Thistle London Holborn

A good little place for business travellers, with single rooms and great room service. I forgot my toothbrush, and they had one for me. Sods law put me in a room looking onto the industrial kitchen courtyard, which wasn't a great view. The air conditioning definitely works, and it was lovely to step out of 37-degree heat into a 19-degree room.

We found a Groupon deal for afternoon tea, and for less than £20 per person it was amazing value. The tea list was short but very nice, and coffee was available too. There was a good range of fresh food. I especially loved the scones with clotted cream. We were served one plain scone and another with raisins baked in. The sandwiches were nice as well. I'm not much of a sweet tooth, so there were a few too many sweets for my taste. Still, we really enjoyed the variety. I'd rather have too much than too little.

Our junior suite was much bigger than I expected, and it was clean and nicely arranged, with a lovely bathroom. The beds, pillows, quilt and bedding were comfortable, and there was a safe, a larger minibar fridge and a Nespresso machine for tea, water and coffee. The staff were really friendly and happy to help with whatever we needed. The hotel has a welcoming, clean entrance, plus a lobby bar and restaurant, and lifts up to the rooms. It’s right at the end of New Oxford Street, which worked well for us. We could hear road noise, but it died down later at night and didn’t bother us in the morning. I’d definitely recommend it.

Money went missing from our room during the stay, and the hotel never followed up after we reported it. The manager was polite and said she’d look into it, but we didn’t hear anything more and received no update or compensation. I know situations like this can be complicated, but being left without any resolution made us feel ignored and unsafe. The whole experience was very disappointing.