Thistle city Barbican Hotel Reviews

The hotel seems actually nice, good and quiet and nice staff. But the spa area is really in neglect. Quite dirty and unmaintained. WaxAngelzs are aweful.

Boilers in the kitchen make the environment overheated and uncomfortable stay in

The staff are kind and very helpful. The room is quite small but that's okay. There are quite a few things that could do with a touch up or a bit of paint but other than that this is a nice hotel.

Hotel located in a quiet area between Clerkenwell and Saint Luke's.
10 minutes from old street metro station. Close to bus stations as well.
Although the hotel is not located in the heart of London, we got around by bus and tube without any problems. Allow around 30 minutes to get to central London.
Hearty and varied sweet and savory breakfast. The only downside is orange juice. Instead, prefer apple juice.
Pleasant, smiling and attentive staff.
We had a suite with a living room, TV in the living room and one in the bedroom, free mini bar and electric kettle and Nespresso available, bathrobes, hairdryer.
Clean room and bathroom.
Leisure club with swimming pool, jacuzzi, sauna and hammam. Padlock loaned for lockers.
Lemon flavored water and also one with a mixture of mint and cucumber available to customers at the hotel reception.
Has a bar and restaurant. Possibility of being served in the room.
Good burgers and good pasta as well as the chocolate brownie.
Possibility to leave your luggage on the last day at reception to walk around and come back to pick it up when you leave.
Hotel to recommend

I had a room on the first floor in the building opposite reception. Clean room and good powerful shower. The breakfast selection was good and I ate one evening meal in the restaurant. Prices were good and it was conveniently located for the work location I was visiting. A bit of a walk from the nearest tube station is the only slight negative.

Only went for Christmas meal with a group, food was okay, wouldn't rush back, starter was avocado and chicken terine (?) which was basically avocado mouse with 1 (yes ONE) tiny piece of chicken in others who had the same starter had NO chicken ! The staff were so focused on giving out food they didn't listen when you asked them a question as they were too busy walking around with food. The best bit was the desert. It was clean and well presented but I won't be sad if I don't go there again.

Great hotel in a great location. Room wad clean and hotel was quiet. Breakfast was just what the Dr ordered.

Rooms are clean and reasonably comfortable.
As usual the service in the restaurant was poor and slow.
Update 26 April. Tried restaurant again. Over two hours for one course! Ended up cancelling dessert. I suppose it was an improvement on the three hour wait last time.

Great price in a great location. Barman went the extra mile letting me have a half pint before bed literally as he was about to close down the bar. As an ex barman I really did appreciate this, it was really kind of him.

Generally ok but dirty and smelly bathrooms. Poorly ventilated.

I love this hotel located in a quiet area with transportation nearby. Buses pass regularly

Family friendly. Nice drinks and meals. Comfortable large room. Good room service. Good base t iexolore central London

Nice standard hotel for a short stay for work.

Entertainment in the Executive room was poor - TV was small and old, poor picture and sound quality.

Room service was average for the price. Hard burger bun and flat lemonade.

I only stayed for one night, but I thought it was a very nice hotel. There were plenty of places for food and drink in the surrounding area but fortunately I felt this hotel was a bit out of the way meaning that it wasn't too noisy throughout the night. The room I stayed in was an executive king which was very spacious with a comfortable bed. I do think the look of the hotel can be seen as slightly dated, but this wasn't an issue for me. I had breakfast at the hotel. The wide selection available was very appealing, but unfortunately I wasn't very hungry so I couldn't try as much as I would have liked. The staff were very friendly, and I interacted with some of the other guests staying at the hotel who were also very friendly. Overall it was a very good stay and I would be happy to return if I find myself in the area.

Small but adequate rooms. Breakfast was acceptable, not close to any underground station.
Would not be my first choice to stay.

Quite disappointing. I have booked 1 month before interconnecting rooms. I hope you get an idea .......

Saw both halves of the building and both rooms that I had contained things housekeeping shouldn't miss. The room I ended up staying in (main building) was nice and all the staff was friendly. So other than housekeeping not too bad of a hotel.

Dirty and Loud. Had to wait in line 25 min to get checked in. First room was very loud. Walls are made of cardboard. You can hear the tv and conversations from the room next to you. Second room had a hole in the TV screen. Third room had a pillow with holes, blood on the toilet paper and years of dust on the hairdryer.

Hotel with pool, hearty breakfast.The staff seems overwhelmed and lack of responsiveness. Room that does not have a small fridge.

Comfortable bed, good breakfast and friendly staff.

So far so good.

Free upgrade to a bigger room, really pleased with the hotel.

