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 room was very small, poorly cleaned and dimly lit. The windows were covered so there was no view out and didn’t open. The only heating in the room was via the air conditioning unit which was sited just above the bed and was too noisy to keep on. Further fan noise was provided by the kitchen fan just outside our window. The receptionist was helpful although reception itself was not always staffed. There was no lounge so it is not really an hotel anymore. All in all, the stay was ok but it didn’t represent good value for money.

Visited as with our 4 year old son. The restaurant was pretty empty, I understand now why. Service was substandard. The tables were dirty, as was most of the cutlery. When our food came it was all lukewarm, except my 4 years old tomato pasta, which was scalding. The food was also pretty dire - steak frites which should have been pink but were well done, chips too salty, and tomato pasta which was literary pasta and tinned tomatoes.

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.