Thistle Royal Horseguards, London

2 Whitehall Court, Whitehall, London, SW1A 2EJ
4

This landmark hotel takes centre stage in an area of London renowned for its glorious pageantry. Located in a quiet area of Whitehall, on the banks of the River... more

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£ Rooms from £169 (≈ $309) per night
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8/10 Overall rating

Category Average Rating
8/10 Check-in process
8/10 Your room
7/10 Working order of facilities / equipment
8/10 Order and cleanliness of the hotel
8/10 Performance of staff
8/10 Overall experience
9/10 Overall value for money
  • 9/10 Anonymous ( Family with older children) 

    on  August 28, 2008

    "great hotel, really enjoyed our stay" (107236611)

    We were upgraded promptly after our first night to a royal room which was very clean and nicely decorated.

    first room we were given was of a very poor standard for a 'delux room' . Bed was awful with lumpy springs causing major discomfort. grubby carpet and cracked bathroom tiles were not in keeping with a 4* hotel.

  • 5/10 Nick ( Mature couple) 

    from Canberra , AU  on  July 13, 2008

    "far too expensive for what you get" (108011458)

    location

    internet facilities non-functional, and should in any case be included in room rate

  • 5/10 Hilary ( Mature couple) 

    from Sheffield , GB  on  June 17, 2007

    The room we were given after I complained about the first accomodation was quite pleasant as it had a nice view of the gardens and river

    The room we were initially given was the worst hotel room I have been given. It was so built around that the sky was not even visible - I could not have spent a night in there without suffering from claustrophobia.

    1 of 1 people found this review helpful:

  • 9/10 John ( Mature couple) 

    from Moneymore , GB  on  June 29, 2008

    "With the exception of the noise very good" (97263028)

    Efficient staff, good quality accommodation well located for various means of transport

    Ongoing work caused disruption - jack hammer or kango being used

  • 8/10 Timothy ( Solo business traveller) 

    from Henley-on-klip , ZA  on  June 25, 2008

    "Enjoyed it" (97233596)

    Location, food, view from room.

    Did not always have hot water in shower, mattress needs replacing (Room 839)

  • 7/10 Jackielyn ( Group of work colleagues) 

    from Athenry, county galway , IE  on  June 23, 2008

    "Overall, barring some inconveniences, we found the hotel acceptable and would stay at Royal Horseguards again. Two reasons to stay again: feeling of safety & proximity to attractions we enjoy visiting." (97011531)

    Very acceptable location in relation to the parts of the city we were visiting. As 4 women traveling alone, we felt very safe there. Charming rooms but a bit shabby, although very clean.

    (1)I pre-booked taxi with concierge each morning for the evening's event. We expected the taxi to be at the door waiting for us at the appointed time; although we always appeared 10 minutes early, we had to re-request the taxi & the doorman would then hail a cab resulting in late arrivals for all events by a minimum of 20 minutes. I find that completely unacceptable. (2) I pre-booked 2 Executive Twins & the rooms were polar opposites of each other in terms of size, view and overall feel. Both mini bars in each room were understocked, according to the price list.

  • 8/10 Anonymous ( Same sex couple) 

    on  April 11, 2007

    "THE HOTEL IS A BIT DAUNTINGLY SMART WITH UNIFORMED DOORMEN AND CONCIERGE AND VAST MARBLED RECEPTION AREA. I FELT DISTINCTLY UNDER-DRESSED IN JEANS AND BOMBER JACKET. BUT TO BE FAIR THERE WAS NO SNOBBERY FROM THE STAFF AND OUTSTANDINGLY GOOD SERVICE CHECKING IN. RECEPTIONIST WAS FRIENDLY, WELCOMING AND EFFICIENT AND SHE ALSO OFFERED A ROOM UPGRADE ON ARRIVAL FROM 'DELUXE' TO 'EXECUTIVE' FOR £30, WHICH SEEMED GOOD VALUE. PITY ABOUT THE HARSH GAUNT LIGHTING IN THE BEDROOMS THOUGH." (99733446)

    CLEAN, COMFORTABLE BED, PLENTY OF DRAWERS, GOOD WARDROBE, SPACE FOR LUGGAGE. ELECTRIC LIGHT FOR DO NOT DISTURB ETC WAS A GOOD TOUCH.

