Thistle Hotel Inverness

Wow, haven't been back to this hotel since being flooded out there in September 2003. And what a return. Check-in was friendly and easy. So was the best bit - check out. Had a twin room on the first floor, directly over the entrance foyer so was able to hear a procession of people heading outside all evening for a smoke. The room was shabby and in desperate need of a refurb and decent clean. There was black mould all around the bath handles and the corners of the shower - disgusting. There was paint peeling off the radiator and pipes and there was some nasty unidentifiable gunge on the table along with some questionable marks on the walls right next to the bed. After deciding to eat in Inverness, we we quite shocked to find that the hotel bar had been closed when we returned to the Hotel at around 10.30pm. Way to go. I'm not too sure if any of the other rooms were any better, but on this basis this hotel should be best avoided by either business or independent leisure travellers. Leave it to the tour groups.

Stayed for 2 nights in May 2007. Have just read old reviews and cannot believe that we have just stopped at the same hotel. Be advised that 2005 reviews DO NOT apply to 2007! Our bedroom and bathroom were spotlessly clean. The bed was very comfortable and we had no problems with lack of space in the room. We had a 3 course evening meal in the hotel restauraunt which was superb, both the food and the atmosphere being excellent. Breakfast was again superb with a massive selection of different choices. In my case I had cereal, fruit, fried breakfast, toast, marmalade and tea each morning. I could also have had porridge, continental style breakfast, mufffins, pastries etc if I so wished. The location is not ideal if you want to be in the centre of town. However there is a frequent bus service to and from the hotel right outside (95p single) or you could travel by taxi which was less than a fiver to the centre. We actually walked into town on Sunday morning and it took 15 minutes - not too bad considering the amount of breakfast I'd just eaten! (see above) Finally I must mention the staff. I found ALL the staff I came into contact with to be very friendly and helpful. They always seemed to have a smile on their face and nothing was too much trouble. Although a 3 star hotel, the staff definitely gave 5 star service. For a good hotel at a reasonable price I would definitely recommend the Thistle. We shall certainly stop there again when we return to Inverness.

I stayed at this hotel with my family for one night. Initially I had some misgivings, as the exterior of the building is a bit shabby, but we were not disappointed with what we found inside..Our 2nd floor rooms were very comfortable, and quiet (no sound at all from the wedding reception that was going on downstairs). The buffet breakfast was surprisingly good - large variety of hot and cold food, and none of the dishes were overcooked, as is often the case. The restaurant itself is a pleasant place to eat in - a big, light, and airy space. It does have one or two negative points. The location, although easy to reach from the main A9 road, is not really within walking distance of the city centre. The exterior of the hotel certainly good do with some repainting. And the views from the rooms are nothing great - depending on which side of the building you are on, you will look out onto the hotel car park, or the roof of an adjacent building. Nevertheless this hotel is certainly on a level above that of the average budget-class hotel, and offers good value for money.

Spent a two night weekend break with a couple of friends at the Thistle recently. Overall impressions were good I have to say. Check in staff were efficient and friendly , Bedrooms were well appointed , clean and comfortable with all the fittings and fixtures in place. I have to say we were a little dissapointed with the food in the dining room , I myself had the fillet steak which was ok , my friends both had sirloin but were as I said dissapointed. Dining room service was also noticeably slow , but then again I suppose we werent going anywhere. Breakfast on the other hand was wonderful and plentiful and set us up nicely fo the day. Hotel location was fine , just a short cab ride to town . Inverness itself is a beautiful town and well worth a visit.. Lesiure facillities at the hotel were excellent as were the attendants. We would most certainly revisit the Thistle again , and personally I would have no problem reccommending it to anyone , provided the food improves a wee bit !

