The Crown and Thistle

Breakfast very nice and delicious with many choices to choose. The room was quite small and old. Front desk service was very good and polite. Location very good, near the centre of the city. Lots of parking space, reservations is not necessary.

Fabulous staff, couldn't be more helpful. Food is wonderful, service great. Down side is the parking! Sat Nav takes you to the front of the hotel, car park is at the back which is hard to find. The hotel has no instructions on anything, complicated system on getting the lights etc to work. Air con is great but again, no instructions. A simple fix would be to have a folder on how to make things work! No lifts which for someone with mobility problems is a huge issue.

The Crown and Thistle was my reward at the conclusion of my walk to Abingdon along the Thames Path. It comprises a pub, a hotel and a restaurant, and although I used the pub it was dominated on this particular occasion by attendees of a private wedding function. My main interest though was in the hotel, and the slightly dark but homely room was just the job. A wonderful bath, very comfy bed and an ambience which I can only describe as inviting me to contemplate staying for an unscheduled second night. The hotel also has an environmental ethic which was pleasing. This will definitely be my port of call if and when I stay in Abingdon again.

Abington is a beautiful city and from the exterior of this hotel is attractive. The interior is a mess. During the day front desk is not consistently manned and you often had to wait until the unfriendly attendant returned for service. Our room was on the third floor and we had to schlepp our bags up two flights of stairs barely wide enough to fit our bags. Along the way we saw a torn and dirty carpet. Our room was small with barely enough room to store our bags and still walk around. The room was badly in need of remodeling, new furnishings, a paint job and a though cleaning. The rugs were dirty and shower stall was covered with black mold. It makes you wonder if they don’t clean the room then are they laundering the linens properly? The positives: The location is good, our room had air conditioning and there was functioning towel rack in the bathroom. It was quiet at night after the wedding party dispersed after midnight. Breakfast was excellent as was the service during breakfast.

We were extremely disappointed when entering the so called reception area. Not inviting & you are left having to pick up a phone & ring for assistance. Behind the desk it was untidy with someone’s clothes flung over a chair. When you go upstairs the carpet is grubby & threadbare on the treads. The walls are scuffed badly where suitcases have been hauled up as there is no lift. The bedroom was acceptable but fronted on to the main road. The restaurant & bar areas were, in our opinion quite basic.

I would not book a room here ever again. We booked through ******* and they confirmed that the hotel overbooked itself and left us out in the cold with no place to stay. We tried to check in at 2300 and the hotel lied to us and said that they had no record of our booking. We were prebooked and prepaid. I would not be surprised if they found someone willing to pay more for our room and booted us. The staff at the desk was very unfriendly and unhelpful. I would recommend avoiding this place entirely unless you love panicked scrambling to find lodging late at night . The Hilton across town was much more accommodating, and the staff was actually trustworthy and friendly.