    THE ROOM LIGHTING WAS JUST ROTTEN FOR A SO-CALLED EXECUTIVE ROOM. CANDLE STYLE BULBS WITH NO SHADES AND NO BEDSIDE TABLE LAMPS MEANT THERE WAS NO ATMOSPHERE TO AN OTHERWISE PLEASANT ROOM.

    1 of 1 people found this review helpful:

  • 10/10 Susanne ( Mature couple) 

    from Arnsberg , DE  on  June 1, 2008

    "Excellent value for money" (97905565)

    excellent staff who were extremely caring. as it was our anniversary they could not do enought to make it special including room with a view of thames and free bottle of wine. The location is excellent.

  • 9/10 Anonymous ( Young couple) 

    on  May 22, 2008

    "I was very impressed with the young woman who checked me in when I arrived. She was very profession, attentive, sweet and accomodating. She took extra time to rearrange our room to have the most interesting views and windows. I was doubly impressed with this since I had booked one of the least expensive rooms at the hotel. It was nice to still be treated as a valued customer. (I believe her name was Renata)" (97753669)

  • 10/10 Anonymous ( Mature couple) 

    on  March 19, 2008

    "Excellent Hotel, you felt at ease during the stay." (97723817)

    Excellent service,the staff made you feel welcome.

  • 7/10 Anonymous ( Group of work colleagues) 

    on  March 14, 2008

    Location

    Remote control for TV was not 100% operational.

  • 8/10 Anonymous ( Young couple) 

    on  December 19, 2007

    "i would like to have known that my room was not a view over the thames would liked to have known if i asked the hotel to book me a taxi that there was a charge for this." (97098168)

    on the thames close to the theatres and main streets

    the view from the room

  • 8/10 Anonymous ( Group of adult friends) 

    on  November 14, 2007

    The spaciousness,comfort of furniture, if not beds, and location

    The pillows were dreadful--on both beds! And would very much like signs of this being an environmentally responsible hotel-- re lighting levels, laundry levels etc.

  • 10/10 Steve ( Young couple) 

    from Stockport , GB  on  September 26, 2007

    "Fantastic hotel opposite the London Eye - Couldn't get a better location for all the sights." (99538784)

    Location

  • 10/10 Anonymous ( Group of adult friends) 

    on  June 27, 2007

    "Perfect for sights trafalgar sq etc.Drink prices a bit saucy but not too bad if you are only using residents bar." (99908431)

    Very central to everything, easy to get to via underground

  • 7/10 Anonymous ( Mature couple) 

    on  June 21, 2007

    The quiet area, proximity to Royal events and so many interesting places. The lounge areas in the hotel,the convenience of very good food drink and service at all times.

    The view from the room window - 543 - supposedly a de-luxe but the bathroom was showing definite signs of wear and requires refurbishment.

  • 8/10 Anonymous ( Young couple) 

    on  May 8, 2007

    "Great situation in London for where we wanted to be. Hotel is very clean. Good atmosphere" (99434120)

    Very respectable looking hotel. Staff very professional. Food was excellent

    Our room was not turned down in the evening and in the morning we were disturbed whilst still in bed at 8.30am

  • 8/10 Anonymous ( Young couple) 

    on  April 4, 2007

    Air con unit kept us awake!

  • 10/10 Ian ( Other) 

    from Bristol , GB  on  March 21, 2007

    "EXCELLENT HOTEL IN A WONDERFUL CENTRAL LOCATION CLOSE TO THE RIVER THAMES, WEST END AND PARLIAMENT. ROOM SERVICE WAS FAST AND EFFICIENT. ROOMS WERE HIGH CLASS AND RELAXING. THE WHOLE HOTEL WAS WELCOMING AND REEKED OF QUALITY." (99017487)

    VERY PLUSH AND CLEAN. HIGH QUALITY FURNITURE AND FURNISHINGS INCLUDING A LARGE CARRIAGE CLOCK IN THE ROOM. ROOM VERY WELL LIT.

