We had an en-suite double, which we found to be dingy. Upon arrival, there were hairs (not ours) on our pillowcases, as well as dispersed around the room (such as on the mantlepiece). The bed-cover was dirty and stained. Both our room and the hotel itself looked tired and in need of renovation. Our biggest issue, however, is with the management. Our next-door neighbors were extremely noisy and disruptive upon their late-night arrival back at the hotel and kept us awake from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. There is a contact number for a night manager on display at the front desk. We dialed the number and reached the night manager, who on this particular night happened to be out of town; the management, however, hadn't designated a substitute night manager. This meant that had any larger problem in the hotel developed -- such as a beeping smoke detector, a leak, a fire -- there was no hotel representative on hand. It also meant that our problem couldn't be solved, either. The night manager floated the idea of a partial refund, but said that it would be up to the owner to decide the next morning. We were never able to speak with the owner directly as we had to check-out and leave, but the morning manager conveyed to us that the owner was refusing to refund any money. We explained that we weren't so much concerned about the money, rather that the hotel had no one on duty overnight. The morning manager defended the hotel by saying that they "usually" have someone available. When you are paying decent money, you expect the hotel to provide you with a clean room and an atmosphere conducive to a good night's sleep in a secure environment -- regardless of the night of year. While some things are out of the hotel's hands (i.e., behavior of other guests), Thomas' failed on all three counts. We found the management to be negligent in this regard and were extremely disappointed that they did not own up to their actions.

I understand that there are ensuite rooms here that look better than what we had. As we were not staying long we only booked a private double room with shared bathroom. It would be unfair to say that the place was terrible it just wasn't my "thing".
It most definitely is a hostel not a hotel, with the usual cooking areas, TV lounge etc.
There are washing facilities out the back in a shed beside the small patio area. It is located less than a ten minute walk to the city centre and only a couple of minutes walk to the botanical gardens.
For a short stay Thomas's could be worth looking at but do not expect much of it.

We only stayed at Thomas' Hotel for one swift night - we arrived in Christchurch at about midnight and were picking up our campervan the next day.
The staff were kind enough to arrange us an airport pickup at no additional cost with supershuttle (who are the cheapest airport shuttle in town). We got an envelope with our key in it and all the information we needed for our stay, as reception closes at 8pm (I think). Our room was clean, the bathrooms were also very clean and the hotel itself was spacious and had good facilities. The following morning, we checked out and were recommended an excellent place for breakfast (that's not in Lonely Planet). It was probably the best breakfast I have had in a long time - delicious.
Thomas' kept our bags for us for free until we picked up our campervan and drove it back to pick up our bags. Overall, we really appreciated the hospitality of the staff and it was a fabulous introduction to New Zealand.

Pros:

Good location
Very affordable
Television in the double room
Clean, quiet kitchen

Cons:

The lack of a fan or air conditioning was a problem on hot days
Limited number of bathrooms