Thistle London Trafalgar Square
4-star hotel · City of Westminster, London
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
- 81% of guest comments are praise
- 77% 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.
- 81% of guest comments are praise. 565 praise, 133 complain. Counts for 30% of the score.
- 77% of guest photos show no damage. 46 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.
- $285 a nighttypical for two, before tax · from $162
- 5 min walkto the nearest station
- 295 guest reviewsfrom the last 2 years
- 60 guest photostheirs, not the hotel's
At a glance
For
- A station within walking distanceA station is 339 m away
- Location209 praise · 0 complain
- Staff157 praise · 19 complain
Against
- Guest photos show wear and dirt14 of the 60 photos guests took, and 0 of the hotel's 40
- Heating and air conditioning60 of 295 guests
- Value25 complain · 18 praise
- Room condition24 complain · 4 praise
- Something broken in the room31 of 295 guests
What guests reported
What guests say
295 reviews from the last 2 years. Most praised: location (209 guests). Weakest: room condition, where 24 of the 28 who mention it complain.
Location2090Strength
A lovely stay in a the perfect location
Tripadvisor, June 2026, rated 4/5 by this guest
Very welcoming hotel, with a very central location and truly convenient for getting around the heart of London.
Tripadvisor, September 2026, rated 4/5 by this guest
Staff15719Strength
Staff is very nice and helpful.
Google, May 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
The hotel and service was good, clean room ,and the breakfast was good , my only issue was a lady coming in from the street was refused the use of the toilet, whilst I can accept the reasons behind it, it didn’t sit comfortably with me and felt cruel and unnecessary.
Tripadvisor, August 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
Good location, horrible staff
Booking network, August 2026, rated 1/10 by this guest
Beds316Mostly good
Beds and pillows soooooo comfortable and a good shower.
Booking network, June 2026, rated 10/10 by this guest
Room size and bed very comfortable
Booking network, July 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
The bed was not particularly comfortable and the toilet flush was in a very awkward position.
Booking network, June 2026, rated 9/10 by this guest
Breakfast5815Mostly good
Breakfast was excellent.
Booking network, August 2026, rated 10/10 by this guest
Breakfast, amenities, staff was friendly and helpful
Booking network, May 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
Breakfast was very basic and not all items were available.
Booking network, September 2026, rated 9/10 by this guest
Cleanliness5016Mostly good
It's clean and very centrally located with no outside noise, but we have a Junior Suite and it's quite small for the price.
Google, June 2026, rated 4/5 by this guest
Staff welcome, location, comfort & cleanliness all excellent.
Booking network, August 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
The carpets are stained & need replacing as even after vacuuming there is still tufts of fur/hair in them.
Tripadvisor, October 2026, rated 3/5 by this guest
Room size2719Split
Room is small but clean and comfortable.
Booking network, May 2026, rated 9/10 by this guest
Standard room was a bit small and the way furniture was sited made it difficult to move around bed.
Booking network, June 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
Difficult to get past foot of bed for elderly people during the night.
Booking network, September 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
Quiet at night119Split
You could hear any/all footsteps on your floor and the one above.
Tripadvisor, July 2026, rated 1/5 by this guest
Our room was opposite a block of flats where the residents partied and were generally loud over our three day stay.
Tripadvisor, August 2026, rated 3/5 by this guest
Location is great but room was too noisy and I was woken up on a number of occasions.
Tripadvisor, September 2026, rated 2/5 by this guest
Value1825Split
For price this is at most 2 Star Hotel.
Google, September 2026, rated 2/5 by this guest
Great location - crazy expensive
Booking network, August 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
Nothing to dislike about the property but i didn’t think it was value for money.
Booking network, June 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
Room condition424Weak spot
The furniture was really dated and was all scuffed
Booking network, June 2026, rated 4/10 by this guest
Poor standards in the room, except for the beds, splashes of paint of walls, bathroom run down and very small, poor value overall for the price,
Tripadvisor, July 2026, rated 3/5 by this guest
Looked very worn and needed updating
Booking network, August 2026, rated 6/10 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 956 Google ratings
Problems guests raised
Raised most: heating and air conditioning, in 60 of 295 reviews.
Heating and air conditioning60 of 2951 in 5 reviews
I wasn’t able to stay because there was no working air conditioning.
Booking network, August 2026, rated 1/10 by this guest
The air condition was out of use, the hotel had put cooling fan units in the rooms, however this was not sufficient to pass the room as a deluxe room at premium rates when clearly the main facility was broken
Booking network, August 2026, rated 4/10 by this guest
Something broken in the room31 of 2951 in 10 reviews
Very uncomfortable no working air con so the room was very hot so didn’t sleep
Booking network, August 2026, rated 4/10 by this guest
Offered a room with broken AC
Booking network, June 2026, rated 3/10 by this guest
Complaints the hotel left unresolved21 of 2951 in 14 reviews
Was told some ice would be put in it whilst we were at the theatre but it never was.