  • 10/10 Neal ( Other) 

    from Bray , Ireland;IE  on  March 7, 2007

    "Most enjoyable. Will definitely stay again. Good room and related services. Great location for sightseeing. Very relaxed atmosphere (good piano player !). Very pleasant, friendly and helpful staff. My 10-year-old son was also very impressed. Thanks," (99968977)

    Very friendly, helpful and efficient staff. Lovely room. Good facilities, good location, good food.

    Small point : Had asked in advance for Foam pillows (I'm asthmatic) but room had only feather ones. In mitigation, I only spotted this when I got back in the evening (10pm) and concierge managed to get one foam pillow and tried extremely hard to get more, and did arrange an alternative. He was most helpful but I am surprised with high asthma rates in UK (1 in 4) that hotels still use feather pillows !!

  • 9/10 David ( Mature couple) 

    from Edinburgh , United Kingdom;GB  on  February 28, 2007

    "your hotel should use another taxi company i booked one for 1800 he as there at 1755 when we got in the metre was at £4.50 with a £2.00 call out charge the driver had started his metre long before he got to the hotel i have been told by the police cab office in london the call out charge for 2 people is £0.60 and not £2.00" (99387050)

    very clean

  • 8/10 Paul ( Mature couple) 

    from Katy , United States;US  on  February 28, 2007

    "Charming building, great location, and very good service. The hotel is clean and well maintained as well. The expenses add up quickly, though, so be prepared to pay more than is advertised." (99589025)

    Historical building and location

    Expense, but maybe that's just London

  • 9/10 Anonymous ( Young couple) 

    on  February 28, 2007

    "we would almost certianly stay at this hotel again when we come to london for a weekend in london as it is central to many of the capitals attractoins" (99787709)

    the accommodation was up to the high standard we would expect from a hotel in london

  • 7/10 Anonymous ( Young couple) 

    on  February 24, 2007

    Helpful staff, clean room and good central location - within walking distance of many major attractions

    The room was very dark as looked out onto stairway

  • 9/10 Anonymous ( Young couple) 

    on  February 21, 2007

    "generally very impressed, stay in poland, turkey & germany frequently on business in exec rooms and none compare at the price wife loved it too, it was our 17th anniversary, location was just perfect for a stroll home from the Adelphi Theatre" (99474405)

    great location & good quality of hotel, staff all very supportive & friendly

    small thing - slow drain away of water in sink & shower

  • 9/10 Anonymous ( Mature couple) 

    on  February 7, 2007

    "We were most impressed with staff at the hotel all of them were very polite and most helpful, the restaurant staff in particular both for breakfast and for our evening meal were first class." (99575681)

    It`s proximity to the attractions that we wished to visit and to the Embankment Tube Station for ease of travelling.

  • 9/10 Mike ( Young couple) 

    from Twickenham , United Kingdom;GB  on  January 31, 2007

    Location and cleanliness of the hotel

    The waitress at breakfast, very unhelpful and not very polite

  • 7/10 Anonymous ( Family with young children) 

    on  January 8, 2007

    "The room was great and hotel in general, but the service in the lounge bar was very slow and very disorganised." (3304104226)

    Clean and to high standard

  • 7/10 Neil ( Mature couple) 

    from Thame , United Kingdom;GB  on  December 21, 2006

    "We were not offered an upgrade on arrival and, as the hotel was very quiet I am sure an upgrade was possible. We would have upgraded to a room with a view and had an even better experience. Wonderful location and would definitely use again and recommend!" (99594925)

    Wonderful location just a short walk from The London Eye, Trafalger Square, The Strand and Covent Garden. Staff very helpful and food in 1 21 2 restaurant excellent

    Never got the ice ordered from room service. No view from the room - other than a stair well!

  • 9/10 Anonymous ( Young couple) 

    on  December 19, 2006

    Central London, beautiful building, near tube, large rooms. Excellent breakfast and polite staff.

    A bit noisy between rooms and excess noise from outside (but this is central London). Rather worn bathroom.

