Thistle Bristol, Bristol

Broad Street, Bristol, BS1 2EL
4  

The Thistle Grand Hotel is is not only Bristol’s oldest hotel, but is also one of the city’s finest 4-star hotels. The Grand, as it was once known (and... more

 

£ Rooms from £55 (≈ $97) per night
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7/10 Overall rating

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

    on  August 27, 2008

    "It was enjoyable" (97924326)

    Friendly staff; central location; clean room with adequate space; good breakfast.

    No airconditioning (luckily there was no outside noise); lifts under capacity

    1 of 1 people found this review helpful:

  • 7/10 Karen ( Mature couple) 

    from Southampton , GB  on  August 27, 2008

    "Overall, a nice hotel. We were a bit surprised that the 'luxury room' was as small as it was. It was very comfortable but not what we would have called luxurious! We were wondering what the standard rooms were like. Decor was a bit old fashioned and austere exept the dining room which was lovely and bright. The staff were polite but not particularly friendly. Breakfast was lovely and so were the leisure facilities." (107131702)

    The breakfast was lovely and the dining room light and comfortable. The hotel location was perfect. The pool etc was very nicely looked after. we were upgraded free of charge to a luxury room.

    Upon Check-out member of staff was a bit surley (never said good-bye when we left or asked how our stay was etc). There was no bar other than in the dining room so there was no bar lounge to sit and have evening drinks (we had them in the lobby). Its a pity that parking wasn't free for guests.

    1 of 1 people found this review helpful:

  • 7/10 Kim ( Mature couple) 

    from Swindon , GB  on  June 16, 2008

    "A nice stay, the room could have been updated a little, and some of the lightbulbs didn't work - but comfortable and clean. Was expensive at £140 per night, when the web site says rooms from £65. There were certainly none available at any lower price when I enquired." (97029786)

    very central location, pleasant surroundings and helpful, polite staff.

    Nightmare to find in the central Bristol one way system. Directions on the website were not easy to follow.

    1 of 1 people found this review helpful:

  • 10/10 Jane ( Mature couple) 

    from Malvern , GB  on  September 30, 2008

    Amost friendly and efficient place to come to.We hope to come again

  • 5/10 Stephen ( Mature couple) 

    from Grouville , GB  on  September 24, 2008

    "Adequate given the price paid." (107284646)

    No remote control for TV in bedroom. Half the food items on the lounge menu were not available because it was a Sunday!!

  • 10/10 Heather ( Mature couple) 

    from Wilts , GB  on  April 23, 2008

    "The hotel offered everything we needed from accomodation to parking and very good staff who helped with all requests. It was very clean and the food excellent. It was well positioned for visting many of Bristols venues. I would sugest it best to book on line as we made substantial savings by doing so." (97925091)

    A lovely room, which was felt like a suite in layout. A very big bathroom which was surprising

    1 of 1 people found this review helpful:

  • 8/10 Louise ( Group of adult friends) 

    from Shrewsbury , GB  on  September 17, 2008

    "Good value for money" (107270575)

    Very central hotel. Spacious room. Good leisure facilities.

    Breakfast OK but 'hot food' not so hot!

  • 5/10 Paul ( Mature couple) 

    from Brierley hill , GB  on  September 15, 2008

    "Generally OK and served its purpose for an overnight stay." (107262084)

    Efficient and very polite check in process along with a worthwhile £15 upgrade to a deluxe room.

    The upgrade was for a larger room with robes and complimentary water. The room did not have robes. The room was generally 'shabby' with wallpaper peeling in places. Food was of a good standard however it was generally over complicated.

  • 9/10 John ( Mature couple) 

    from Bridgwater , GB  on  April 15, 2008

    "very pleasent experience and will look forward to staying again" (97923155)

    very clean and tidy/bed linen very fresh/the staff where very plesant and very helpfull/ food was outstanding

    1 of 1 people found this review helpful:

  • 3/10 Nick ( Young couple) 

    from Staffordshire , GB  on  March 30, 2008

    "When i booked this it looked a nice pleasent place to stay, but as i mentioned above i was very disapointed with the hotel in general, and will not look to stay in the hotel again and would not look to use the chain either. I will stick to the chain i prefer which is best western." (97315073)

    Clean tidy and nice and convienient location

    Staff attitude, poor room quality, as we booked a double room and ended up with a twin. staff seemed unavaliable and not interested in informing us of the hotels facilities or rectifying promblems.