Booking network, August 2026, rated 6/10 by this guest
Had to collect some from reception 12 hours after arriving.
Booking network, September 2026, rated 6/10 by this guest
A slow check-in17 of 2951 in 17 reviews
Rooms were not ready till after 3pm also had to change room as given one with non working wifi initially however staff arranged a replacement
Booking network, July 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
Check ins way too late, not enough information on arrival of how hotel worked
Booking network, August 2026, rated 7/10 by this guest
Problems in the bathroom16 of 2951 in 18 reviews
The bathroom was musty and there was mould inbetween the tiles, one was cracked.
Booking network, September 2026, rated 7/10 by this guest
Toilet is not flushed strongly where water tank is not big enough.
Booking network, August 2026, rated 7/10 by this guest
Not as shown or booked11 of 2951 in 27 reviews
We booked specifically for the advertised air conditioning, but were only told at check-in that it wasn’t working.
Google, August 2026, rated 1/5 by this guest
We booked for 3 of us and the bed was not made on arrival and they set out that there was only 2 even though the confirmation said 3.
Tripadvisor, May 2026, rated 3/5 by this guest
Serious reports
7 in 295 reviews, most common first. Shown beside the score, never averaged into it.
A physical hazard3 of 295 reviews
An electric socket was hanging off the wall in the corridor on 4 th floor, Air conditioning not very strong in room, and toilet in room did not flush paper very well.
Booking network, June 2026, rated 9/10 by this guest
Someone fell ill2 of 295 reviews
The espresso coffee machine utilized coffee beans that were not fresh, resulting in one of my family members experiencing nausea.
Booking network, June 2026, rated 9/10 by this guest
Bed bugs or bites2 of 295 reviews
In one of our rooms, the bed was even infested with bedbugs.
Google, August 2026, rated 1/5 by this guest
Even worse: One room had bedbugs, and I developed a rash all over my body.
Google, August 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
14 of the 60 guest photos we checked show damage or dirt (23%).
Guest photos showing damage or dirt14 of 6023%
Of 60 guest photos, 14 show damage or dirt: stains in 5, dirty surfaces in 3, dirty linen in 3 and rust or limescale in 2, and some photos show more than one. Of the hotel's own 40, 0 do.
What it advertises, against the photos
Guests’ photos confirm: restaurant (6), bathtub (6).
The hotel says it has no swimming pool, spa, gym or hot tub.
Price, place and rooms
Price
$285 is a typical night, from 302 dates checked in the coming year.
Weekends cost 11% more than weekdays
A typical night, month by month
Cheapest month: Jan 2027, $193Dearest month: Jun 2027, $385
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$281
- deals.dealbase.com$295
- stayforlong.co.uk$298
- Vio.com$298
- deals.goseek.com$298
- deals.etrip.net$298
- traveluro.com$303
- trivago.deals$307
Lowest advertised nightly rate for two adults; taxes and local fees are not included. Shown in US dollars.
Nearby
The nearest station is 339 m away by road, about 5 minutes on foot. There are 10 bars or clubs within 200 metres.
- Nearest main road: Pall Mall East103 m
- Nearest shop: Japan Centre2 min walk135 m by road
- Nearest station5 min walk339 m by road
- Big Ben16 min walk1.2 km by road
- The British Museum18 min walk1.4 km by road
- Buckingham Palace21 min walk1.6 km by road
- Tower Bridge4.5 km
The lines are 5, 10 and 15 minutes on foot.
Distances follow the streets, not straight lines.
Rooms
9 room types, from 15 to 32 m².
- Standard Twin Room15 m²Sleeps 2
- Standard Double Room15 m²Sleeps 2
- Deluxe King Room24 m²Sleeps 2
- Deluxe Twin Room24 m²Sleeps 2
- Deluxe Double Room, 1 King Bed24 m²Sleeps 2
- Executive Room, 1 King Bed with Sofa bed24 m²Sleeps 3
The other 3 room types
- Executive King Room30 m²Sleeps 3
- Junior Suite, 1 King Bed with Sofa bed32 m²Sleeps 3
- Junior Suite32 m²Sleeps 31 Queen bed
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
If room condition matters to you
Here, 24 of the 28 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 834 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 167 older, 110 in other languages, 258 with a score but no words and 4 about the restaurant rather than a stay.
- The hotel replied to 131 of its 200 newest Google reviews.
- 10 in every 100 reviews thank a staff member by name.
- 7 reviews mention 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.