Everybody is really competent, nice, professional, understanding. Really good team. The hotel is beautiful. We had a really nice view from our room. And the breakfast was amazing.

Just had a work conference here. Conference rooms are available and they served the purpose, lunch was a selection of sandwiches and salads.

Nice hotel, rooms are very warm. The pool and gym was nice too. There is a bar just past reception and getting a drink is quite slow. Never tried the main bar because the other bar had music playing and sport on the tvs. Never tried any food because there is plenty of cheaper places around that are nice.

Room OK for London. Dirty carpet but otherwise fairly clean. Incredibly hot throughout with no air con and windows screwed shut. Prepare to bake if temperature is over 10 degrees. Good breakfast- a buffet style where the food is actually hot. Staff friendly and helpful.

An easily accessible hotel with the metro, 2 stops from St Pancras. Clean and nice place!

The hotel was very nice and clean. The service was amazing. The check in and out was simple. The location is close to the Barbican Centre, only a 10 minute walk. The room was spacious amd clean and even had a hair dryer and iron! I would definitely recommend this hotel.

Hotel itself not bad refurbished in last few years, gym small but quite a few of the machines.

Dinner was pretty poor when we ate it was empty they got orders wrong and food was bland and a bit disgusting. Compare this to the lunch and it was a whole different world very nice- there are obviously different chefs working at different times.

Overall ok they just need to give it a bit more shine and sort out their restaurant staff in evening.

Well located and decent room for the money. Worth sacrificing 10mins of extra commuting time to central London for use of a pool and gym.

The lobby is nice, the rooms not so much. Perhaps they are getting ready to remodel. There was construction on the main floor. The bathroom had rust and water stains. The desk was damaged. The sheets were clean and the mattress was okay.

Excellent hotel, clean, with pool and sauna included, breakfast a little expensive but very rich with sweet and savory.

Easy to get lost in here. I was here for a conference only. Good location

Pitiful arrival managed by two sufficient shits having no training in the reception of foreign tourists. Even saying "hello" in French is not taken for granted and no effort is made for a better understanding of their English!
The reservation instructions were not received regarding the choice of bed. Twin rooms do not have the air conditioning promised on the site.
Paneling of the bedroom windows broken: we pass the hand through. Room cleaning done on the surface

check-in staff are amazing, good location, rooms are so-so but you get what you pay for. I didn't use the spa facilities so cannot comment on them. Replay bar at the back is quite nice but the service in the restaurant and bar were exceptionally slow. However, the buffet breakfast was brilliant, all tasted lovely and plenty of options to choose from - full english/pastries/continental meats & cheeses/cereal etc.

Enjoyed our stay very much. Clean and fresh modern feeling hotel. Very friendly staff and good breakfast. Room was very acceptable and clean too. Recommended.

Excellent hotel in London the only small rooms very good service and incredible attention the staff speak all languages
Sauna spa gym excellent pool very nice and incredible breakfasts
I highly recommend it

Fairly outdated rooms - definitely could do with a bit of modernisation. Very friendly staff who are the highlight of the stay.

A simple but well-equipped hotel near two underground stations. There is more to breakfast here than just English breakfast. With fried eggs, toast, jam, honey, sausage, cheese, Nutella, peanut butter, fruit, yogurt, pancakes, croissant, cereal, everything you need for a good start to the day. The check-in is strangely full all the time. I guess there are a lot of day visitors. The fitness studio is very small but sufficient and air-conditioned if necessary. The swimming pool is also small but good but quite full, especially in the evening.

It bothered me that if you wanted to clean the room you would have to hang up a sign, otherwise nothing would happen.

Since our room was facing the street right lobby it was not possible to sleep with the window open. Until at least midnight, loading and unloading activities and guests who wanted to enjoy the mild summer night could be heard loudly. The air conditioning in the room was unfortunately very loud so that there was cool air but no sleep was possible. The beds are not what you are used to. One blanket for each double bed with two hard pillows each.

All in all a permanent middle class hotel in a city location. Across the street are a couple of inexpensive dining options for anyone who does not like to cater for themselves or for whom the restaurants are too expensive.

Avoid. Had to upgrade on the 2nd night and it was still a huge let down.

Perfectly fine for when we needed. Nothing fancy, room ok

Disappointing experience at the Thistle City Barbican Hotel where we had a twin room.
The -: the heating which smells of dust, the fixed shower without pressure, the toiletries, the carpet (!!!), the sink with two taps, the old school decor, the light which makes noise in the bathroom. bathroom, bedroom size (small)
The pros: the view of the city from the 6th floor, the housecleaning done between the two nights, the friendly staff, water infused with lemon and cucumber in the lobby

Hotel is very dated and in need of a refresh. Stayed here especially for the running machines in the gym, but 3 of the 4 machines were out of order. At the restaurant, I was asked if I'd like my chicken breast well done, medium or rare!!!. On the positive side, hotel was quiet, comfortable and had lots of independent bars and restaurants near by. It was also easy walking distance to my work location near Moorgate tube station. Not the best Thistle hotel in London.

