Thistle City Barbican

Not worth the price

We have never payed so much for so little. The rooms were small and was not worth the rate at all. It didn’t even include breakfast. Make sure that the rate you get includes breakfast, and check that the price on the voucher is the same as on the internet page.

Traveler's tip

Direct train from nearby station Farringdon to Gatwick airport.

good hotel, great location

Clean and friendly. Concierge service is excellent. He walked us to a nearby restaurant and got us a table.

Traveler's tip on dining

Avoid the breakfast buffet. Crowded, poor service and expensive. Right across the street is the Barbican restaurant and you’ll get a platter of food for 6 pounds.

Way overrated

It is decent 2 star hotel for London. Broken showers, falling towel racks, no working heaters in the room makes it very difficult to go back though.

6th floor miserable

I staied at the 6th floor, it is old and dirty, not happy at all. I will not go there anymore and i ll not recommand it. Furthermore the area is not really nice even if it is close to the financial district.

Not impressed

Nice and kind personnel, clean rooms but the hotel should have 2 star rating not 4. 3 stars hotels in manhattan and paris were definitely better.

Not at ALL what I expected....

I cannot believe that this hotel has a 4-star rating. The room product was tired and dirty, bathroom facilities for subpar, and the level of customer service is sad. I have complained with the hotel and only received a written apology, no form of reimbursement. 1. The website clearly states that there is air conditioning in ALL rooms- however no AC. 2. The sheets on my bed were dirty with blood stains, and not stained by me. 3. the staff did not change the dirty sheet for me, they simply brought me a new sheet to change myself. 5. our sheets were not changed everyday. 5. There were bugs in our bathroom. 6. We requested a wake-up call on our first night, and never received one. Thankfully, I also set an alarm I brought with me. Otherwise, we would have slept in and missed our tour bus. 5. Our shower pressure was very low, and the shower head did not stay on/up and during showers, the lever and to be held up by hand. And the toilet did not consistently flush. 6. Dirty/sticky carpet, dirty sheets, dirty comforters. 7 Poor water pressure and unreliable bathroom facilitates. The Thistle website states, "Experience is everything. And ours has taught us what really matters to our guests. So everything in our bedrooms - technology to toiletries, bed linen to bathroom fittings - has been chosen with one thing in mind: your comfort." And this was NOT my experience.

Fair and economical lodgings for London

Don’t expect much, the hotel is a great budget place to stay, there was a small bed, bathroom and a safe. The TV and radio worked. There was a small gym available, which was a nice convenience. The hotel totally met my needs, when I travel I don’t spend much time in the room.

Traveler's tip

It’s about a 10-15 minute walk to the Old Street and Barbican Stations. If you’re comfortable taking the subway, you can easily get to all the main tourist spots. I didnt eat in the hotel, but there were a couple of Starbucks and Prets nearby. There were also a few other restaurants nearby, unfortunately, like everything in London, they close early.

Nice Hotel

10 minutes walk from Oldstreet tube station.

Traveler's tip on local attractions

Museum of London is nearby

Cheap Hotel

If you are looking for cheap unimpressive stay, this is your hotel. stayed 4 nights and had to ask 5 times for the iron and board so I can look presentable for my business meetings, despite numerous requests to leave it in the room. In real business hotels these items are standard. I was locked out once as the key stopped working. Every morning there is line/queue for breakfast. The notion of letting the customer sit down first and then collect the relevant tickets/room number etc clearly has not made it across the Atlantic from US yet, where it is common practice

An Economical and Comfortable Option in an Expensive City

The service at the Hotel was good, but not perfect. My room had been given away when I arrived late in the evening. Because of this mistake, I was forced to settle for a tiny room without an air conditioner and a delapidated fan for the first night. To compensate for the inconvenience, the Manager upgraded my stay to a premier suite (with a mini-refrigerator and air conditioner) without charge for the remainder of my two-week plus stay in London. The meals and dinners in London are not cheap for Americans. Nor are those provided by the hotel, though they are not very expensive by London standards. The service was fairly prompt and friendly, the quality of the food and beverage was good, and there was plenty of variety. Laundry services are available at the hotel but are quite expensive as well. Getting a taxi when it is raining can be difficult. The Hotel seems to try to accommodate, has a good reputation, and is usually very busy.

Nice hotel but rooms need updating bad...

Overall, I was happy with this hotel. When I first arrived I was surprised at how nice the lobby was and the staff was very friendly and helpful. At the time I was thinking that I got a great deal. But then when I got to my room I didn’t feel the same way. I had a room with a queen bed. The room was very small (which I guess is typical for Europe). There was one area for a suitcase behind the door, otherwise wherever you put your bag would block access to some part of the room. The carpet was badly worn and needed to be replaced along with the furniture and fixtures. The chair at the desk had sweat stains on the seat which made me want to lay a towel down to sit there. Otherwise everything was clean at least... it just didn’t look so clean because it was old and worn. The only other problem I had was that even though I was out each day I had left the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door everyday and each day except for one I returned to find that the maid had entered the room anyway. Basically, if you don’t mind a ’worn’ feel to the room it’s a great hotel for the price. It was clean and the staff was great. It’s a 5 minute walk to the underground and they have parking (but it’s 20 pounds a day). Personally, I wouldn’t mind staying there again but I’d check around to see what else was available at that price range too.

Traveler's tip for business travelers

It says that they have wireless internet but you do have to pay for it and it’s pricey... 10 pounds a day. And it’s a little annoying because it will drop out every once and a while and every time it does you have to wait 15 minutes before you can log back in.

Thistle Stay

We enjoyed the Thistle. It was a might small but had everything we needed. I would recommend it

Traveler's tip on local attractions

We highly recommend the Tower of London and Westminster Abbey, needed more time to really get the feel of the city.