Thistle London Bloomsbury Park
3-star hotel · Bloomsbury, London
Long Weekend score
Mixed3 serious reports in 295 reviews: bed bugs or bites (3)
Guests rate nearly every hotel highly: half the hotels in London are rated 8.2 out of 10 or more. So our score shows how a hotel compares with the rest, not how luxurious it is.
- Rated higher than 38% of London hotels
- 66% of guest comments are praise
- 67% of guest photos show no damage
How this score is made
- Rated higher than 38% of London hotels. Compared with 5,640 hotels in London. Counts for 50% of the score.
- 66% of guest comments are praise. 475 praise, 244 complain. Counts for 30% of the score.
- 67% of guest photos show no damage. 40 of 60 photos. Counts for 20% of the score.
- Serious reports are never counted in. They are flagged beside the score, because one matters even when everything else is good.
- $217 a nighttypical for two, before tax · from $101
- 6 min walkto Russell Square station
- 295 guest reviewsfrom the last 2 years
- 60 guest photostheirs, not the hotel's
At a glance
For
- 7 min walk to the British Museum500 m by road
- A station within walking distanceRussell Square is 429 m away
- Location173 praise · 0 complain
Against
- On a main road: Southampton Row22 m from the building
- Guest photos show wear and dirt20 of the 60 photos guests took, and 0 of the hotel's 40
- Room condition55 complain · 5 praise
- Room size50 complain · 14 praise
- Heating and air conditioning100 of 295 guests
What guests reported
What guests say
295 reviews from the last 2 years. Most praised: location (173 guests). Weakest: room condition, where 55 of the 60 who mention it complain.
Location1730Strength
A great central location.
Tripadvisor, September 2026, rated 4/5 by this guest
Great place to stay, central and very easy to get to subway.
Tripadvisor, August 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
Breakfast469Mostly good
Location was good breakfast was good but definitely not worth the price
Booking network, May 2026, rated 6/10 by this guest
Good breakfast and attention of details from housekeeping team who help me with request of cleaning my Stayover room in the afternoon
Tripadvisor, July 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
Breakfast could have been better, but it was alright.
Booking network, July 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
Staff12530Mostly good
Wonderful staff and great location
Tripadvisor, July 2026, rated 4/5 by this guest
The receptionist was friendly and helpful.
Tripadvisor, June 2026, rated 3/5 by this guest
Staff were a bit out of their depth at check in arguing amongst themselves.
Booking network, August 2026, rated 5/10 by this guest
Cleanliness6019Mostly good
Convenient location, good value for money, comfortable, clean room
Booking network, July 2026, rated 7/10 by this guest
A lovely place and decent beds, clean, but hot in summer.
Booking network, August 2026, rated 6/10 by this guest
Dirty rooms with terrible shower experience felt like a caged battery chicken or prison hotel.
Tripadvisor, June 2026, rated 2/5 by this guest
Beds2612Mostly good
Very comfy mattress and excellent pillows.
Booking network, May 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
Bed linen and towels excellent and bed very comfortable.
Booking network, May 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
The sofa bed was uncomfortable the the double bed was very comfortable.
Booking network, August 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
Value1832Weak spot
Simply don’t worth, search better
Booking network, July 2026, rated 3/10 by this guest
Very shabby facilitiesfor the price and compared to your Holborn location.
Booking network, June 2026, rated 2/10 by this guest
I would never stay there again and was not worth all that money
Booking network, September 2026, rated 1/10 by this guest
Room size1450Weak spot
We stayed with work and the room we got was a glorified cupboard with a toilet bolted on.
Google, June 2026, rated 1/5 by this guest
Room was small, scruffy, bashed doors and wobbly taps and empty condom wrappers by the bed.
Booking network, May 2026, rated 7/10 by this guest
Smaller than average room.
Booking network, August 2026, rated 7/10 by this guest
Quiet at night837Weak spot
Noisy - no sounds proofing of walls, roof, windows.
Booking network, September 2026, rated 5/10 by this guest
Room is horrible, the fan was very noisy, it wasn't possible to open the windows to allow some fresh air inside.
Booking network, June 2026, rated 2/10 by this guest
No air conditioning, apart from a very noisy electric fan
Booking network, August 2026, rated 5/10 by this guest
Room condition555Weak spot
Understandable to have lack of air con as older building, it was just a very hot week / month
Booking network, August 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
A little bit tired in some public areas
Booking network, May 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
Very small bathroom , taps coming off dated
Booking network, August 2026, rated 1/10 by this guest
Too few mentions to judge: views and food.
Who stays, and their score out of 10
From every review of the last two years that gives a score and says who travelled, including those with no words.
All 851 Google ratings
Problems guests raised
Raised most: heating and air conditioning, in 100 of 295 reviews.
Heating and air conditioning100 of 2951 in 3 reviews
No air conditioning in the room, so it was very hot even with a window open and a fan supplied by the hotel.
Booking network, May 2026, rated 6/10 by this guest
The room was quite small and as the windows only opened barely it was extremely hot throughout the night so didnt got much sleep.
Booking network, August 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
The lift23 of 2951 in 13 reviews
The elevator was small & slow
Booking network, June 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
Given the nature of the building the size and sometimes slowness of the lift was understandable: but next time I’d like to be lower than the 6th floor!
