Thistle Kensington Gardens Reviews

I was in a top floor room. Whilst the room itself was fine (although no remote for the TV) the noise levels were unacceptable. I can only assume that there are air con units or something similar on the roof?

Hotel is in a great location with a number of bus and tube routes and stations nearby. Queensway area is good for food and the park is across the road which is great for walking or strolling.
Food in the restaurant in the hotel could do with a bit more quality and bit more imagination for the price.

Although I stayed in a basic room which was small but adequate it was spotlessly clean.The staff were friendly and very,very, helpful.I have stayed in cheaper hotels in this area on many occassions but a £20 saving always seems false economy when you see what you get.

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Hotel very clean & comfortable, though rooms a bit on the small side when staying for 3 nights. Excellent central location and Waitrose store very close, handy for purchasing family food snacks. We stayed in the standard rooms, which were at the rear of the hotel, making them particularly quiet from London road noise. All staff very friendly and helpful. Would definately stay again.

Great price, and then an upgrade on arrival - very comfortable. Will search this Hotel next time to see if I get a similar deal - I doubt it.

Basically good experience
the lifts were incredibly slow - quicker to climb the stairs
Internet Wifi - they have BT Broadband Open service - which costs you nothing if you are a BT customer

Very welcoming staff, clean comfortable room, great location.

Staff were very friendly. We were celebrating my daughters 21st birthday, the reception staff upgraded her room and sent a bottle of champange on ice .A wonderful suprise . which made the stay even more special.

I have no complaints with this hotel. It seemed to be recently refurbished as I could smell a hint of gloss paint in my upgraded park view room. Staff were very helpful and polite. Room was on a decent size and v.clean.
Bathroom had a large walkin shower and no bath which I prefer.
Location ideal for Hyde park and the tube.
Breakfast was reasonable at 10 pounds for as much as u like from a large selection hot or cold with freshly fried eggs to your liking.
Tv wasn't the best quality or picture Nd a little

What a great hotel this is .the staff were excellent and the rooms were spotless.
food was very good and the rain showers were fab

Really clean hotel. Would stay again without fail

Bathrooms were not cleaned properly. reception staff was excellent in handling the situation

We stayed at the Thistle Hotel near Kensington after a day of sight seeing in London. We were flying out from Heathrow the next day, so the location was perfect - 20 minutes from the airport, and a stone's throw from the nearest tube station for access to the city centre. Also Kensington park (which is literally across the road from the hotel), is beautiful, and there are some great restaurants within walking distance.
The staff were friendly and helpful (and even threw in a complimentary bottle of wine). The room was clean, quite small but well put-together and had a good shower. Also took advantage of the onsite parking - pretty good value for London, and minimum hassle.
Overall, great value if you want a base to explore London from.

Staff very friendly and attentive, hotel location ideal, near Queensway tube station(out onto Bayswater Rd, turn left 4 minute walk).
London tour buses stop directly outside the hotel
Room 5th floor overlooking Hyde Park. Kingsize bed, provided us with one of the best nights sleep we have had in a hotel recently.
We will definitely use this hotel when staying in London again.

This hotel is brill.. The location is brilliant with easy access to Central London but theres not a lot of traffic and congestion outside the hotel the tube station is literally a 3 minute walk away also theres a petrol station nearby and plenty of places to eat without going to far. The rooms were lovely and for once they were Exactly how they were pictured!! The rooms are very clean lovely decor had air con and temperature control which is good plenty of towels and storage space which is good! The hotel is
A little gem and i will be staying there again also for anyone touring
london the hotel is literally facing Kensington Palace and Hyde Park which is absolutly lovely

Handy parking with fair rates for the location. Room was clean and spacious. Views over Hyde Park were lovely, nice walk over there too. (We had the exec room.) Breakfast was really good, but the meal we had in the evening was not up to much and the waitress got our friends order wrong. The staff were helpful and provided a cot even though we had not requested it.

Had a mid-Christmas break. Arrived about 10.30 and despite being told check in was 2pm they had a room ready for us which was good. The room was small but had all the facilities we required and everything was in it's place. Reception staff were good and efficient both on arrival and departure. I do have a general gripe though and that is with parking charges by hotels. If they offer parking then that should be covered by the nightly hotel charge. We had to pay £25 for 24 hours in the hotel car park. Then £5 for another three hours and then £16 extra for three to 12 hours if required. If we had to chosen to stay a minute over three extra hours then the £16 charge would have kicked in which in my opinion is daylight robbery. That gripe aside it was a great stay.

