Just back from London- stayed one night at this hotel under deal with BA. Long walk from the Tube, very poor room, stifling. Was lucky to get a fan. Felt like a fire trap. Couldn't wait to get out of there!!. The next two nights (paid by me) were wonderful at the thistle Bloomsbury. Much better neighborhood, near the Tube, and the British Museum.

Just returned from England and stayed two nights at the Thistle in Brighton and it was the BIGGEST DUMP I've ever stayed in and 160 pounds per night. I wondered if all the Thistle are this bad.

No, not all Thistles are bad. We stayed at the Thistle Euston with American Airlines deal at Thanksgiving and were very pleased with everything. It was right across the street from the tube station.

I agree with Marty that not all Thistles are bad. We stayed at the Thistle Victoria as part of an American Airlines package and we really enjoyed our stay there. We had a large room and very large bathroom area.

I can also recommend the Tower Thistle -at Tower Bridge - excellent hotel, with wonderful outlook on the river from the rooms at the front - or the very attractive St.Katherine's Dock at the side.

We had a bad room at the Thistle Victoria! Bed so soft is sunk to the floor when sitting on the edge, high window so couldn't see out, very hot room (in March!), 5th floor?......I am almost certain many of the other rooms in the hotel are fine and there IS a new section of "modern" rooms, but a LONG way from the elevator and I had a bad knee. The Location of this hotel is excellent however , right at/over Victoria train station, and across the street from where MOST of the London busses stop.

I have stayed at a couple of Thistles in London - Kensington Gardens and Euston, the latter twice. Both were good value hotels, clean, reasonably comfortable, above (London) average breakfast.

This is the 4th or 5th time that sharonkaye has expressed her displeasure with her stay at the Thistle Brighton. In one of her postings, she mentioned she was expecting a 5 star hotel. Since Thistle hotels are, at best 4 star, and perhaps high 3 star, her high expectations may be, in part, colouring her views.

Our Thistle Victoria room was so bad last visit that we walked into the room, turned around, went to manager and asked him to return to room with us so we could show him bedspread with cig holes, etc. He said he would find us something better. Amazingly, we got a nicer room. So complain politely and maybe you'l be heard.

We stayed at the Thistle Euston over Thanksgiving also. Having visited London many times and stayed in a variety of hotels, B&Bs, and flats - we appreciated the value, comfort, and price. The room was large. Breakfast was delivered every morning. The ironing board was a nice touch. The location was quite convenient. If we can get the round trip airfare and hotel for $400 each (or less) this winter, we will return a couple of times.

I stayed at the Selfridge Hotel on Orchard St (Oxford St) near the bond St tube stop. It's a Thistle hotel and it's very lovely. We stayed there as part of a BA deal in 2000.
Although it's good to hear other people's views about other Thistles. Sometimes you have to complain politely as was suggested if the room isn't to your standards.

What I've noticed is that if you come in on a deal through an airline or say with priceline.com, you will generally not be given the same standard of room you would if you paid full price.
Example: a friend and I were both going to be in NYC so she booked a hotel through priceline.com, and then told me which hotel she was at. I called the hotel and couldn't get the same price she got through priceline and paid about 30 more per night. But when we got there, our rooms were vastly different, hers was inside, facing the loud airconditioning ducts, and the bathroom light didn't work. Mine was facing central park and was perfectly nice...

We stayed at Thistle Kensington Palace two weeks ago through a deal with United Airlines and Go-Today. The best thing I can say is that the price was right. On the negative side, it is a long walk (about 10 blocks) from the nearest tube stop, High Street Kensington. And rooms vary GREATLY. I emailed the hotel prior to our arrival, requesting a nonsmoking room with a view of the park. I also requested that my friends, who we were travelling with, be placed in a room adjacent or near us. When we arrived at the hotel about 1pm, we were told rooms were not available yet (not surprising) but we could check luggage. My friends checked in first and were told that they had been upgraded to a premium room - great! My husband and I checked in and were told nothing. Oh well. When we returned about 7pm, we were given a large nonsmoking room with a double bed, a nice view of the park and a large bathroom. Our friends were given a SMALL room two floors down, reeking of smoke and with beds unmade. When he complained, they were moved to a room on our floor which was clean but still very small and with a view of the walls of the other wing of the hotel. Interesting, hmmm?