Thistle Aberdeen Caledonian, Aberdeen

The Thistle Caledonian Aberdeen is sited at 10-14 Union Terrace, Aberdeen, Only a few minutes walk (even for me) from the railway station. Though there is parking available as well so you can drive to it.
A friend and I were going to Aberdeen to attend a conference and AGM and accommodation was at a premium. I use hotel Connexions to find cheap accommodation and they came up with the 'Cally' as locals and taxi drivers call it. For myself and ...
...for £120.
I booked it there and then, incurring a £2 booking fee but by then i was getting desperate as I wanted somewhere near the station and also near the Beach leisure Centre for the venue of AGM, conference and dance.
We arrived at 12:45 but could not get access to the rooms till 2:00pm. this was pushing it a bit but the very friendly receptionist took our luggage into care, gave us receipts and directions to the Beach leisure ... more

The Thistle Caledonian Aberdeen is sited at 10-14 Union Terrace, Aberdeen, Only a few minutes walk (even for me) from the railway station. Though there is parking available as well so you can drive to it.
A friend and I were going to Aberdeen to attend a conference and AGM and accommodation was at a premium. I use hotel Connexions to find cheap accommodation and they came up with the 'Cally' as locals and taxi drivers call it. For myself and a friend we could get a twin room plus breakfast for £120.
I booked it there and then, incurring a £2 booking fee but by then i was getting desperate as I wanted somewhere near the station and also near the Beach leisure Centre for the venue of AGM, conference and dance.
We arrived at 12:45 but could not get access to the rooms till 2:00pm. this was pushing it a bit but the very friendly receptionist took our luggage into care, gave us receipts and directions to the Beach leisure Centre.
At this point all we saw of the hotel was the reception area, a cafe bar and the toilets.
Everything was clean and we checked the cafe menu as we needed somewhere to eat before the dance. It looked reasonable.
Once the afternoon was over, we got a taxi back to the hotel as the receptionist was a bit optimistic of our walking prowess and it was lot further than we thought.
The receptionist called a porter to take our luggage to our room and we were booked in very quickly.
First impression of the room was that it was very large and airy. It was a twin room with plenty space between the beds. There were the usual appointments, tea and coffee making facilities, television, table and armchairs as well as the desk and chair. The bathroom had a bath with an overhead shower in it and nice toiletries and fluffy towels. Bonus was when we opened the wardrobe, not only was there a safe in it but two large fluffy white bathrobes for guests use.

We kicked off shoes and made coffee and settled ourselves on the beds. As we were going out to a big country dance we needed to conserve energy.
Before we changed for the dance we went down to the Cally bar for a meal. A large glass of wine each and fish, chips, peas and salad came to just over £21. not bad for a hotel café. The waitress took my drinks order at the bar then said she would bring over the drinks and take our food order. When it came it was quickly served and was piping hot and tasty. There was sufficient that we did not need a sweet.
On the way out we encountered the friendly porter. Each time we met him he asked about our stay. We asked for a taxi to be booked for 7:30 then we then went back to the room and took turns to have a shower. The shower was a good pressure and stayed hot throughout, an even temperature in a hotel shower is a rare and wondrous joy.
The telephone in the room rang at 7:30 prompt. Our taxi was waiting.

In the morning (you do not want to know about the fab time we had at the dance) we each used the shower and again piping hot water for as long as it was needed.
The breakfast was served in the Cally bar and a waitress showed us to a table and said to help ourselves from the hot and cold buffet and someone would take our tea/coffee order.
There was nothing outstanding about breakfast. It was the usual line up of sausage, bacon, eggs, mushrooms beans, tomatoes etc as well as fruit juices, fresh fruit and dried fruit, yoghurts, pastries and breads. As we were travelling back that day we each managed to have a hearty breakfast finishing with toast and coffee. No-one could have left the breakfast room hungry. We had asked for coffee and it came a cup at a time but a glance over to the waiter was enough to get refills. The toast was a bit anaemic as it often is in these hotels but all in all the breakfast compared favourably with a lot of other hotels I have been in the last 5 weeks. I have stayed in 8 and this was the best.
Outstanding was the friendly service. And the proximity to the town centre and railway station. In two years time when the AGM is back in Aberdeen I will be heading for the same hotel.
I might go back earlier for a week-end break if I can afford it and they do a lot of deals throughout the year. £120 was slightly more than we wanted to pay but all in all we thought the hotel was very good value for money. Some of the delegates to the AGM staying in nearby hotels were paying the same for a room and no breakfast. 

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