Very good

Stayed at this hotel last weekend for one night on a "Theatre Break" with my 13 year old daughter. We loved the hotel, the room was superb - the bathroom was spotlessly clean. The whole hotel was immaculate and the staff were friendly. It was only 10 minutes from the tube and quite a nice walk! We loved it. Thinking about going back on another theatre break!

Typical British Chain Hotel

I stayed here in April 2004. Breakfast was included, but it wasn't particularly good. On one day I had to ask three times to get coffee, which arrived at the end of breakfast. The single room was noisy and too hot. If I opened the window, the traffic noise was too loud, if I closed the window the traffic noise was still too loud. In summary the best way to describe this place is a good 2* hotel with a few 4* facilities.

Be aware of the cheap price

My friend and I stayed at this hotel just few days ago. We got the cheap price from the internet which was £65 for one twin room. We thought it is a good price for a 4 star hotel, and booked it immediately. However, when we arrived there, they arranged us to an old building (there are two buildings in this hotel, one is new, but the other one is old) which has narrow corridor, no air-conditioning (in the internet, it said that this hotel has air-condioning), and unsatisfactory bath facilities in our room. From the room, you can hear the noise from the road very clearly, and as well as other people's speaking from other room. The main thing I cannot endure is that I found my bed was smelling which bothered me all night. I do not think it should be qualify as a 4 star hotel, especially for the old building (I think it is less than a 3 star hotel) Please be aware of the discount deal, because you may live in this old building.

Okay for One Night

I stayed here for one night in July 2003 because I found a very inexpensive rate online and it put me on the right side of town for a very early flight from Stanstead. The hotel was just okay. It's huge and the room was very small with a "view" of an airshaft. Nevertheless, the bathroom was a decent size and looked relatively new. Another plus was air conditioning. As other reviewers have pointed out, the location is not great. It's hard to reach by public transportation and it is near what looks like a large housing project. The Thistle City Barbican is fine for an overnight stay if you know what to expect. I wouldn't make it a base for an extended stay in London.

Awful

Stayed there for 3 nights in Novevember'2003, had to choose just because it was close to the place I had to be. Small dirty rooms, low celing as in the most of London hotels below 200 quit; bad location.

The only good thing was breakfast. Not recommended for its price !!!

Excellent

Just returned from a stay at the Thistle City Barbican (January 2004).

Rooms and public areas very clean and quiet. Not too far from the centre - only a ten minute walk to the Tube. Staff very pleasant and obliging. Great to have a pool and gym in a London hotel. Breakfast was superb - food to suit all tastes and plenty of it. Could not fault it.

Please be carefull on booking a room in this hotel

I found this hotel on the internet where they advertised as a 4star hotel with swimming pool and spa facilities. The deal seemed ok in comparison with what they offered: 80 pounds per night for a single room. Breakfast included. So I booked. Upon arrivel I discovered that they have a newer building and an older building. I got a room in the older building. The room was a very small room. Lots of noise in the corridors. There was not even a pen in the room (no kidding, and this is a 4 star hotel!!). They did have envelopes and letter paper ;-) But now comes the deception! On my arrivel card (the card where they typically put the magnetic doorkey in) a rate of 27 pounds per night was printed!! (without taxes) Although I paid for a room worth of 80 pounds per night (with taxes but that does not make up the difference).

Probably this represented 80 pounds was a good deal in the newer building) Complaints at the front desk did not result in any action whatsoever to correct this. First there was confusion and kind of a feeling of "...uhoh...that was not supposed to happen.." Then somebody else higher in rank just plainly said it was a administrative error and that they did not even have rates this low. Anyway I felt very much deceived and will never go to this hotel again. Furthermore I agree with the other review above: breakfast is not particularly good. The location of the hotel is not good either: it takes a 15 min walk to the nearest tube station, furthermore it is located in a residential area with no restaurants or pubs in the neighbourhood. It is located also more to the east of London..typically east areas of a major city are not that good. Next time I am in London I go back again to the west area. Try Earl's Court, got some good hotels there in the past. But I would skip this one for sure.

Great hotel, but a bit far away from the centre!

i stayed there in july and it was a pleasant, excellent stay. nice and new furnished hotel rooms, friendly staff and a breakfast for everyone´s taste (american and british food, but also continental stuff). the swimmingpool in the basement was quite a refreshment during this summer and excellent, too. the only sad thing about the hotel is the situation in eastern london. the nearest tube stations are about 15-20 minutes by feet away, the next bus stop about 10 minutes. there aren´t any restaurants or shops near the hotel, in all its a kind of poor residence area. but as you´re in the city centre all day long, you won´t mind coming home to a quiet area in the evening.

Fine hotel

Nice and helpful staff, clean, nice facilities (gim, swimming pool, ect) and fine breakfast!. It wasn't noisy at night (at least in my case). I didn't like the zone very much and it was a bit far away from the nearest tube station.

Proceed with caution

I stayed here with my husband and two friends in 1996. It was part of a British Airways package. It was just okay -- the location was very remote -- it was a long walk to the Tube and there weren't a lot of restaurants or stores nearby. There was a long wait to check in -- which is exhausting after an all-night flight. The rooms were small and a bit like dorm rooms. Breakfast was included, but it wasn't particularly good. The hotel was filled with tour groups, and extremely noisy. I had trouble sleeping because of the noise of teenagers running up and down the halls all night long.