Thistle Hotel Kensington Gardens

My partner and I stayed here the first week in October 2015 as part of a tour that began inEngland and will conclude in Scotland.
Pros — the hotel is well located and a great home base while in London. Easy walk to Kensington Palace and all the great shops and tourist destinations in West London.
By European standards this is a 4 star hotel. Our American companions complained about the room size but quite honestly this is what you get for this price point in this location in London.
Our room was at the back of the hotel and over looked the pretty neighborhood and trees. The room was small but very clean, modern décor in new condition. The room had everything we needed, good closet with safe, ironing board, dryer and good desk space .
The bed was comfy and climate control worked perfect. Our rate included breakfast. Breakfast was buffet and we arrived at 7am right as buffet opened. All food was fresh and a decent variety for the price point of the room. The hotel was totally full and within 15 minutes the entire space was full. Service was decent.
Cons — the staff seemed a little overwhelmed many times during our stay. All staff were polite and pleasant but clearly good have used more help. We needed to exchange large bills for small change and only one person was at the front desk with a long line waiting. Service was slow in the bar and restaurant as well. Minor quip but at London prices they need more staff.
Overall we would stay here again. Not fancy but the value quotient of price to room size and amenities is on target.

Hôtel très agréable, à deux pas de Hyde park, un pas de Kensington Garden, trois pas de Nothing Hill, Portobello, et du magique Holland Park.
Accueil aimable et distingué, hôtel très propre et en bon état, récemment rénové semble-​t-​il, très agréable vu le prix très raisonnable pour Londres.
Une rareté et un bonne surprise…
Chambre nickel mais pas bien grande évidemment. Déco sobre et moderne, manqué peut-​être une petite touché de romantisme. Et le lit est bon mais un peu dur et bombé, résultat on se retrouve, au réveil, loin de sa copine.
Un tout petit peu plus d’espace de rangement eut été souhaitable évidemment, par exemple les tables de nuits n’ont pas de tiroir et né permettent que de déposer quelques objets.
Belle salle de bain, grande douche de plain-​pied avec douche de tête et douchette à main, ainsi qu’un robinet thermostatique, (tout) petit luxe mais tellement agréable.
Détail pratique: le miroir chauffant, ce qui lui évite de s’embuer pendant la douche.
Deux défauts au niveau sonore: pas mal de bruits d’écoulements qu’on entend à travers la douche à certains moments, ainsi qu’un bruit de ventilation extérieur même si cela né m’a jamais empêché de bien dormir (car à la fin d’une journée à Londres, normalement on est bien fatigué, sinon c’était pas la peine de venir à Londres), pour le reste incroyablement calme, en tout cas à l’arrière, sachant que l’avant (non testé) donne sur Bayswater Road.
Dans la chambre l’on trouve aussi une planche à repasser ainsi qu’un fer électrique, un sèche-​cheveux, une bouilloire avec quelques sachets de thé et de café soluble, mais ce né sont pas des produits de très haute qualité et surtout l’eau des robinets n’est pas très agréable, et fait d’horribles boissons chaudes même si vous apportez vos propre sachets de thés de chez Selfridges…
Cintres antivol mais peu nombreux. Coffre qui né marche pas, piles plates je suppose et j’imagine qu’il aurait suffit de demander à la réception, mais je m’en fiche, je né possède rien de précieux de toute façon. Enfin qui né se mette dans un coffre mural bien sûr…
Précieuse possibilité de consigne de bagages gratuite et sûre le jour d’arrivée et le jour du départ.
Wifi efficace même dans la chambre (et sans mot de passé).
Prix payé: 177 Euros par nuit sans petit déjeuner.

From LONDON with love … So here’s a little info on this place… Location is good and a short ride on the metro to where all the hot spots are at… The closest metro spot is QUEENSWAY which is about a 3 – 4 minute walk from the hotel…
The rooms are a bit small but hey let’s be honest your not gonna spend much time in the room anyway… The bed is comfy and love the fact that my head doesn’t sink into the pillow… Room is clean and nice … Friendly staff and very helpful … There are shops and restaurants close by also … Fish and chips you yank lol jk … Enjoy

Our room was clean every day and it was a bit more spacious than I thought it would be. We asked the concierge on duty a million questions every day… how do you get here? How do you get there? Do you suggest _​_​_​_​? And they always kindly assisted us! Awesome! They even provided a map of all of London and one of Bayswater Village. Truly helpful. We had breakfast included and they had a great selection of fruits, yogurts, hot items, cereals, and drinks. We had one server, Bene, who was particularly kind and she never minded chatting with us. This kind of attention makes one want to return! The only thing I didn’t like is when there was a large group of gypsies staying and their children were allowed to run amuck and play with the elevator while guests were trying to call one. This kind of behavior annoys me at home and it annoyed me here, in fact, it doesn’t even matter that they were gypsies… it just matters that the behavior was being tolerated.