    1 of 1 people found this review helpful:

  • 5/10 Paula ( Young couple) 

    from Shepton mallet , GB  on  March 6, 2008

    "I have stayed in the thistelhotel before and ahd a lovely stay. This time was not as good took ages to check in. Also the jacuzi in the spa wasnt working this was our main reason for the stay. Poor value for money. May not consider using hotel again." (97731171)

    Decor and breakfast facilities

    spa wasnt up to scratch disapointing this time.

    2 of 2 people found this review helpful:

  • 10/10 Margaret ( Mature couple) 

    from Rochester , GB  on  August 21, 2008

    "Excellent" (107125835)

    cleanliness of room & hotel/polite & helpful staff/excellent breakfast/own carpark/overall experience.

  • 8/10 Anonymous ( Family with older children) 

    on  August 20, 2008

    "generally enjoyable stay. loved the home touches" (107226523)

    friendly staff eager to please

    had to go outside hotel to use the pool..having to validate parking ticket to get out of carpark bit of a pain better if had a pass

  • 3/10 Tony ( Solo business traveller) 

    from Harrow on the hill , GB  on  March 8, 2008

    "I would not stay there again" (97496170)

    Very little

    Shabby room, very few toiletries,radiator that would not turn down, movie channel that staff could not unlock, downstairs bar that smelt strongly of damp that was not comfortable to be in.

    1 of 1 people found this review helpful:

  • 7/10 Anonymous ( Group of work colleagues) 

    on  August 12, 2008

    Room was very small with poor aspect/view

  • 8/10 Paul ( Same sex couple) 

    from Newquay , GB  on  August 8, 2008

    "see above" (107153767)

    decor

    very very dark room with hardly any dayligh and terrible outlook Supposed to be a treat for my daughter who was going through some hard times but very disapointed in the room

  • 6/10 Linda ( Solo business traveller) 

    from East grinstead , GB  on  July 11, 2008

    "Not worth the money paid - should make clear in state of refurbishment and reflect this is the price" (108045254)

    did agree to move me when I complained about teh poor decorative state and standard of first room. Nice swimming pool.

    Hotel is state of refurbishment - very shabby in places, very drafty room which would have been cold in winter (windows not shut properly even though a refurbished room).

  • 5/10 Anonymous ( Group of work colleagues) 

    on  July 2, 2008

    "Left feeling exhausted & aching from lumpy bed." (99637378)

    Staff very friendly & helpful. Good central position within 5 mins of Broadmead shops & less than 10 to Colston Hall.

    Twin beds both very lumpy. Fan in room did not work & no aircon. Other guests v noisy. Door to rooms are spring-loaded & close with a loud bang each time. Kept awake by guests/doors until 2am & then awoken by doors from 5.30am until 7am!! Complaint to reception was met with 'Ah, that floor is due for refurbishment'!

  • 6/10 Anonymous ( Family with older children) 

    on  June 20, 2008

    "Overall a nice stay but the room finish was disappointing" (99026104)

    Breakfast was very good

    Room interior tired. Wall tiles above sink loose and potentially dangerous as they will undoubtedly fall one day, possibly onto a person's head or feet.

  • 9/10 Anonymous ( Mature couple) 

    on  September 28, 2007

    we were allowed to check in early

    the view from our room

    1 of 1 people found this review helpful:

  • 8/10 Anonymous ( Mature couple) 

    on  June 16, 2008

    "comfortable, but with some exrernal noise" (97323957)

  • 6/10 Georgina ( Other) 

    from Bournemouth , GB  on  May 29, 2008

    "The Hotel is Central therefore convenient. Staff helpful. Whilst the linen was immaculate the room was very dusty and needed at least a jolly good vacuum." (97400959)

    Needed a good vacuum!

  • 6/10 Jayne ( Mature couple) 

    from Rotherham , GB  on  April 23, 2008

    "quite nice really but felt the restuarant food and service for dinner were over priced, although breakfast was wonderful" (97888858)

    pleasant comfortable room

    towel rail in bathroom not working

  • 5/10 Richard ( Group of work colleagues) 

    from Farnborough , GB  on  April 16, 2008

    Excluding the duty management, staff were friendly especially Mike the hotel porter who remember me from 1986

    View of the mezzanine floor roof, poor lighting in the room, the shower curtain in the bathroom which was placed so far over the bath as to render the effective shower space almost unusable

  • 10/10 Anonymous ( Other) 

    on  January 30, 2008

    "The hotel is conviently situated for the shops and theatre, which was the main reason for our visit." (97557828)

    The hotel staff were friendly and courteous, and the hotel was clean and in good repair. The food was outstanding.

