The Swan Hotel And Spa

I was really looking forward to staying here everyone had said how nice it was. The location is great, the hotel itself needs a lot of work. There are dips in the floor in the hallways, the rooms have cracks through the walls, the rooms are freezing too. The toilet seemed to be hanging off the wall. The spa was ok but nothing special, a pool, hot tub, sauna and steam room? A decent gym has those 4 things. We went to the pub in there for dinner as we had made a booking, so unclear where you are supposed to wait. We went to the bar first they told us to wait at the side, we stood there for about 15 mins before anyone asked us what we wanted, then another 10 mins before we were seated. The food was really good in both the pub and for breakfast. For £225 for a Thursday night I did not think it was worth it.

I genuinely didn’t want to leave this review. The Swan had always been one of our favourite hotels. We’ve stayed many times before and loved it so much that we’d always said it would be where we would choose to get married. Sadly, our most recent stay was incredibly disappointing. We waited nearly two hours for two chicken burgers at 5pm. Breakfast the following morning took almost an hour for Eggs Benedict. The bar service was chaotic, tables outside were left uncleared with birds eating the remains of afternoon teas and overall there seemed to be a real lack of organisation and support for what appeared to be a very inexperienced team. The whole experience was awful and way off the standard we had previously experienced at The Swan. I raised my concerns when checking out and later took the time to email management with detailed, constructive feedback. I made it clear I wasn’t looking for anything as I had received a small gesture, I simply wanted them to be aware of our experience. There was absolutely no acknowledgement, which unfortunately sums it up. I really didn’t want to post this publicly, but having seen other recent reviews, it seems our experience wasn’t a one off and I wouldn’t want anyone else to experience what we did. Such a shame for a hotel we genuinely used to love, but sadly we wouldn’t return.

We recently stayed for our honeymoon straight from our wedding booking what we assumed to be a luxury hotel. Although we only booked a standard room due to not having a lot of money after paying for a wedding we assumed that at the price we paid it would certainly still be amazing. This however was not the case. On arrival we checked in and everything was fine, the room was nice but I wouldn’t say worth the money after seeing photos of other rooms online. The aircon had been decommissioned in our room and a fan was supplied that actually didn’t make a difference during a heat wave. The next morning the fire alarm was tested without us being told and therefore we didn’t know if we had to evacuate. We then spoke to reception about the aircon and fan situation with it being a heatwave we were told we could be upgraded to a better room with working aircon but we would need to pay an extra £25! I asked about access to the garden as I was wanting to go and read in the sun in the morning. I was told I’d have to speak to the spa. When speaking to the spa they booked it and when I asked if I was only using the garden to read my kindle and relax did I need to wear swimwear or could I wear shorts and t shirt as I didn’t want to use the hot tub etc. The staff member looked at me strangely and couldn’t really answer me telling me to come down the next morning in my T-shirt and shorts and speak to the spa reception and see what they said. During our stay we heard numerous other guests with issues at reception and the staff were not very sympathetic and understanding and didn’t really seem bothered which is quite strange for such a customer facing role in what is essentially a luxury hotel. Overall the location was lovely and the second room was nice due to the issues and responses from staff for the price of a stay we won’t be visiting again unfortunately.

This is a great jumping off point to the Lakes if you’re coming from points south. It’s very clean, comfortable, and quaint, but doesn’t lack amenities. Theres a pool, sauna, steam room, spa, and fitness center with actual free weights and cable machines. Real barbells, dumbbells, and kettlebells along with a proper squat rack. The staff is incredibly friendly and accommodating. The food is wonderful as well. Don’t sleep on the included breakfast which includes both cold offerings and proper hot plates, including a full English. We’ve visited before several times over the last 25 years, but finally were able to stay the night and are glad we did.