Booking network, September 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
Complaints the hotel left unresolved20 of 2951 in 15 reviews
Request a cot for our baby but never received one.
Booking network, August 2026, rated 6/10 by this guest
No plug sockets near the bed head, needed for a CPAP machine , we asked for an extension cord were told there would be one waiting for us when we returned, there wasn’t, horrible night keeping my partner awake.
Booking network, June 2026, rated 3/10 by this guest
Problems in the bathroom19 of 2951 in 16 reviews
We had no hot water for the duration of our stay so couldn’t shower at the end of the day or on check-out morning.
Booking network, September 2026, rated 6/10 by this guest
The room was small no air conditioning smelly bathroom.
Booking network, June 2026, rated 4/10 by this guest
A slow check-in18 of 2951 in 16 reviews
Checking in was a hassle as well with complicated procedure that differ from customer to customer.
Google, June 2026, rated 3/5 by this guest
Had to wait 45 mins for room to be ready.
Google, July 2026, rated 1/5 by this guest
Not as shown or booked11 of 2951 in 27 reviews
Advertised that there are plugs beside the beds and there was not.
Booking network, June 2026, rated 7/10 by this guest
Disappointing and worse than advertised
Booking network, June 2026, rated 4/10 by this guest
Serious reports
3 in 295 reviews, most common first. Shown beside the score, never averaged into it.
Bed bugs or bites3 of 295 reviews
I pulled back the mattress pad and found bed bugs.
Tripadvisor, September 2026, rated 1/5 by this guest
I woke up to find a dead bed bug in the bed (i had checked the bed and room before and didn't see bad signs, but i guess they were hiding) and blood from bites.
Tripadvisor, September 2026, rated 1/5 by this guest
These are guests' own accounts from their reviews. We have not verified them, and the hotel may dispute them. A report is counted only when the guest says it happened at the hotel and holds the hotel responsible.
Photos, checked
20 of the 60 guest photos we checked show damage or dirt (33%).
Guest photos showing damage or dirt20 of 6033%
Of 60 guest photos, 20 show damage or dirt: pests in 8, stains in 6, broken fittings in 4 and peeling paint or cracks in 3, and some photos show more than one. Of the hotel's own 40, 0 do.
What it advertises, against the photos
The hotel says it has no swimming pool, spa, gym or hot tub.
Price, place and rooms
Price
$217 is a typical night, from 301 dates checked in the coming year.
Weekends cost 10% more than weekdays
A typical night, month by month
Cheapest month: Jan 2027, $126Dearest month: Jun 2027, $282
Prices on booking sites, the day we checked
What each seller advertised on the one day we checked, so these sit outside the year-wide figures above and can fall below the typical price.
- Super.com$212
- trivago.deals$218
- Vio.com$227
- deals.goseek.com$227
- deals.etrip.net$227
- deals.dealbase.com$229
- clicktrip.com$253
- evendo.com$256
Lowest advertised nightly rate for two adults; taxes and local fees are not included. Shown in US dollars.
Nearby
Russell Square station is 429 m away by road, about 6 minutes on foot. There are 4 bars or clubs within 200 metres.
- Nearest main road: Southampton Row22 m
- Nearest shop: Portlands1 min walk71 m by road
- Nearest station: Russell Square6 min walk429 m by road
- The British Museum7 min walk500 m by road
- Big Ben2.6 km
- Buckingham Palace3.2 km
- Tower Bridge4.4 km
The lines are 5, 10 and 15 minutes on foot.
Distances follow the streets, not straight lines.
Rooms
7 room types, from 10 to 22 m².
- Standard Single Room10 m²Sleeps 1Bathtub in its photos
- Standard Double Room15 m²Sleeps 2Bathtub in its photos
- Standard Twin Room15 m²Sleeps 2
- Deluxe King Room18 m²Sleeps 2
- King Room18 m²Sleeps 2Bathtub in its photos
- Family Room19 m²Sleeps 31 Twin bed + 1 Sofa bedBathtub in its photos
The other 1 room types
- Deluxe Family Room22 m²Sleeps 31 Twin bed + 1 Double bedBathtub in its photos
From the hotel's own room descriptions, checked against each room's photos.
How it compares
How it ranks
Guests who booked rate it 8 out of 10. 38% of the 5,640 hotels in London are rated lower, and a typical one is rated 8.2.
Every review site, out of 100
28 Google reviewers ticked "Quiet", yet 37 guests complain about noise, and Southampton Row runs 22 m away.
If room condition matters to you
Here, 55 of the 60 guests who mention room condition complain. These nearby hotels do better on it.
More hotels in London
The nearest first, with our score for each.
How we know
295 reviews counted · 100 photos checked · updated 12 October 2026
- We collected this hotel's 846 most recent reviews from Google, Tripadvisor and the Booking network. 295 of them describe a stay in the last 2 years and are the ones counted here; the rest were 213 older, 79 in other languages, 258 with a score but no words and 1 about the restaurant rather than a stay.
- The hotel replied to 146 of its 200 newest Google reviews.
- 7 in every 100 reviews thank a staff member by name.
- 1 review mentions a free upgrade, a cake or a gift.
- We looked at 100 photos: the first 40 of the hotel's own and the 60 newest from guests.
- Every number on this page is counted, not estimated. Anything in quotation marks is a guest's own words.