  • 5/10 Anonymous ( Mature couple) 

    on  January 30, 2008

    Clean

    Tired and worn furnishings, twin beds made as double, poor lighting

  • 9/10 Geof ( Solo business traveller) 

    from Stockport , GB  on  January 26, 2008

    "Excellent. This booking had been entered in error at reception as 1 room instead of 2. The problem was addressed efficiently, speedily and professionally." (97656853)

    slept well

  • 6/10 Anonymous ( Mature couple) 

    on  October 3, 2007

    "Unfortunately , the restaurant leaves much to be desired and to me this is part of the whole experience. Although there were plenty of tables free, we were seated in a dark place behind a wall. Some of the meals were cold, the main vegetarian leeks dish tasted like mustard, but the lamb was good. Totally overpriced. In general, understaffed, both in restaurant and at front desk, although the staff on duty was friendly." (97299689)

    Bedroom separate from sitting room with TV, cozy, hair dryer

    Hard bed, too dark, view of car park, no kettle for tea or coffee and breakfast not included.

  • 3/10 Anonymous ( Young couple) 

    on  September 28, 2007

    "It was meant to be a romantic weekend break but we ended up stressing about the awful room when we arrived and spend half day next morning trying to find alternative accommodation. The service was poor and was told that we will have to pay £20 supplement to move to a better accomodation, which was bad as the room we were in but had with better view (not over looking the generators). The hotel has parking and a Spa, but you it is not joined to the hotel in the next building)." (97252397)

    The hotel claimed to be 4 stars, but will not even meet 3star rating. The room was out dated & over crowded with peeling wallpapers and ceiling fan. We booked for double room and got 2 twin beds pushed against the wall to make a double bed. Bathroom was very small with hardly any space to move and dirty.

  • 9/10 Alan david ( Solo leisure traveller) 

    from Merseyside , GB  on  July 17, 2007

    Room was comfortable, clean, and spacious. Very comfortable bed. Bathroom good.

    Seemed to get a lot of loud bird noise early morning from outside the window. Not sure where the birds where, maybe on roof?

  • 7/10 Anonymous ( Solo business traveller) 

    on  June 26, 2007

    The room had air conditioning, and was to a high standard

    The room (111) was very noisy by night by the presence of some noisy pipes / services within the ceiling / adjacent corridor

  • 9/10 Gill ( Mature couple) 

    from Isleworth , GB  on  June 5, 2007

    "I would have liked to know that the leisure centre was in a separate building (i trotted down in my gym gear to find out I had to leave the building!) We enjoyed our sty.Staff were friendly and polite. We left our luggage for the day too which was a bonus - thank-you." (99125964)

    The size of the bed! very roomy. Bathroom was spotless - always nice

    Minor point - torn wallpaper on one wall.

  • 5/10 Anonymous ( Young couple) 

    on  March 26, 2008

    Quiet, and it was a smoking room

    Receptionist on arrival was rude and ignored us for about 5 minutes

    1 of 2 people found this review helpful:

  • 10/10 Anonymous ( Solo business traveller) 

    on  June 3, 2007

    "I think that everything that I needed to know about the hotel was made clear from the booking pages on the internet. It was easy to find from the hotel. It was clean and had an excellent restaurant, excellent sleeping accomodation." (99234408)

    Clean, tidy, good bed, slept well.

  • 8/10 Anonymous ( Mature couple) 

    on  May 23, 2007

    "Overall this hotel is absolutely fine. The room was rather in need of redecoration, but was large, quiet, comfortable and clean. To access pool and gym it is necessary to leave the hotel and go around the side of the building. The facilities are beneath their multi story carpark, and are small but of a high standard. For a weekend the price of the room was OK, but became expensive when breakfast and carparking were added." (99099739)

    The location is excellent, in a quiet area on the edge of the city centre. The room was large, and the leisure facilities good.

  • 7/10 Ann ( Solo business traveller) 

    from Ballinruan , Ireland;IE  on  April 26, 2007

    "Bristol is a very nice destination and would consider returning, staff were very friendly and helpful at all times in your hotel and very courtious & had good presentation." (99089132)

  • 4/10 Anonymous ( Mature couple) 

    on  April 19, 2007

    "About thirty pound overpriced comapred to other facilities enjoyed recently. Remove the leisure centre and it was a dive." (99132255)

    The company was amazing!! The facilities at the leisure centre were really nice and a pleasent way to spend the time.