  • 5/10 Malcolm ( Mature couple) 

    from Coleraine , United Kingdom;GB  on  December 7, 2006

    "Over priced for poor service. If breakfast is offered enough facilities for guests should be available at all times. Having to wait so long - management should have offered discount" (99243275)

    Central location

    Had to wait 45 minutes for table for breakfast as were most guests and then charged £17.50 a head for the privalege. Bathroom sink emptied slowly. Window looked out onto brick wall. no natural light

  • 8/10 Anonymous ( Solo business traveller) 

    on  November 21, 2006

    The room was comfortable and not over heated as is often the case in hotels. The bathroom was clean with all needs catered for.

    The television was old, flickery and not well adjusted. It was difficult to find the music channel and when located, had poor reproduction.

  • 5/10 Wendy ( Mature couple) 

    from Sittingbourne , United Kingdom;GB  on  November 19, 2006

    The position of the hotel was excellent

    It took nearly an hour to book into the room even though we arrived at 2 the advertised time.This was a complete waste of our time as we were only there for one afternoon and evening.

  • 6/10 Anonymous ( Other) 

    on  November 12, 2006

    "Problems when pay with VisaCard in the Hotel" (99119427)

    front disk employ ( I Think the name i Victoria / young girl). Unkind and verry bad service unfortunately

  • 10/10 Anita ( Other) 

    from Hewett , AUSTRALIA;AU  on  October 31, 2006

    "Although I only had an overnight stay,I really felt comfortable.The room was excellent,and the welcome message on the TV was such a nice touch.The staff were pleasent and polite,and very helpful,without being in your face.The only thing I did not know,was that beakfast was include in the price,so a nice surprise.Overall my stay was an excellent experience.Many thanks" (99527405)

    The comfort of the room,very clean,everything I needed was supplied

  • 6/10 Stewart ( Mature couple) 

    from Bangor , United Kingdom;GB  on  October 26, 2006

    "Quite expensive" (99614001)

    Comfortable

    Hair dryer didn't work. The new one we requested was not brought to our room.

  • 9/10 Lee ( Young couple) 

    from Smethwick , United Kingdom;GB  on  October 25, 2006

    excellent location, allowed us into room on arrival at 1030am, large room with seperate lounge, very comfortable clean true 4* hotel we loved it...

    no view to speak of from our room but no negatives at all really..

  • 8/10 Lyn ( Mature couple) 

    from Bournemouth , United Kingdom;GB  on  October 25, 2006

    "Amazing location, just across the Hungerford bridge so great if you're coming in from Waterloo. Appears to be parking too. Lots of character but not so up-market you feel uncomfortable. I would recommend it with the proviso to check no disco on if its a saturday night." (99990168)

    Excellent location for visiting london, room clean and tidy, fairly spacious.

    Bathroom could use a touch up. Also we did not appreciate the disco that started up and was going to last till 12.30am! Suggest you check there is not a wedding reception on or request to be on the 9th floor!!

  • 8/10 Anonymous ( Solo business traveller) 

    on  October 21, 2006

    The bathroom was along the corridor and there was only a small mirror available in the room.

  • 9/10 Christine ( Solo leisure traveller) 

    from Newport , United Kingdom;GB  on  October 18, 2006

    "As above I found this a relaxing and elegant stepping stone stop for a holiday in Paris (from Wales) via eurostar .I would reccommend." (99526402)

    the area and unstressed surroundings reflected by the unhurried and helpful staff comfortable and relaxing stay Historic settinng

  • 3/10 Nick ( Family with young children) 

    from Hamstreet , United Kingdom;GB  on  October 17, 2006

    "Upon arrival the room location as very poor ( no natural light available ). After requesting an alternative room we waited for over 2 hours , asked 3 staff for information before eventually requesting a manager who then showed us to our alternative room. General politeness / helpfulness was very poor ." (99999071)

  • 8/10 Martyn ( Young couple) 

    from Shrewsbury , United Kingdom;GB  on  August 25, 2006

    "Close to the major sights, great views if you ask for the rooms overlooking the river. a little noisy as seems to be the main drag for the police cars with their sirens on all times of day and night!!" (3305156653)

    The location was fantastic for sight seeing, however nightlife was a long walk or taxi drive away. The view of the London Eye from the room window was worth asking for

    Open the door to the bathroom and you have to sidle your way around the toilet, a very bad layout!

