Hotel not allowing "Two generation ID" card & "Macao Passenger" ?

I have stayed in hotels in Xiamen that were not 5 stars for sure and had no issue. Not all hotels can accommodate foreigners but it is unrelated to the number of stars.

... Are they saying that this hotel cannot accept foreigners, and children? ...

The so-called ‘second-generation’ ID card means version #2 ID cards issued to China residents. About 2004, the authority started replacing old ID cards with these machine-readable IC chip imbedded new cards. The hotel’s email does not mean anything about admission of children.

There are definitely several five star accommodations in Xiamen welcoming foreigners without any problem: Sheraton Xiamen Hotel, Hotel Indigo Xiamen Harbour, Langham Place Xiamen, Swiss Grand Xiamen, Marco Polo Xiamen and at least ten more. Simply speaking, you can choose among so many five stars hotels in this city. As always, I suggest you to see the offers on Booking.com or Ctrip. By the way, you really don't have to stay in a five star accommodation. In reality you can choose any accommodation, regardless of star ranking, but please, just check at Booking.com or Ctrip about the fact if they accept foreigners as their guests.

As far as Zhuna'er Holiday Villa is concerned, it is true. They accept Mainland Chinese only.

Xiamen is hosting a major political summit (BRICS) in September. Chinese cities tend to go security and regulation crazy during these periods. I believe the actual dates are September 2 - 4 or thereabouts but if you are arriving in the run up to that you may have some hotel ifrsutrations. I was in Ximaen a couple of months back and the city was going renovation crazy in anticipation.

Unfortunate that this hotel didn't immediately catch that you were foreigners, and not let the booking go through. As said above, it's just that some hotels don't accept foreigners. There is no requirement that you stay in a 5-star hotel in Xiamen, and there are many hotels that accept foreigners in all star/price categories.

I've heard that Xiamen Airlines uses E-Charm Hotel for their overnight connecting passengers--it's also possible they use others. There is some sort of reception desk that you go to after deplaning, show your passport/incoming and outgoing tickets on Xiamen Air, and they make the lodging arrangement. You may have to pay your own taxi there, not sure if there is a shuttle bus but it's only about 15 minutes' drive. It's pretty much inconveniently located for anything. Many people in your situation prefer to take matters into their own hands and book their own choice of hotel and pay out of pocket, as you did....vs take what the airline has to offer.

If you're taking the nonstop XMN-DPS that doesn't leave until about 18:00, then definitely book your own hotel more in the central city, so you can take advantage and actually do some exploring during the day. The Siming District of the city, where the Zhuna'er Holiday is located, is the best place to be for your purposes.

Thank you all for your insight. I might wing it with Xiamen air's hotel accommodation on the way there, though I saw that ECharm Hotel does not take children when I looked them up & tried to book with them, which might be a problem? I hope to book something else for our return when we have a full day and overnight... I just hope I don't keep running into the same problem. I appreciate your responses.

I don't think the booking sites are saying that Echarms doesn't take "children". What they are saying is that they can't add extra beds/rollaways or cots/cribs in the room (likely due to small room size) that people ask for to get extra sleeping space for their kids without having to pay for another room. As long as your travel party--including teens--fit in the beds normally provided in the room, there isn't an issue. It would be EXTREMELY rare for a Chinese hotel to outright ban accommodation for anybody under 18 just for existing, and certainly not a hotel used for airport connection accommodations. Besides, in China hospitality and transportation industries, "children" are usually defined by size not age. If your teens are over 1.2 meters tall, they'll be considered adults for hotel bed purposes.

One thing I didn't mention above: if traveling economy class and needing a free overnight connection hotel room, most Chinese airlines will insist that you room with another passenger of the same gender if traveling solo. So if there are three of you traveling and the rooms provided are maximum of 2 people, somebody may be asked to room with a stranger. Being a foreigner, you might get away with demanding politely and firmly that you get your own room....but only if there is a lot of capacity at the hotel they are using, and out of earshot of other Chinese passengers trying to get accommodation as well. Premium cabin flyers usually get their own room.

If they want you to share with someone, look hopeless as you can and don't speak any Chinese, or anything more than broken English. Remember, a Chinese traveller also has to be willing to room with you.

Perhaps some hotels will not accept under-18s travelling alone. But with a parent hard to imagine this ever being a problem.