A typical modern, economy hotel in London — but falsely advertised as a «luxury» resort.
For starters, there isn’t a real entrance to the place, just a tiny, dimly lit mudroom of sorts downstairs (next to the gas station) with the same concierge/​bellman every day.
We expected things to improve in the lobby, but they didn’t. The lobby was the smallest I have ever been in. Riding up to our room, the cramped, slow elevators slowly reached our floor.
In the room, we were SHOCKED. It was absolutely TINY. The TV quality was rubbish, and there was absolutely no space for suitcases.
Also, the doors were practically useless and you could hear everything in the hallway, but worse, everyone in the hallway could hear you (MI6 agents — not a great place to stay for you).
They were doing construction on the elevators too, which started early in the morning and woke everyone up.
The Brasserie downstairs was very satisfactory, good to average food. Strangely, the hotel & restaurant staff were always the same every day, all day — we suspected they lived on site.
—– One good thing — FREE WiFi!!!
Overall, we were not satisfied with this as a «luxurious» place. We were booked here through a travel agency for our trip to Europe.
All the other places we stayed at were incredible, so if you’re used to nice (or even half-​decent) hotels, bring totally different expectations to this small, economical place.
If you’re not expecting anything fancy and just want a little place to sleep for the night, this might be the place for you.

This hotel has as its main feature that it is above a GAS STATION. It doesn’t have an entrance, per se, just a side-​entrance. The side-​entrance is the entrance. It’s just an appendage to a Shell garage. Who thought this unusual thing up?
Our next regret: There are no fridges in the rooms. Am I spoilt, or unreasonable, for preferring a fridge in the room? Have I been raised too well, pampered too long? No such thing as a room fridge, not even a mini-​bar, had been heard of here, nor could it be garnered.
The room was a bit of a laugh too. It made me chuckle, but with misery really! The bedside «table» was a hollow cube without any drawers. It was there to confound you — to make you feel sad and anxious and frustrated and finally alone in a Godless universe. I tell you it looked like it might have drawers but it didn’t have any. It was the opposite of a useful thing! It was like a sort of trick in reverse. Not a hidden drawer, but the opposite. There was no drawer where it looked like there was one. It was a hollow box you couldn’t put anything in. It was there expressly to vindictively take up a large percentage of what little room we had.
The bins were so small you would stuff a sandwich packet in there and the thing was blocked up. You’d throw something else in and it would bounce off the bin on to the floor. The bin was all «used up.»
Let me speak now of the bath. The tap and the actual nozzle were at opposite ends of the bath «for convenience.» You’d have to stretch out to test the water temperature. You ran the risk of falling in the bath, because there was a «shower door» halfway athwart the bath expressly designed it seems to maximize the awkwardness of running a bath. It was like the bath of Procrustes.
Space for clothes is next to nothing. Don’t even try to do it, it will only make you cry like a child for the innocence you have lost in the process. Don’t bring clothes. Wear what you have on for days on end even if it causes you to smell like a beast of the field. Or, bring instead a large suitcase with drawers in it. Better still, use your suitcase as a hotel room; it’d probably have more space and more «modern conveniences» than our room did.
The «concierge» was distinguished by his protracted absences. He had a terrific talent for sneaking off whenever people were abroad at the attractive broom-​closet that is the entrance to the place. He was always up to some distant mischief, or off playing mumble-​peg in a remote region. Always something doing with him. I travailed like a navvy getting our suitcases to the foyer, on the next floor up.
To sum it up, if you love «spartan living» and replicating the conditions of our forefathers during wartime, come to Thistle Kensington Gardens.
«If not, not.»
(Duly noted: we had a nice view of Hyde Park.)
[I have included a photograph of the bath and of the confounding cube since would you believe me if you did not see it yourself?)

Friendly staff, rooms not too small (we had a double and single in the same room which was fine). Close to Paddington and thus Heathrow Express. Only drawback is the small elevators (but there are three so there is not much of a wait). Internet is apparently free if you sign up for the rewards program — i got on via my boingo subscription. Location is great and the staff are friendly.
Someone charged so food to our room which i caught on check-​out and they took care of. Double check your bill!

Ok better if you are on business expenses. Get one of the rooms with some view.

The first time I came to London, I stayed at the Kensington Gardens Hotel and was not disappointed at all. The price range is £60-£80. Of course, you can find something cheaper but trust me it’s good value for money. The hotel is very intimate and CLEAN! The staff is at your service 24 hours a day.
As far as the rooms are concerned, they are all equipped with an en-​suite bathroom, satellite Sky Television, tea/​coffee making facilities, hair-​dryer, shaver point and minibar.
The area is very nice. Near the hotel, you can find Whiteleys Shopping centre and many fashionable shops and restaurants.