    The room was not of a good value in itself, for instance there were two light bulbs not working over the mirrors one in the bathroom and one in the bedroom, and the lights had not been fitted correctly leaving holes in the ceiling around the spotlight. The room itself was not clean as we found (without looking) a dirty sock from a previous guest by the bed. The decor was very dated and grimey and the curtains were dirty and could have done with being replaced. We did make a complaint at the time to the staff about the conditions but nothing was done to amend the problems (i.e. they could have changed the lightbulbs and removed the sock. These conditions did not justify the price charged for the room.

  • 10/10 Anonymous ( Group of adult friends) 

    on  April 15, 2007

    "Apart from the decor, the room was very comfortable. I liked that we were provided with a good hairdryer, rather than the small, useless ones usually found in hotels. We couldn't have asked for anything else from our room." (99426415)

    The staff were friendly and helpful. The hotel had a great location.

    The decoration

  • 3/10 Alan ( Solo business traveller) 

    from Glossop , United Kingdom;GB  on  March 22, 2007

    Location

    Room quality,Parking,Overall furnishing quality and price.

  • 5/10 Sarah ( Same sex couple) 

    from Cheltenham , United Kingdom;GB  on  March 13, 2007

    "This is expensive as the hotel has obviously seen better days. May well be better once the refurbishment haw been completed. Do not expect to have to wait 30 minutes before we get a cooked breakfast." (99877739)

    Good location in City Centre

    Room too hot and service at check out and breakfast very slow

  • 5/10 Anonymous ( Mature couple) 

    on  February 21, 2007

    "We had enjoyed a previous stay. This time, the room was small, very badly lit and its only window overlooked concrete walls & a fire escape which was littered with cigarette ends. The decor was shabby and unattractive. The window itself was gridded outside, completely prohibiting access to the fire escape!! The bathroom floor tiles had lost much of their grouting, the shower curtain was too short, grubby and slimy. The first night was wrecked by a loud disco which continued until 1 am. We had at no point, either on booking or arrival, been warned off this - we would have gone elsewhere had we known." (99887906)

    Proximity to Bristol City Centre. Car park adjacent

    Poor room. Excessive noise from disco below. Gridded windows.Expensive food

  • 7/10 Greg ( Solo business traveller) 

    from Swansea , United Kingdom;GB  on  February 19, 2007

    room was not very clean and well used

  • 8/10 Anonymous ( Group of work colleagues) 

    on  February 13, 2007

    Clean, functional

    Late night noise (outside)

  • 9/10 Christopher ( Solo business traveller) 

    from Norwich , United Kingdom;GB  on  February 5, 2007

    "A pleasant hotel that is well situated in Bristol city centre and it was easy to find from Temple Meads rail station. The room was clean and tidy and the staff were definitely friendly and helpful." (99261559)

    The hotel was very tidy and the staff were helpful and friendly.

    Slightly pricey for a single room for one person.

  • 7/10 Anonymous ( Group of work colleagues) 

    on  December 16, 2006

    Good room

    Uncormfortable, lumpy bed

  • 6/10 Anonymous ( Mature couple) 

    on  November 30, 2006

    Car parking Gym facilities On suite

    Location and space. Ist floor level room was located over bar below with inadequate sound proofing. Window overlooked fire escape. Room space did not allow TV viewing, (one armchair for two?) Lighting was dismal. Tea and coffee facilities inside a draw!

  • 4/10 Anonymous ( Young couple) 

    on  November 9, 2006

    was easy to find and staff were friendly

    the most uncomfortable bed in the world!

  • 8/10 Anonymous ( Solo business traveller) 

    on  November 8, 2006

    "Generally everything was good. Would like to see WiFi connection." (99305412)

    Comfortable bed. Good leisure facilities (Sauna, steam room, swimming pool etc.) Friendly staff

    Slight problem in getting the shower head to remain pointing in the same direction, it kept slumping back to one side.Expensive car parking for guests.

  • 6/10 Anonymous ( Mature couple) 

    on  September 14, 2006

    1. P/A in the lifts - annoying and useless 2. Run down appearance of room and corridor - window frames, paintwork generally is peeling off or damaged. A/C units and services visible on walls of Dining Room - needs complete refurbishment to hide units in walls or false ceiling.

  • 9/10 Anonymous ( Family with young children) 

    on  September 8, 2006

    "The price was brilliant for families. Breakfast was really good with a wide choice. We loved having the swimming pool facility." (3305287051)

    Spacious and very comfortable

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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