These people are crooks. Read on for my story of how they treated me (or failed to, actually). During my stay at the Thistle Inverness this fall (29 September to 2 October), I needed to make a few phone calls to my home in New York City. I know that hotels typically charge high rates for long-distance calls made direct from the room, so I asked the concierge if she could tell me the rates so I could decide whether to make the call from my room or to buy a calling card in town. The concierge told me she had no idea what the rates were. I found it odd that she wouldn’t know her own hotel’s phone rate policy, but odder still that she didn’t offer to find out. So I asked her, “can you find out what the rates are?” To my surprise, she replied, “no, I wouldn’t know how to find that out. You’ll just have to check your credit card statement when it comes.” I was stunned. Not only did she not know, she didn’t even know how to find out. Worse, she didn’t seem the slightest bit interested in helping me find out. Little did I know that these surprises were the least of what was in store for me. The Thistle Inverness is not in a great location; it’s a solid 20-minute walk to town, or an ₤8 taxi ride. So I decided that since my calls would be very short—just a minute or two—I’d take my chances with the rates. How bad could it possibly be for such a short call? US$10? Maybe US$20 in the absolute worst case? My wife wasn’t home so I left her a message of maybe two minutes. Over the next two days, I left three additional messages at home, a total of four calls, the longest of which was perhaps two minutes, the rest of which were under a minute each. I knew they’d be expensive compared to the rates at home, but I was in for a rude awakening. When my credit card bill came in October, I nearly fell out of my chair. Though it’s difficult to tell exactly how the charges were constructed, it appears that they charged a ₤25 fee just for the connection. The charges for these calls ranged from US$41.89 for the shortest of them, under a minute, to US$51.89 for the longest (presumably the first one). Unbelievable! They actually charged me more for five minutes of phone calls than for an entire night’s stay at the hotel. I assumed there must have been an error, so I sent the hotel a very polite email to seek correction, or at least an explanation. But the hotel ignored my email. No reply at all. So I contacted my credit card bank and asked them to hold the charge until I had resolved the issue. The bank wrote back a month later saying it had been in contact with the hotel, and that there was nothing they could do because the charge was authorized. I sent the hotel yet another letter, which was also ignored. Allow me to review this chronology: I specifically asked the concierge the rates for long distance calls, and received no response. I asked the concierge if she could find out for me, and received no response. I was charged nearly US$180 for five minutes of phone calls. I asked the hotel, in writing, for an explanation, and received no response. But when my bank called to question the charge for payment, they received an immediate response. I asked the hotel a second time, in writing, for an explanation, and was again ignored. Note that I never suggested that I not pay for these calls; I made them and I knew I would be charged a premium. But US$41 for a call of less than a minute is not a premium—it’s a crime, and as far as I’m concerned, the Thistle folks are thieves. Steer clear lest you be their next victim.

We spent our wedding night here in June 2005, and we couldn't have wished for a better hotel. We contacted the hotel prior to our stay to arrange leaving our bags the night before, this was't a problem. When we arrived we were shown to a suite, although we hadn't booked one. It was beautiful, so relaxing after a very fully wedding day. The breakfast was buffet style and as we were both starving, manners were put by the wayside, and we had a feast. We didn't use the facilities, we were too busy. The staff were friendly helpful and polite, and shared in our delight being newly-weds. I think the receptionist even shed a few tears (of joy, I hope). The hotel is a 10 minute taxi ride from the town centre and there is also a very good Chinese take away across the road!!

We stayed here as part of a tour for two nights - the other bus was booked in town instead of on the outskirts like this one was but I liked it better than theirs. It was old-fashioned with tiny elevators (lifts), but it was charming, with good food, friendly and efficient help, and was very enjoyable. The rooms were small, but not uncomfortable. The only true 'complaint' I had was that the weather was unseasonably warm and they don't have air conditioning. I guess they usually don't need it or I'm terribly spoiled by living in the southern US. All in all, it was very nice and I would be happy to stay there again.

July 1 2006. We hadn't booked accommodation in Inverness and tried a couple of other chains before this one, that were booked out. The Thistle, at 108 pounds for a "suite" for the night was a good deal dearer than the other ones. But it was getting late and we were beginning to realise that accommodation was scarce. The place was clean, modern, comfortable and certainly up to scratch. The suite had a separate lounge room with a second television, a fridge (although we'd been told there wasn't one) and a lounge suite. The problem we encountered was heat. Out of all the places we visited in the UK over four weeks, we were the hottest way up in Inverness at about 58 degrees latitude! Probably because the heat is very uncommon, there was no air conditioning or fans in the room. My traveller's alarm clock includes a thermometer, and it assured us it was 30 degrees C when we retired for the evening with the sun still streaming in the west-facing windows. (When we closed the curtains they also closed off the only source of cool air: windows which, for security reasons, would only open a couple of inches.) The best that reception could do to keep us cool was provide a rather small portable fan which we stood on a chair on top of a table and aimed at the bed for the night. I'm sure on the 99% of days that it's not this hot, the place would have been fine. It didn't seem any better than the other chains which were cheaper, though.

I just returned from a 12 day Scotland/England vacation in which we stayed at several Marriott and Thistle hotels. I had booked two nights at this hotel using priceline.com prior to reading any reviews on the hotel. After reading the reviews of the hotel on Tripadvisor, I was very concerned about the negative reviews on this hotel. However, I was stuck with the hotel as all reservations made on Priceline are final and non-refundable. To say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement! My room appeared to be newly decorated and was very clean, and the staff was very friendly and helpful. Also, the hotel's food was very good. The location is not ideal, as it is a 1-2 mile walk on a busy road to the city center; but it was adjacent to the freeway which worked well for us as we had a rental car and were touring the area. Overall, this is certainly not a Ritz Carlton, but for a moderately priced hotel it was just fine. I would advise you to ignore the negative reviews about this hotel, as they were probably entered by a disgruntled former employee or someone who was upset with Thistle. In my opinion this is a fine hotel!

I booked this hotel, instead of the Holiday Inn Express because it had Sky Sports 1& 3 (trust me to pick a week when the friendly international were on)and an English breakfast. I also read the reviews before I went and was concerned. I ended up staying 5 nights (4 nights in one room) because I was snowed in (Airport closed). Both rooms were clean, the bathrooms looked newly decorated. The restaurant food was very good (2 courses £16.) The choice at breakfast was excellent.