Thistle City Barbican - London, United Kingdom 

Having read all the previous reviews regarding this hotel we were less than happy about staying here. We booked a weekend break through Superbreaks and flew with Ryanair to Stansted. Our travel arrangements went very well and when we arrived at the hotel about 10am we were advised that our room wasn't ready, but we didn't expect it to be. We left our cases with the Concierge and went for a walk. When we returned about 11.30 we were informed that our room was ready. This was a bonus as we thought we would have to wait until 2pm. The reception staff were very friendly and helpful, as was the Concierge. Our room was in the second building and yes, the room was quite small, but clean, as was the bathroom and the fresh towels daily were soft and large. The bed was comfortable with lovely clean cotton white sheets and duvet cover. The free standing fan was good, efficient and kept the room at a pleasant temperature.Our objective was to see as much of London in the time we had, so spending a long time in the room wasn't an option. Breakfasts were very good and there was plenty to choose from....we did eat just after 0800 each morning, and the food was replenished regularly and was hot. We were out of the hotel all day and only returned to shower and change for dinner. We ate in the Fish Central restaurant across the road from the hotel and was a most enjoyable experience...good food, reasonably priced as was the wine and the service efficient and friendly. This place closes on Sunday and we would advise booking a table as it is a popular eating place. It is not pretentious and doesn't have table cloths, but the food is good ! We ate in the hotel on Sunday night and were quite impressed with what we chose. This is rated as a 3 star by Superbreaks and is above average for a 3 star establishment, especially for the price we paid for a London hotel ! We did not use the pool but went to see it and it appeared clean and a reasonable size. The staff here were also very helpful and had we had more time would have used it. The area around the hotel is not quite the ghetto area we were expecting and we walked everywhere during our stay and did not feel threatened at all. We didn't venture away at night, so perhaps in the dark late hours it is a different story, we cannot comment. We were pleasantly surprised with this hotel and would offer the opinion that if you are expecting an inner London 5 star delux hotel, go else where. For what we paid, along with the cleanliness, friendliness and helpfulness of staff, we cannot fault it and would recommend it to those who are not averse to walking. The bar prices are quite high and a service charge is added to the drinks bill, but it is London and drinking in the bar is not compulsory ! We were quite impressed with this hotel, especially after all the adverse comments written by previous guests. The room could be updated, but it was clean and sufficient for our needs.

I was really nervous about staying here after reading the reviews- booked the hotel through chillisauce.co.uk for 10 girls for a hen weekend. However, for what we wanted-which was a hotel with a pool+sauna etc and a base for the weekend-it was great. The rooms varied in size- some were tiny but ours was fine- large enough to fit 10 girls in for pre-night out drinks! The rooms were all clean but a bit worn round the edges. We had tea+coffee making facilities. The breakfast service was hopeless-really really disorganised- but we did go down at 10am and they were rushed off their feet. The hen night parties (at least 6 different groups) were ushered into a different room for breakfast- presumably as so not to offend the other guests!! We had a late night meal (went down at 10pm) on the friday night in the really nice bar at the back- the staff were superb- nothing was too much trouble. We used the pool on the Sunday morning- again the staff were fab, although one of the girls said that a member of staff had been rude to her on the Saturday morning. The pool was mid-size- looked clean enough- a sauna, steam room and jacuzzi .The downside is the distance to the tube stations-Old Street is the closest, but still a good 10-15 minute walk. We ended up getting cabs everywhere because there was so many of us- cost us ?12 from Paddington Station, and about ?20 from Piccadilly Circus at 3am on Sunday morning. I do think if I'd come here with my husband, I would have been disappointed-it wasn't the plushest of hotels, and some of the rooms were really small. I'd agree that it is nowhere near 4 star, but really not as bad as some of the reviews posted here.