Thistle city Barbican Hotel Reviews

Typical British city hotel. Good location, good breakfast, comfortable beds and friendly service. But the floor is not clean, the heating is loud and the furniture has been pushed. Sufficient for a few days.

Hotel of good level. Comfortable. Friendly staff. Some speak French.

Cheap and comfortable, includes leisure facilities. Such as spa etc. Worth a look.

The rooms were a bit small and cramped but the service was good and it was comfortable.

We had Christmas lunch there. Good value. Good food.

Cramped room, badly lighted bathroom and at least 10 minutes away from an underground station.
Didn't see the 3 stars so far but only everything in the building needs a huge and complete refreshing !

I love it's hotel the room is tidy except the fast break fast very early in any case enjoy your vacation and take this hotel

Stayed here for a couple of nights last week. The room itself was quite small and could probably have done with being g cleaned a bit better. Lots of dust and bathroom not the cleanest. Food is ok but not worth the prices they charge. Much better options across London in this price range

The rooms are comfortable, plain and simple, perfect for a business trip. The breakfast selection is awesome, very tasty. Only giving 4 stars because I found it a little bit pricey, but maybe it's just me.

Very cheap rates for a convenient London hotel with a spa, rooms a bit basic.

Friendly hotel with good quality breakfast, but a bit far from the metro, nevertheless there is a bus station nearby.

Stay was OK, but for the price it really could offer more. Even a premium double room is pretty small and dated. Could do with a refurbishment.

Wouldn't exactly call this place cheap!
Concierge are lazy and unhelpfull, this place feels unwelcoming.
The taxi service they provide is rubbish!
Overall bad experience!
I Wont be recommending anyone here anytime soon!

The staff are friendly but the hotel could do with a bit of a refresh. However it is well placed for tourists egg.

Not quite as advertised and out of adapters at front desk.

Good location very nice lobby area and very varied conference rooms. Although would be better if staff knew where all the rooms were and have an idea of what events are going on.

Very dated, poor in room entertainment, WiFi connection spotty. Food ok. Lots of better places to stay for the same money.

What a great nice staff they have here. People have to work hard but with so much pleasure. Big credit earned.

Nice and professional venue. Well maintained, well furnished, and well stocked as a conference venue. Location is not close to any tube stations, so be prepared for a short walk (Old Street is best).

Nice oldy woldy place, ceiling fans in the rooms along with A/C. Restaurant is lovely.

The Thistle City Barbican is a big hotel - 463 bedrooms, 13 meeting rooms, a large 170 person theatre-style facility, an indoor swimming pool and an outdated leisure center. It is located next to a council estate and new residential building between City Road and Upper Street (10 minute walk to Angel and Old Street underground stations).

Its large size combined with its age, makes it a Frankenstein of a hotel. Rooms are spread across two buildings, the two elevators at peak times take 10 minutes to arrive and the rooms have a Premier Inn feel to them, with added features such as a safe in every room, artwork on walls, four pillows (instead of two), a larger TV screen and basic complementary toiletries.



The problem with the Thistle City Barbican is that it caters to many audiences (business, leisure, events, weddings) and tries to hide its age, three star rating and tired rooms through glossy staged pictures on TripAdvisor and Goggle local. Even the feedback provided by the hotel management to reviews in TripAdvisor and Goggle Local, is the same standard cut and paste mesage every time. The Thistle City Barbican is a good option, at the right price per room, for families seeking variety and facilities including an indoor swimming pool for the kids.

My advice to management. Focus on your staff and offering personalised warm service to guests; because outside of a much needed extensive refurbishment of the rooms and decor, it is all it can do to offer good value for money and ensure guests come back.

Clean hotel, I slept really well, nice breakfast cafe on the corner.

Very basic hotel, prices quite steep for what you get. Would I stay there again.... probably not.

Although the hotel is beautiful, me and my friend had no hot water for the first night (she's pregnant) and ended up using one of our other friends showers. We had also ordered room service and when we said we wanted to pay by card, wed been told that was fine. Once it came we were told if we payed by card we would have to go back down to the Lobby and pay. This was at 10pm so we were already in our pijamas and didnt want to have to walk all through the hotel in them. It was lucky we had cash on us.

Easy to reach by metro. The hotel is very nice. The staff is friendly. Our room is already a bit old and could be renovated. It is still possible. We are satisfied.

Lovely hotel, staff are friendly the only down side is the restaurant, you have to ask to place order, we waited 20 mins until we asked to place our order of food and drink

The facilities are a luxury and fairly well priced to be 3 km from the most important points of London.

Tiny room. No aircon.
It is January and hotter than hell.

Stay somewhere else.
I wish I had.

So the hotel was very good, which was a bit annoying that you had to run until the next subway station, especially with the heavy suitcases. The breakfast buffet was also good and the pool in the hotel was great, it was always clean and you could relax well, which was a bit stupid as you could not get kids into the steam room and hot tub. So overall it was a very good hotel and would recommend to anyone wanting to go to London.

I can't say to much I was only there on event but hotel was ok.

Super chilled hotel. The floors all have different looks and feels to them. They have a maze like structure which can get tricky if you don't know the map. The gym and pool facilities and amazing. The breakfast options are versatile!! It's honestly a great place

Great location, good hotel with gym facilities and easy to use wifi. Fair price for the area. Would definitely stay again.

Nice hotel for a great price. Pretty central to London and is fairly close to the tube. Pretty cheap as well for London. Brilliant breakfast.

Pokey rooms and bland plastic food! Breakfast was actually quite good!

Reasonable service, but the hotel is in need of renovation

It's a nice hotel. Very clean and had everything we needed. Would stay here again when visiting.

Clean and spacious. Its location is good for local amenities and for easy access to the underground. Staff are also competent and friendly.

