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Well any advise...the London Bridge Hotel or the London Thistle Tower..for a family of first timers...mom dad and three adult children..thanks
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Well - for a first time family visit I really would not recommend either of those hotels. If they are you only two options, then the Tower Thistle would be the better choice.
Nothing wrong w/ the Tower Thistle - and it has great views. But it is in the far east end of central London so, except for the Tower of London/Tower Bridge and the river, it is a very long way from any tourist attractions/sites.
For instance - if you wanted to quickly stop back at the hotel to freshen up before heading out to the theatre - can't really be done. Or if you do a lot of shopping and want to drop it in the room before heading out for more sightseeing - it will involve a long tube trip or a VERY expensive cab ride.
For a first visit I'd look someplace more central such as South Kensington, the Strand, Mayfair, Covent Garden, etc . . . .
I also think there are better areas to stay for a first time trip to London. There's nothing bad in terms of safety with either of the locations you are looking at, they are just not near where you will want to spend much of your time.
I actually prefer the location of the London Bridge Hotel to the Thistle Tower. You would be very near London Bridge Rail station (which has a bus station outside) and London Bridge underground (Tube) station, both which will provide useful connections for you. There are a lot of things you may want to see along the south bank of the river from London Bridge towards Westminster and you can easily walk to the Tower of London from London Bridge across London Bridge or Tower Bridge.
I have not stayed in either hotel but I did have a nice lunch at the London Bridge Hotel's Malaysian restaurant recently.
I agree w/ Where2Travel that the London Bridge Hotel is convenient to the tube/main line stations. My point really was that IF you were going to stay that far out east - then having a glorious view of the river and Tower Bridge out you window would at least help a little.
I have stayed at the Tower Thistle (years ago) and have stopped there several times, for drinks before the Ceremony of the Keys or to pick up friends who were staying there, or my way to St Katherines Dock. The views from just about every room are amazing. But still not worth the inconvenient location.
Here is another vote for neither. We have visited London many times and stayed in several different locations and trust me .. location matters! The Tower Thistle is a nice hotel, we stayed in an apartment adjacent to it at St. Katharine's Docks/Marina. The Marina is lovely and we enjoyed it, but we did not enjoy the long walk to the Tower Hill tube. Coming "home" in the middle of the day to drop things off or to get freshened up to go out someplace else was a real chore as the trip back and forth ate up alot of time. Again, we did love the Marina but aside from the Tower of London there is not much that tourists normally go to out there for. As for London Bridge location, I'd still go with a more "central" (i.e. for tourist activities) location. Bear in mind no hotel is exactly close to all activities/sites, but aside from Tower I do not think you would be doing much out at Tower Hotel. If you do decide to stay there it is nice to walk across the river to the shops and restuarants on the other side, but that is something tourists generally don't do for a first visit.