Todd. However, we were met on arrival at Xian train station by someone called "Sandy" who is a "friend" of Mei's. She turned out to be our landlady, "fixer", and tourguide throughout our stay. It turns out Mei and Todd live in Australia, and "Sandy" and Mei's mother "Aunty" (who speaks no English but is an amiable presence) run the operation. We had a 1 bedroom apartment which is conveniently located in a residential building for 400 RMB. It is pretty okay, and if you're used to backpacker places furnished with stuff found on street corners, you'll love this place. If you're used to more lavishly furnished places, you probably won't. "Sandy" was our guide for a tour of the Terracotta Warriors and she was very friendly and knowledgeable about the history of the site.

Problems arose when we asked "Sandy" to buy us soft sleeper train tickets in the same compartment (we are a family and understably wanted to sleep together) from Xian to Datong (at 50 RMB commission per ticket). Instead she bought us hard sleep not train tickets not in the same compartment from Xian to Pingyao (yeah, she stuffed up). Luckily we were amenable to the change in itinerary and agreed to accept them, and in turn "Sandy" agreed to come to the train station as she said she had contacts on the train (her brother in law) that could get us in the same compartment. On arrival at the train station, "Sandy" revealed she had no such contacts, and that she was happy to "write us a note" in Mandarin that we could show to fellow compartment dwellers in the hope of getting someone to switch. Understandably we were pretty annoyed at this point (she had got us the wrong tickets, promised us she could fix it, and then changed her story at the last minute and wanted to dump us) and on confronting her, "Sandy" changed her mind. On boarding the train again luckily "Sandy" found someone to switch compartments, and so ended our involve with HQ Guesthouse. Did we enjoy Xian and the Terracotta Warriors? Sure. Is HQ Guesthouse acceptable accommodation? Sure, if you're not fussy. Is the whole operation really dodgy? You betcha!

My family and I stayed at HQ for 3 nights in early December and really enjoyed our time there.

The apartment is spacious, has a kitchenette and eating/sun room and a computer with internet.

Sandy and her Aunty were really friendly especially with our 2 kids inviting us in for coffee and food, giving us a run down on places to visit while in Xi'an, best places to eat and answering all our questions with a smile.

We also had Sandy as a tour guide to the Terracotta Warriors and she was very knowledgeable, informative and patient and descriptive with answers to our questions

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.