Unreliability - unlike British

A list of complaints was given by us for three double rooms that we occupied between 18 Feb and 24 Feb 2004. The duty office of the day as well the day time guest relations Officer promised to give us a rebate for one day (21-Feb) for all these rooms and promised that the issue will be settled within 2 days. It is now 15 days and there is still not any correspondence on this matter.

We belived the hotel staff, never expected this backing out by an English hotel in the centre of London.

If you expect something normal, you are in for a shock

Warning: This hotel may be harmful to your vacation!

Lines everywhere: elevators, breakfast room, concierge desk. Only four elevators for 680 rooms -- and one did not work. Escalator broken, no coffee in the entire hotel for two days (they said the machine was broken). Internet access down for two days. Most of staff is detached, cold, rude and disinterested in the guests. This dreary place has seen its better days and is in disrepair. Do yourself a favor and avoid this hotel (did I mention the large groups of high school students who stay there?). The location is great but the hotel was a terrible experience.

Fantastic location and bath

I was thrilled with our stay at the Thistle. Our room was spacious and comfortable. The staff couldn't have been more helpful and the location was ideal. The best part of the room was the bath, with its marble fixtures and television speaker. Do have a drink in the Glen Miller bar and pretend you are back in the '40's listening to a big band. The breakfast buffet was not included with our room, and I thought the full English breakfast was a bit pricey for what you got.

Great Location!

My husband and I just returned (October 2003)from 8 nights at the

Thistle Marble Arch: talk about a great location! The entrance is on

Bryanston which allowed the hotel to be quiet but the tube station and

the bus stops were right there for every direction! Restaurants and

pubs were plentiful (James St just off of Oxford had a number of

choices), the hop on, hop off bus stopped right there as well as the

Original Tour, and Golden Tours used the Marble Arch as one of their

dropoffs. Continental breakfast was included: plain yogurt, cottage

cheese, soft cheese, rolls and croissants, fresh fruit and juices,

coffee and tea, cereals, ham and cheese. This did not vary much but was

a decent selection. Several large department stores were nearby as well

as numerous other stores. Oxford Street was very hustle and bustle

which made for an interesting walk.

Yes, the beds were hard and the pillows lumpy but we suspect that we are applying American standards to a European product. It was clean, safe, had plenty of hot water, included coffee/tea makings in the room and offered concierge service (reconfirmed reservations, offered valid suggestions, and for the most part were very friendly and helpful).

We did purchase a 3-day London Pass along with the travel card: it was great! It allowed us free admission to over 60 attractions: attractions which we actually planned to visit. The travel card allowed us access to all tubes and busses including the train out to Windsor Castle (zones 1-6). The tube was much faster but didn't allow you to view the city like the busses. The only drawback is that unless you purchase the insurance, they are non refundable!

However, a single day pass for the busses was only 2 pounds and allowed you to use all busses.

One other interesting note: you need to request your check when dining out. They will clean the table and wait until you request the bill (unlike here where they bring it shortly after you finish). We waited 30 minutes before we asked and didn't understand what had happened until it occurred a second time and we asked the maitre d' to explain the custom.

It was a wonderful trip with the location of the Thistle Marble Arch an important part of the equation.

The best location, in Oxford Street

We stayed in this Hotel for the second time even though it's not the best bed, it's very well located, and preety big room and with lots of comodities for being in Europe.

I would go back to it.

Not recommended

We stayed here for a week in April 2003. There were 6 of us, in three rooms. The rooms themselves were spacious and clean. The problem was the breakfast buffet, included in our room rate. While the food itself was delicious, the service was terrible. In the end, we gave up trying to get the attention of a waiter and just poured our own coffee from the waiters' station. Even worse, the silverware and dishes were dirty.

Not a little dirty, but really dirty, as in you can tell from 6 feet away. We had to put aside 10 plates before we found a clean one, and we are not especially picky. The other guests were doing the same thing.

In addition, most of the time, the table itself had been given such a cursory swipe clean that I found it disgusting to eat off of. Being familiar with the waiters' station (see above), we borrowed a rag and wiped down the table ourselves before eating. I would never stay there again.

Definitely not a 4-star

I chose this hotel because Expedia gave it a 4-star rating. I thought it would be comparable to a US 4-star hotel. Very convenient to everything. Seems to be a conference hotel and picture on the web site is very deceiving. The rooms are very cheaply furnished. The bedspread, once turned over, was filthy with stains (I dare not suggest what it possibly could be). The bathroom still had hair on the floor and in the tub from the previous guest. The TV did not work. One had to use the remnants of the toilet paper from the past guests. I could neither find the "fine" stationery nor a pen to take an incorrect message from their operator. Just getting the name and number right would have been helpful. They said coffee and tea in the room. As a coffee drinker I was definitely out of luck. To top that off, their restaurant refused to seat me for breakfast and instead directed me outside where I could find "a cheaper breakfast." I did not know I could not afford their breakfast if you were to judge me by my color. I would have had to make five calls to service to right things for two nights.

Very Happy with it

We stayed at the Thistle Marble Arch during the first week of June 2003. The staff was extremely courteous and helpful even allowing us to check in several hours early. The room we had was small, however I understand that is the norm in London. The room was very clean and comfortable and very nicely decorated. It did take a few minutes to figure out how to work everything, there are small switches all over the room that control everything, such as the heated towel rack. The location was great, just steps away from the tube. I would definitely have no problem recommending this hotel and look forward to saying there again in the future.

Marble Arch Thistle - Not again

The price was reasonable, the room was spacious and well kept. However, this is one of the hotels used by the cruiselines and when they arrive, the place becomes a zoo. We waited for everything, our room, food, entry into the lounges and restaurants and even our bagage at the end of the trip. We plan a trip to London in the fall, we will stay somewhere else.

Okay tourist class hotel

One of the worst beds I have slept in (or tried to sleep in) at a hotel. Buffet breakfast was included in our rate and was decent with a few more offerings than standard buffet fare. Hotel is a bit confusing when you arrive - there is a desk on the ground floor level and you might assume that would be the front desk to check in, but really you need to go up the escalator or stairs to the front desk. Clientele seemed split between tourist and business (especially Middle East businessmen) and there seemed to be several groups (tour groups possibly) staying when we were. We had all of the makings for coffee and tea in our room, but no tea kettle or coffeemaker - had to call down for it and wait quite a while before we got it. Located on Oxford Street about a 7 or 8 minute walk from tube station.Very average hotel - I might stay there again if we get an incredible rate, but only if they have better mattresses.