Thistle London Bloomsbury Park

The rooms don't look like the pictures at all. We were staying for work, and ours was basically a cupboard with a toilet attached. At least the windows open for fresh air, which was the only 10/10 part.

I made an online booking through an agent, but it stayed pending for several hours, so I phoned the hotel to check. Reception said they couldn't find a booking under my name or the agent's and had no availability, and suggested I book somewhere else. I did that straight away. They later took payment for the booking and now refuse to refund it, saying I was a no-show and that's their policy. My credit card company initially refunded me right away, but debited the amount again after the hotel gave the bank its policy and didn't acknowledge the mistake.

The staff were friendly and very helpful, especially with my daughter, and the location made it easy to get to several of London's main attractions. The room was comfortable, though the bathroom was on the small side. Next time I'd ask for a room away from the main road, since the night noise made it hard for my young daughter to sleep. Breakfast was good, but some of the cooked items arrived cold and could have been better. I'd stay here again.

The location is excellent, but nearly everything else was a problem. After I was ill, the bathroom needed cleaning and the front desk couldn't get into its own supply closet. We left a clean-room request out for five hours from just after 9am, right in peak cleaning time, and returned to an uncleaned room. When housekeeping eventually came that afternoon, we went out to give them space. The bathroom floor still clearly hadn't been mopped. That evening the bed base collapsed while I was lying on it. I showed reception a photo, but they sent housekeeping instead of maintenance. There was no discount at checkout. In a follow-up email, reception implied I'd broken the bed myself, as if hundreds of previous guests hadn't worn it down. The replacement base was visibly better made than the original. I won't be back.