Excellent Value for Money

The room was finished to the highest quality, as was the bathroom. Everything seemed brand new, very clean and cosy. We booked a standard double. The only negative was the room size, there wasn't an awful lot of space after the bed and furniture. Absolutely fine for a weekend stay though. Restaurant was good too, only had a quick snack but was tasty with good service.

Nice hotel and close from hyde park and royal albert hall. The room was small but clean.

Nice hotel conveneintly situated for tube stations and within walking distance to Notting Hill and Oxford Street. Good, polite service - and good food.

Hotel was very modern in style and decor from entrance-hall, reception, bar to room. Very clean. Tastefully decorated, nice colours. Room quite small but for a central London location that is to be expected. Large flat-screen TV, modern facilities - kettle etc. Iron & board in room which was very handy. Ability to change room-temperature/ air-conditioning which was good. Shower was amazing - large cubicle with high-pressure overhead and separate hose, very clean and modern. Staff helpful, the concierge was very polite. We didn't eat breakfast in as there are some very cheap breakfast options nearby as well as a small quality supermarket tin the petrol-station beneath the hotel for everything you might need for a continental breakfast.
Fantastic central location very close to 2 tube-stations. Right opposite Kensington Gardens which is a lovely walk into Hyde Park/ Kensington/ Knightsbridge. Lots of restaurants, cafes, shops and pubs nearby for breakfast, evening meals, souvenirs and snacks.
Few criticisms are as follows:- when booking, we had requested a room overlooking the park and phoned up the hotel to check if it was indeed possible. After giving my booking-details we were told rooms were allocated first come first served, so we would find out on arrival. However upon arrival we were told it was not possible as the park-facing rooms were executive whereas we had booked standard - they should have advised us of this on the phone.
There was not much sugar and milk provided compared to the amount of tea and coffee, so we could only have one hot drink a day each.
Although it was very quiet in the room - no traffic-noise - doors of other rooms were quite noisy.

After a lot of deliberation about which hotel to book I took the plunge and booked the Thistle Kensington Gardens on the internet. We were pleasantly surprised with this hotel. All of the staff were friendly and courteous. The room was modern and very clean and very handy for the Underground links. We asked if we could leave our bags because we were not leaving until 5.pm and wanted to get the most from our last day, the concierge was only too pleased to help and there was no charge. I would definitely recommend this hotel.

The website stated smoking rooms were available which turned out not to be the case.

This is a pleasant hotel on the edge of Kensington Park and close to Queensway which has a bustling night life iwth lots of restaurants. Staff were very attentive and helpful especially the concierge service. Rooms are clean with well appointed bathrooms. The only criticism is that they are a bit small as are the length of the beds for someone 6 foot plus. Breakfast was very good and well cooked.

The hotel is in a very nice location for visiting London centre .... The rooms are newly refurbished and smart ( If a little small in size ) The breakfast is very good and all the staff are polite.

Was allocated room 206 but was not informed that roof top air conditioning equipment was situated immediately outside room window - I consider that we should have been informed. Constant noise to contend with - Hotel informed on their survey.

Lovely comfortable a real pleasure to stay there The staff very friendly and a great location. really loved the walk in shower idea .Will defo book here again .

Couldn't fault this hotel. Newly refurbished and immaculate. We used the room for a leisure and theatre trip. Very clean, spacious, comfortable bed, air conditioned, quiet.
The reception staff were very helpful and friendly. I would without doubt stay again if i found the room at a reasonable date. Didn't book for breakfast but the hotel is easily located for coffee shops and cafes and is perfectly placed for a morning run in the park if desired.

The hotel, room, staff and food were all first class and we were very comfortable. The only complaint I have is over the use of the computer in Reception. There was a charge just to access the internet and Google, I only wanted to do a simple search but was not prepared to pay over the odds for this facility.I feel that the price I paid to stay for 3 nights would warrant a limited period of free sufing.

Very friendly breakfast staff..Value would have been higher rated if b/fast had been included.

I can wholeheartedly recommend this hotel. We booked a standard room, but were upgraded to an executive double when I rang to ask about bringing my young child. The lead staff (Allal and Miranda) were both very helpful, kind and friendly. Our room was lovely with views over Kensington gardens and the london skyline. I cannot say strongly enough how impressed I was by the way we were treated. My daughter was given little gifts and made to feel very welcome and everyone - especially Miranda - went out of their way to make sure everything was well. Brilliant. Thank you.

Unassuming on the outside, but nice inside. Staff pleasant and helpful. Furniture, bathroom, TV etc. in excellent condition. Excellent location, opposite Hyde Park. Short stroll through the park to Science Museum, V&A Museum etc. Close to underground. Cooked breakfast was good, continental options were a bit boring... We'd happily stay there again.

