JamilaZ

I am an American who stays at Hilton and Marriots in the US. I have read a lot about people having satisfactory stays at Thistle hotels in London, however do not know where these people ususally stay in the US. Can anyone tell me feedback on Thistle Kensington Gardens or Kensington Palace hotels? Or other Thistle hotels which are in a good areas and close to tube stops? Are the beds comfy? Are the walls thin so that you hear noise from next door? Are the rooms dingy? Would this hotel chain be equivalent to Marriott Residence Inns, Holiday Inns or Comfort Inns in the US? I recently saw a rate of 43 pounds including VAT on the Thistle website for the Kensington Gardens hotel. I'm weary. Please advise. I'm looking for a good place for May 10-17th! I stayed at Hilton Metropole and paid 99 pounds per night and wonder if I should continue paying that high of a rate!

ron

I stayed at the Thistle Kensington Gardens last fall. I think it would be one category down from the Hilton &amp; Marriott, more or less equivalent to the Quality brand in the Choice Hotels range and the Holiday Inn brand in the Six Continents family (I would put their Crowne Plaza in the Hilton/Marriott category.) In answer to your specific questions, the hotel was full but I heard no noise from adjacent rooms or hallways, the bed was ok, the room was smaller than one would expect to get in North America, but not dingy. Breakfast was above average, if that is included in your price. Good plumbing.<BR><BR>The Kensington Gardens is one of three Thistle hotels in a 2 block stretch of Bayswater Road. It is in an ugly 1950's style building; the other two are more upmarket and expensive, but in historic buildings.

kitty

We stayed at the Thistle Marble Arch and our rooms were comparable to a nice Hyatt in the US. We had reserved an executive level quad but received two adjacent rooms when we checked in because they had no quads available. I don't know what level we ended up with but the rooms were very, very nice. One room had a king bed and the other had two twins. The bathrooms had heated towel racks and were American standard in size and niceness. There was a speaker for the tv in the bathroom so you could hear the tv while bathing, etc. The rooms were quite large, very quiet, and had all amenities you typically see in nice US hotels. I've stayed in many nice hotels in the U.S. and would put the rooms at the Thistle Marble Arch in the upper section. Again, I think we ended up with their top or next to top level rooms so I don't know what run of house/standard would be like. The location was fine - right across from hyde park and very close to a tube station.

Deborah

I just answered your other post. I stayed at the Thistle Kensington Palace and it was a nice hotel. I also stayed at the Holiday Inn in Kings Cross and that was nice too and probably cheaper than Thistle Hotels. I also saw a Country Inn &amp; Suites on Expedia today in London. They might be worth a try if you are on a budget.

lynfin62

My husband and I stayed at the Thistle Kensington Place from March 30-April 2, as part of a British Airways package. Teh room was offered &quot;run of the house.&quot;<BR><BR>Although the hotel is rated as a four-star, please be aware that the rating system differs outside the US. Our room was comparable to an average Best Western. And rates are advertised as per person, double occuppancy (not per room.)<BR><BR>Our room was tidy and quiet; probably because the occupancy rate was low. The twin beds were comfortable, although the bedspreads were faded from the sun. The walls had peeling, water-stained wallpaper, but we spent most of our time visiting attractions, not staying in and staring at the walls, so it was no big deal.<BR><BR>The bathtub was deep, but not wide, the perfect size for one (short) person to soak. <BR><BR>There was no bathroom light switch; you had to pull a string hanging from the ceiling. (Not fun when you're groggy in the middle of the night.) But there was an ample supply of toiletries like soap and shampoo, and housekeeping was diligent.<BR><BR>The hotel staff was courteous and professional, and you can exchange currency at the front desk.<BR><BR>The adjoining restaurant (Fox and Hendersons?) rarely opened on schedule. (Keep this in mind if you have a morning flight home and want breakfast first.) And it helps to be a Billy Joel fan: the automatic player piano played nothing else during our stay.<BR><BR>With this hotel, you're definitely paying for location. The High St. Kensington Tube stop is a few blocks away, Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park are right across the street, and three museums (The Victoria and Albert Museum, the Natural History Museum, and the Science Museum) are within walking distance on Exhibition Road, with free admission!)

SB_Travlr

I stayed at the Thistle Kensington Palace on Monday night (4/7) -- a freebie, part of the BA promotion. For the price I paid (!) it was a good deal. Nice location for Kensington High Streee, the Gardens, Kens. Palace. <BR><BR>Like the previous poster, I found the hotel a bit tatty round the edges and in need of renovation. More Best Western than Marriott or Hilton. Staff were pleasant, the room clean and just adequate, and I loved the big bathtub. Breakfast was very average (but since it was also free, I had no complaints.)<BR><BR>We prefer the Millenium Baileys where we have stayed a few times -- a can't beat location for convenience, just steps from Gloucester Rd tube station. We got good rates from londontown.com: breakfast was not included, but there is coffee shop and Waitrose supermarket right there, so no problem.