  • 10/10 Thomas ( Family with young children) 

    from Apo , United States;US  on  August 15, 2006

    "Great location, great service, great hotel. Highly recommened and very helpful to families with young children as they provided a baby crib to the room that was set up before our arrival." (3305147234)

    Excellent service and facilities. Very nice large (un-European) rooms.

    The only negative I found was a lack of access to stairs. Our room was on the first floor, so a set of stairs to the floor would be nice. We often had to wait for an elevator just to go up one floor. Now I am sure they exsist somewhere in the hotel, but no one seems to know.

  • 10/10 Anonymous ( Mature couple) 

    on  May 23, 2007

    "We did have a very nice time, and the hotel did live up to our expectations. It was my wifes birthday, and our stay was very special." (99133740)

    I requested a room overlooking the thames, and I definitely got that, even though I did have to pay for the ptivilage.

    The hotel was beautiful, and I really couldn't fault it, however I was woken up to some sort of banging, which lasted about half an hour, It sounded like some one was using a laundry chute. it was about 6am in the morning.

    0 of 1 people found this review helpful:

  • 8/10 Sandra ( Mature couple) 

    from Monument , United States;US  on  August 6, 2006

    "The location is convenient to area sites and easy to get around on foot, however we were in a car, It was very difficult to acess by car. Parking was off site and inconvenient, we would have benefitted by knowing in advance that it is much easier to visit this hotel with out a car." (3305066773)

    location and veiw, historic building

    difficult to access by car

  • 7/10 Steven ( Young couple) 

    from Ely , United Kingdom;GB  on  July 11, 2006

    "When we booked the hotel we were not made aware that breakfast was not included, this was only realised upon check-in. Having stayed in a number of hotels prior to this stay and although this hotel was impressive, we would probably choose against this hotel as we don't feel we had value for money." (3304713232)

    The foyer and restaurant were very clean and tidy. Staff were very friendly and helpful.

    Although the room was clean and tidy it was very small for the price we paid. Was very surprised the overnight cost did not include breakfast.

  • 8/10 Anonymous ( Mature couple) 

    on  July 5, 2006

    "I think the site and size of the hotel makes it particularly attractive to most guests. Also the nearby underground and the surrounding cafes and resturants add to its attraction." (3304808172)

    The specific site of the hotel makes it particularly special as well as the building itself makes it one of the finest.

    The room was in a cul-de-sac and the window opens to a generator/laundry enclosure which was particularly unpleasant.

  • 6/10 Anonymous ( Solo leisure traveller) 

    on  July 1, 2006

    "I enjoyed my stay but then I did not have a planned schedule, so I had all the time in the world to do my own thing. This being so, I still found the service in the restaurant and lounge area extremely slow and to find a waiter to attend to something was nearby impossible. My room was not complete with certain amenities even though I told them...they were not forthcoming although promised to me. The conceirge I found very helpful and efficient. My room was comfortable and nicely decorated. I found room service to be excellent and the quality of food extremely good." (3304541730)

    perfect location to underground and main line stations and central for all tourist attractions.

    service was sloppy and very slow.

  • 8/10 Lynn ( Mature couple) 

    from Nether heage , United Kingdom;GB  on  June 21, 2006

    "Overall stay was very good. Knew everything that we needed to know and were delighted with our room." (3304521721)

    Nice view and neat room

    Noise of door banging throughout nights and from neighbouring room in early hours

  • 6/10 Anonymous ( Solo business traveller) 

    on  June 21, 2006

    "Small rooms and corridors, needs a faceliuft" (3304824478)

    Location close to Charring Cross

    Bathroom roof leaked

The views expressed on this page are the personal opinions of guests and therefore do not necessarily represent the views of Active Hotels, Active Reservations or our distribution partners (About our hotel reviews).

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