I have no complaints - the room was small (it was a double but would have been a squeeze for 2) but I really only slept in it so it didnt matter to me. It was clean, the staff were very helpful, the bar was nice (but expensive!!) and the breakfast was really good, hot fresh coffee, eggs fried for you fresh on the spot should you so desire, ditto toast, extensive buffet. All in all I would use them again. You should know that It is above a shell petrol station...which was slightly disappointing after walking past the Thistle Hyde Park 100 metres before which is -by contrast - very beautiful... but I would definietly not mind using this one again if I was in town for work.

Those who cleaned the room ignored the do not disturb signs and kept coming in at 9 am

Arrived at the hotel, we were told we had a king size bed. Upon entering the room, we found it was not a king size bed, but two single beds joined together - not good for a couple. When staff were informed, they said that is what they usually do. Apart from that, a very relaxing room with a view of Hyde Park from the window. Many restaurants and cafes in the area. Breakfast was a mixed experience. Good food, spoiled by a hair being found in the food. However staff acted promptly and provided new plate almost immediately. Overall, would give this hotel a positive review.

A good location for central London and the west end. The room was exactly what you'd expect - not quite big enough for the furniture that it contained, but clean and had everything you needed. Not sure why they insist on them being so dark - the fold out ironing board was really useful except that there was no light near it! The dining room is bright with good view over Hyde Park, so why scrimp at breakfast with such thin bread for toasting and only half-cooked sasusages...? I'd stay there again as it represented pretty good value for ,money for London.

Modern clean and well appointed hotel. Looks like it has recently undergone a major refurbishment. Hotel and rooms nicely decorated although rooms on the small side, but normal for London. Breakfast at £16.00 seemed alittle steep but again not unusual for London. Good value for money at lateroom rates.

The start of the journey:
We arrived at the hotel 30 minutes before the check in. We couldn't go to the allocated room at 8th floor as it was being cleaned. We decided to wait at the restaurant and try some snacks. The food was really good, although a bit expensive. But it was worth it. Drinks are expensive as well and in this case, they are not worth it.
After 1 hour, we went back to get the room keys when we were informed were were allocated another room in the 4th floor. I specifically asked a room in the higher floors as I wanted to enjoy Hyde Park view. After some conversation, we were offered a room 'upgrade' and stayed in the 5th floor with the view of old block of flats (no chance of Hyde Park view there).
The room:
The room was very small and had an old bathroom with a two beds put together (we booked a room with only one bed, not two). The shower was excellent due to the pressure of the water, but we had no chance to have a relaxing bath as the bath was too old, small and really uncomfortable. The hotel offered two bathrobes, but they had yellow stains on the sleeves. They said we could buy them for £35/each if we wanted to take them home. They changed the towels daily, but not the bathrobes. There was no place to dry the bathrobes. As a result we wouldn't wear wet bathrobes after a hot shower (no idea why they didn't do this) and we had to keep the window opened because of the smell in the room, despite of the noise coming from the road traffic.
The iron and heating system didn't work in the room. We tried it as we needed them. There was no fridge in the room, just a kettle and a couple of cups and glasses. Oh, I believe we were offered a bottle of still and a bottle of sparkling water for free ( I believe this is the upgrade they were talking about). The staff of hotel was friendly though.
A bit about breakfast:
The breakfast was ok, but there was too many people at the same time in the restaurant. At the first morning I ordered an omellete, which never came. I waited for 1 hour and constantly asked the staff about it, without any success. I had to leave the hotel and go to work without the omellete. I wanted to order the breakfast to be taken to the room, but I would have to pay £5 per each tray in the room (£10 extra for that as there were two people in the room. Notice the breakfast in not included. We were already paying £20 for breakfast while the cafe close to the hotel charges £5 ).
After getting back from work:
We arrived back to hotel extremely tired about 3pm and we couldn't relax or hardly speak with each other as there was a horrible noise of people using drills in the wall in which the head of the bed was, outside of the room. We certainly we didn't expect or wanted this. I guess it was part of the 'upgrade'. As a result we had to leave the hotel and return at late evening when we would be able to sleep. This was extremely tiring. Everyone deserves a rest after a stressed day of work.
These were the drawbacks.
The advantages:
I should highlight the fact the staff was friendly and a good thing is that they kept our suitcases for some hours, which enabled us to check out and pick them up later.
Summary of Thistle experience:
If it wasn't for all the things I mentioned above, Thistle experience would have been fantastic.