Nice Rooms, staff were very nice. Close to night clubs and bars in Shoreditch.

Small room, warm, but serviceable work friendly staff.

Quality hotel, a bit away from the centre, 10mins walk to tube.

Pretty sure my room isn't right, staff upon check in very nonchalant, dinner staff very friendly, room is quite dingy

Barely adequate, which is disappointing for the price. Dated furniture, both in terms of style and wear. Cheap fan and exposed hot water pipe made the room uncomfortably warm. No plug sockets near the bed. Cramped bathroom.

Standard single rooms are extremely tight & cramped. Had to switch rooms as first one was dirty. Staff was very unfriendly.

Room was clean. Decent facilities. Was only there for one night so can't really give anymore information than that

Interiors of the rooms were dated, but service was top notch!

Pokey room, no air or opening windows. There was an electric fan, but noisy

Room small, a bit old fashioned, but clean. Very friendly, obligingly personnel. Good and big breakfast buffet

The room is a bit dated, especially the taps in the bathroom need updating and some paint could be used here and there.
Staff is super friendly, even Dutch and willing to give compensation (lift to pool was broken). Location is also quite ok!

Visited this hotel in April. Was nicely surprised when we were upgraded due to my sisters 60th birthday. Enjoyed our stay. Lovely room. Food great. Staff very friendly. Thankyou Matija Vujic for your kindness

Nice and serviceable. Rooms a bit small and dated. Would also benefit from more electrical sockets/usb plugs. Health centre nice.

Stayed for one night in January. Room was pleasant and breakfast was very enjoyable. Found the staff to be friendly and helpful. The health spa was very nice with a reasonable sized swimming pool and a very helpful attendant. Would stay here again.

It's nice but rooms are small and no concierge service.

Lovely clean hotel with friendly staff. The pool is big enough for a good swim and nice & warm. The jacuzzi is nice and hot and space for 6 people. Good sauna and steam room too.

I am currently staying at the hotel with my colleagues whilst attending a software development conference. As I write this review I am currently in my bed and I have to say it is very comfortable here. I am currently staying in a single room which I believe is of an appropriate size. Facilities include swimming pool sauna hot tub, I have forgotten my swimming trunks although my client in for me there are of appropriate size and quality. There is a safety box provided in my room along with additional dowels hello iron and ironing board. The bathroom consists of a shower and bath along with the other usual facilities including power socket for shaver and beard trimmers. The weather in the area today was quite hot and the staff have provided me with a fan to help with the situation. Having inspected the room and all its facilities, linen and towels provided are very clean and of very high standards. Reception staff were very helpful during our late check in. Breakfast that is served in the morning is top notch. Breakfast options include cereal porridge full cooked English breakfast fruits tea coffee and various juices. Overall this is a great hotel to stay at one that I would very highly recommend to anyone.

Very relaxed comfortable hotel. Ideally situated for our hospital visit.

Bad experience. I won't go back there even if it was just to enjoy the spa facilities.

Stayed for a Saturday night. The reception were very kind and helpful at all times. During the heat wave, the only option of cooling was a wall mounted fan. Air conditioning would have made it 5 stars for the review. The hotel bar was open till late I think it closed at around 0230-0300. This was a nice touch to see the end of the night. The breakfast was self service buffet, that was a very in depth selection with all the options being fresh. I did not have the time to enjoy the amenities such as spa/gym or pool etc. Overall if in the local area overnight again, I would come back. Maybe asking if there is an option for AC next time though. Overall good, clean and decorative hotel. Highly recommended.

Tired looking hotel with rooms that are okay but on the older side. I stayed in the newer and supposedly renovated wing so it was alright but not without flaws - just old, maybe a little dirty but nothing too bad as the toilet was clean. A mini fridge was provided but people in other rooms mostly did not have a fridge. Location is okay - 7-10min walk to Old Street station, in a quiet area. Tesco, a fried chicken takeaway and a Chinese takeaway is right outside.

Good hotel, despite little English knowledge we understood. Great room (unfortunately the check in did not work immediately)

Having read the reviews I was cautious about what to expect, but while I don't disbelieve other reviewers, critical comments don't reflect my experience of this. I am booked into a variety of budget hotels for what I do, but this is the best by a long chalk of many I've been a guest. First of all, the best thing of the room is that it has a BATH!!!! Many of the budget hotels have stripped baths from their rooms in favour of the unhygienic continental practice of showers. I would forgive hotels many things if only they had baths. I would forgive them slow service if they had a bath. I would forgive them for screams of goats being slaughtered disturbing my sleep if they had baths. They could invade Poland, and if they had a bath in the room I would forgive them with grace. Germany isn't known famously for baths, which may explain more than we first surmise. The Thistle city hotel Barbican has a bath in a room, and this earns them top marks. But read on. That isn't all. The rooms, take a deep breath, have WINDOWS THAT OPEN!!!! No stuffy airless pods where you come in and spend your time inhaling the expired carbon dioxide from previous guests weeks back, along with their foul bacteria. No. These windows actually open to the world and we can reap the benefits of taxpayer funded low emissions zone air quality. It's still a budget hotel. To that end they have endeavoured to keep to the model. One of the bedside lights is missing a bulb. The TV last saw the inside of the Phillips warehouse when Mrs Thatcher was in power. But....but, the room has a bath, and that makes it damn near perfect.

The staff treated was not good. The hotel is sweet and the bar is lovely

While out dated in many areas, the beds are comfy, staff polite and its very clean. Best of all, cheaper than a premiere inn and all round better experience. Did I mention it has a free spa/pool? Highly recommended.

Small rooms but stylish hotel good facultys need a better gin range tho lol. Staff are fantastic