Thistle Kensington Gardens

Good headquarters for a stay in central London. We’ll go back.

Great central location; close to bus and tube lines. Not a fancy hotel, but OK for the money.

Traveler's tip on saving a few bucks

walk around to Queensway to get inexpensive meals; also to find take out food; especially at 2 different grocery delis close to Bayswater.

Clean hotel, great value

We stayed here for 8 nights. The hotel staff was friendly (we mostly dealt with the concierge), our room was clean, the bed was made up every day, fresh towels every day, had a hair dryer, safe, flat screen tv, and a towel warming bar. It is very close to the Queensway tube station and bus stops that take you direct to Oxford Circus, Westminster, and Piccadilly Circus. We were only at the hotel to sleep basically, and the bed in our room was very comfortable. The pillows were a little flat for my personal taste, but two pillows together were just right. The room and bathroom are small, but that is common and to be expected. We had several pieces of luggage and were able to stow them in the closet and out of the way to have full function of the room. Being across from the park was very nice as our travelcard was not good on the day we arrived, so we spent the afternoon and evening exploring the park and all of its sites.

Traveler's tip on saving a few bucks

Buy the London Pass with Travelcard - it made it so much easier to get around because they will mail it to your house so you don’t have to wait in the lines to get your transportation cards. You also get to skip the ticket line in many tourist attractions with the card.

Great for the price and location

This hotel was comfy, clean, and had more amenities than I was expecting (hair dryer, safe, shampoos, etc.) so for the price I paid and the wonderful location (right next to Hyde Park and a Tube Station), I was very happy. The thing I was NOT happy with was the staff. They were not accomodating, never knew the answers to my questions, wouldn’t let me use the phone after I had checked out of my room, and didn’t have the simplest of things like a pen. It was like they didn’t care whether or not I had everything I needed. The other couple with my husband and myself even had the do not disturb sign on but the cleaning staff knocked on the door almost every day!!

Traveler's tip

The tube was seconds away from the hotel along with an internet cafe. Both came in very handy for everything we needed. For the Tube, definitely get an oyster card, you can load it up anytime you need to. For the internet cafe, you get 75 minutes for 1.50 pounds, so it is definitely worth it compared to others we saw in the city.

Good value for the location

The room is small as compared to the US hotel but is acceptable. The bathroom is quite clean and not too small. The location is perfect, close to shopping and dining. Kessington garden is across from the street and our room has a beautiful of it.

Traveler's tip on dining

There is a chinese restaurant close to baywater station ( a short walk from the hotel) on queensway, the food is delicious and the price is very reasonable. There is also a pizza place around the corner, very good in price.

Small Room, Decent Location

I’ve stayed in three Thistle hotels, and while this one had pretty rooms, they were small. The views from the room were beautiful, overlooking Hyde Park, and it was close to the Queensway tube station. For a first time visitor to the city, its a little out of the way of all the touristy stuff. I do think that it was a little overpriced for the size of the room and the bathrooms, but if you’re looking for a clean, nice hotel in a pretty location, it’s a good choice.

Good value!

I booked 3 rooms for a family vacation during Christmas season. Two rooms had great views of park. The room sizes were good, and rooms clean. Only negatives were that we didnt always receive our wake-up calls and the televisions in all the rooms seem to have a life of their own---turning on and off at will. The location was great, near tube stops and few pubs and Hyde Park area.

Located near Paddington Station, convenient for reaching airport. Call for a taxi yourself. If hotel arranges ride then it will be a private car and you will be charged more!!!!

Great time

Good location. Two blocks from Tube, plus Paddington Station is within 5-6 blocks. Across from beautiful Kensington Park. Comfortable beds and a great shower. We would consider staying there on the next trip.

Traveler's tip on getting the most out of your stay

Buy the London Pass with travel.

Will use this hotel again

Nice hotel, the room is not big, but very comfortable. The best thing is the location of this hotel, facing Kensington Garden, green view. Very close to the subway station and a lot of restaurants and cafes. The area is also safe. The only drawback is part of the first floor is a gas station and convenient shop, the receiption area is on the second floor.

Traveler's tip on shopping

Most of the stores closes on 8:00 pm, except on Thursday, on 9:00 pm. So plan your shopping according to the store time and eat dinner later.

comfortable and convenient

Nice hotel for a decent price for London. Decent bed but not great and in-room internet is pretty pricey. Conviently located to the circle route underground and bus stops for city and tour buses.