Arrived late, and though the online hotel booking company had not transmitted our reservation to the staff at the Thistle, they sorted it out for us straight away. Not only did we get a room, we got a room overlooking the ocean, complete with a set of binoculars for our use during our stay. The staff at the desk here are all exceptional, friendly, and helpful. Wifi is reliable & free.
Be warned, however: the parking is a NIGHTMARE. Here's a couple of tricks:
For the Thistle, enter the parking deck from the ocean side of the hotel, not the one off The Lanes. If the system reports that the lot is full, press the button for a ticket and wait. Don't move the car, just be patient. As soon as a car exits the lot, the system detects it and will issue your ticket and raise the gate. Once we figured this out (thanks to the bellman, a very nice older Irish man), we only waited about 10-15 minutes before we were able to proceed. If you aren't patient, you'll end up driving around and around on very narrow poorly marked streets, possibly for hours because you'll have given up first spot in line for a space. If you park late (after 4 pm) and leave early (before 11 am), the parking fee of £20 overnight is cut in half. If you stay one minute past 11, though, you'll be charged the full £20.
Generally, if you bring a car, you'd just as well prepare to get hammered on parking costs... I had my husband take the car with him when he left for Spain as I prefer to travel by train and avoid the headache.
Breakfast at the hotel restaurant is a buffet for £10 per person, and is not the best you'll have, but it's not half bad. Full English items all present and accounted for on the hot bar (except blood pudding, dammit!) including eggs (scrambled or fried), fried toast, hash browns & fried sliced potatoes, sausage, roasted tomatoes, beans, and mushrooms (see my pic!), along with a fruit station, a bread and croissant station, a good variety of juices & a pastry station. We had a table overlooking the sea, and enjoyed the atmosphere and the food well enough. Although there are a lot of service people wandering around the dining room, it's difficult to actually get waited on unless you aggressively seek someone out, so don't be shy asking for what you need. read more