Located in the heart of Xi'an, Sofitel Legend is one of the city's most iconic hotels. Its predecessor was the People's Building, which was built in 1953, and was built by Hong Qing, the chief designer of the Northwest Design and Research Institute at that time, and was used as a state guesthouse to receive many national leaders and dignitaries from various countries, and Zhou Enlai once lived here. In 2014, it was transformed into a Sofitel Legend by Accor, which is the seventh Sofitel Legend in the world and the only one in China so far.
As early as 1953, the design theme of the People's Building was "East meets West". Based on French classical architecture, it shows Chinese elements in the details. More than 60 years later, Hong Kong's Zheng Zhong Design Office still follows this design concept and takes the "combination of Chinese and French" to the extreme. A European-style fountain outside the hotel, a huge crystal chandelier in the lobby and baroque carpets are standard features in French hotels. The French national flower, the veiner irise, is ubiquitous throughout the hotel, and is printed on the exterior walls, carpets, elevator doors, and guest bathrooms. Another ubiquitous element in the hotel is the "horse", and the pottery horses placed in the hall are reminiscent of the Xi'an Terracotta Warriors and Horses, as well as Napoleon on horseback. Pottery figurines, Tang Sancai ladies and ceramic vases, which are ornaments with strong traditional Chinese colors, have brought people back to Xi'an from France.
The hotel has a total of 71 rooms, divided into two categories: Prime Minister's Room and Suite, each of which has different classes of rooms, and the price of different classes varies. The room is semi-intelligent, and the bedside is equipped with a Mini Pad electronic touch screen to control most of the facilities in the room, which is matched with the main control electronic switch in the room. Some guests have reported that after the general control is turned off, the sensors in the cloakroom and bathroom still cannot be turned off, and the lights will be turned on when the sound of turning over gently or the sound of footsteps outside the room. If you are a person who is photophobic or has difficulty falling asleep, please consider it carefully. The bathroom function in the room is separated, with double washbasins, an independent shower room, and a European-style classical quadrangular bathtub, and a built-in LCD TV embedded in the bathroom makeup mirror, so that guests can watch TV while soaking in the bath, lie down in the bathtub to kill time, and unload the fatigue of the day. The hotel supplies bath products from the HERMES Eau D'orange Verte collection of colognes, as well as dried flowers and aromatherapy bath salts for bathing. For holidaymakers, the hotel offers a door-to-door essential oil bath service, which can be arranged by a butler, and is well worth a try. The disadvantage is that the toilet is not equipped with a washlet, and due to the old building, some facilities are aging and in disrepair.
What makes Sofitel Legend special compared to other resorts in the city is its 24-hour online "butler service". The hotel is a member of the International Golden Key Organization in China, and the intimate service makes guests feel at home. Waiters wear tuxedos for both men and women, and there are handwritten greeting cards from the housekeeper in the room after check-in, and the staff can call the guests by name during their stay, which shows the sincerity of the hotel's attitude towards guests. In addition, Sofitel Legend, which is also owned by Accor, can enter any area of the Accor hotel complex in the People's Building, but some areas of Sofitel Legend are only open to our guests and not to guests from other hotels, ensuring privacy.
As a resort hotel in the city, the Sofitel legend is quiet in the middle of the city, surrounded by gardens in front and back, making the hotel relatively quiet while the environment is beautiful, not too noisy. The front yard is a standard European-style garden, and the backyard garden trees are varied, most of which are precious tree species transported back from other places, which have been planted as early as the 50s, and have witnessed the development of Xi'an for more than 60 years with the People's Building. Walking in it, you can realize that history also has a romantic side. There are Tai Chi experience classes in the garden from Monday to Friday mornings, which is a special service of the hotel. The hotel museum is located on the west side of the first floor of the hotel, which mainly exhibits the relevant history of the hotel, which treasures the utensils used by celebrities and dignitaries who have been received for more than 60 years. Visit the hotel's museum, and the butler will appear and provide a guided tour.
Another special feature of the hotel is the LOUIS XIII Bar, located on the upper floors of the hotel, which is the only bar in central China where you can taste the finest French cognac, and its treasure is the LOUIS XIII Rare Cask 42.6, which is only 738 bottles in the world, which is very valuable. The bar serves rare LOUIS XIII Fortress brandies and other special editions. The hotel's "Dolce Vita" is a famous Italian restaurant in Xi'an, which not only guarantees the taste and temperature of the product, but also takes into account the exquisite plating, which also reflects the hotel's pursuit of quality. There are also leisure facilities such as gyms and swimming pools in the hotel, but they are more modest than other hotels, so they are not recommended.