Business hotel offering a good clean and sufficient standard. Disappointed that the spa closed early at the weekends but otherwise friendly helpful staff.

Had a wonderful weekend and got a bottle of prosecco and cheesecake to celebrate my birthday.

It's an ok London hotel ... Not necessarily cheap, and rather tired.

Attended training course, good information screens on arrival, air conditioning in the conference rooms and constant refreshments provided with reasonable lunch buffet selection.

Very nice stay. The location was good, and the spa facilities were very good. However the rooms were a bit small, and the tv didn't work very well.

Average business hotel, communal areas are nice but the rooms are tired. The staff are very friendly and helpful.

Great hotel! The staff are lovely and the pool and hot tub is a lovely way to start the morning. Would highly recommend it

Very nice hotel with nice amenities, we were 3, and they added an extra bed that reduced the space in the room and was not comfortable.
The hotel is in 2 parts, prefer the one where is the reception !.
Pleasant pool, sauna, jacuzzi and gym in the basement.

Rooms are small but comfortable. The bathrooms need to be updated.

There s a man in the bar next to reception called Michael soo nice!!! The bar was busy but he attended us so quickly and very smiley!!! I m gonna come back!!!

The service was correct, buy the rooms are a bit worn out, as well as the furniture.
I reserved a double room but they didn't have it when I arrived, so was offered a single bed with a free breakfast. I had plenty of problems with the water: the first room had a broken tap control, so water was either very hot or boiling; then I moved room... But they had a problem with the central water heater and I had just mild water.
The breakfast was continental, with plenty of choices

Tired hotel. Not all rooms have air con. Premium rooms very short on space and have very old air con units

Every thing was just fine! Very nice stuff! In particular the polish guy, Pawel! Thanks , guys!

Friendly staff, great breakfast, nice location, and there are rooms for every need.

Beautiful stay, nice hotel, access to a gym, swimming pool, .. suitable room has and large bathroom and hair dryer in the cupboards and safe and breakfast at will

Nothing but good about the tasty breakfast and friendly staff.
The rooms are not large and above all very outdated.

Good little spa and gym, rooms are a little dated and in need of renovation.

Deserves 3 stars, not more. It's a dated business hotel. Rooms are rather large, old, but clean. Breakfast is average. Centrally located but still 10min walk from the tube. I send them an email in advance trying to reserve a parking space but nobody ever answered. Service is average, lots of staff seem to be trainees.

Awful. Outdated, tired room. Overpriced for what it was. Will avoid on future business trips.

Lots to be desired !! Very small rooms and toilets !! A little away from the metro station ...

The room was great, everything you need including iron and board decent size TV with good channels. Bed was comfy bathroom was old but smart and very clean. Located in the Barbican its just minutes to anywhere really good links. The breakfast is really good and it set us up for the afternoon so just had to get a main meal. It has a swimming pool, jacuzzi steam room and sauna. Overall a really nice hotel and a brilliant stay.

The hotel itself ok but very bad note for the catering side: more chocolate in the morning for children after the 3rd day and for our last meal apotheosis: order passed without problem but oh surprise all customers arrived after we are served after a delay correct but not us ... The worst is that no server (not even the one who took the order) does not worry. We need to challenge one who tells us go to the kitchen but who takes the direction of the home to see on the computer and informs us that there has been a problem with computers ... Still waiting then finally our entries arrive. But it's not over: the dishes are served to us (4 out of 5) but the 5th still does not arrive after 15 minutes we question the waitress (the one who took the order at the start) who tells us to go see cooking (again) but finally going to see the reception (the computer of course ...) and informs us that there was a bug ... The last dish (a roasted Camembert) finally arrives ( inevitably the others had finished their meal for some time) and surprise the paper covering the camembert was still there: a roasted camembert microwave never seen !!!! And of course no discount on the bill despite being expressed our dissatisfaction !!!

Very good hotel with good location! Central but not yet in the middle! About 5 min walk to several bus stops which is ideal for getting around! Small grocery store and other small restaurants nearby. The rooms would need to be freshened up .. but it is perfectly ok and it feels clean! We got the room for a good price given the central location in London. The pool is a big plus for my kids and a tired body after a long day in London!