Bedford Swan Hotel and Thermal Spa

Great hotel spoilt by their car parking options. They advertise as having parking on site but in reality when you arrive after 6pm the car park is full of Diners in the Brasserie & people using the spa. I had to park at a council car park about 1/2 mile away Then surprise surprise the car park was half empty by 10pm when the spa & diners returned home but I had already parked elsewhere Funny thing was they tried to charge me £5 for parking when I checked out, which I asked them to refund

Spa booked up for 3 days very disappointed

Hotel was ok, parking was terrible and the charge to use the spa was horrific considering I was a hotel guest. I would just advise if you were looking for a hotel with gym, sauna etc to look elsewhere nearby as this hotel I very overrated in my opinion.

During my stay, the hotel was having problems with the heating. I explained how cold my room was, I was told they had been having problems with the heating for the past 6 days. No one had bothered to contact me in advance to warn me, giving me the option to book somewhere else and simply told me it was being worked on and there wasn't anything they could do. They did not offer any additional heating, and even the "apology" did not come across as sincere. It was delivered without empathy or concern and a "it's not my fault" attitude. Apart from the heating, my room was comfortable. I had booked 3 rooms for 5 adults and 1 infant. 2 of the adults who were due to stay with me did not attend due to illness. I was glad because although the beds were double, they were very small so I would not have been comfortable sharing the bed. My room had a stained carpet and the deadlock on the door did not work. After going out, I returned, at midnight, but there were no parking spaces. I spoke to someone in reception to ask where I could park and was directed to a Local Authority car park which was some way away - this meant that I would have to walk back unaccompanied - as a single female, I found this completely unacceptable. (bearing in mind I had booked 3 rooms, I would have expected to have at least 1 parking space). I had to ask my daughter to leave her baby with her elderly grandmother and come with me. (still not ideal). Staff did not care.

Good but no gym and you have to pay extra for the spa which was disappointing

Beautiful historical hotel! Confortable. Food at the restaurant is excellent! The thermal spa is a lot of fun but it requires advanced booking so we could not use it everyday of our stay. The staff at the reception is quite slow, one has to be patient.

Unfortunately, this was not a good visit. The hotel had a problem with their heating (although this was only admitted on the morning we left). As a result our room was cold and we had to make do with extra old blankets they provided for us

Cold shower on the evening I arrived and the following morning due to boiler issue, not good!

Nice place and location. But by the time you add up the room cost, parking cost, charge to use the pool (£20), I would have expected a little more. Suggestions would include a bottle of water left in the room, a bowl of fruit in the lobby and more friendly staff in reception who smile and are friendly. Although the Gentleman running the spa desk was friendly and very welcoming.

We booked the hotel to celebrate our anniversary. Upon arrival, we were told that the spa is fully booked, which was the main reason for us to pick this hotel. Don't call the hotel Thermal Spa if it is always fully booked, and why do we have to book that separately at the first place, I thought it is part of the whole experience? It is just simply misleading not being able to use the facilities which are being promoted...

The cleanliness and decorations, especially around the reception and breakfast area. Plus location was great

The room was clean however 1 of the chairs was badly stained, I reported this to reception who had it changed whilst I was out.

Room not cleaned or beds made, when I asked about this I was told they are only done every other day. Loud banging, shouting and cages be pushed around outside our bedroom window from 6am onwards, 1st night only 1 towel left for us both 😡

The room was beautifully decorated & clean. It was helpful to have a fridge.

Clean and spacious room. Lovely hotel in a great location

Lovely location right by the river. Hotel is spotless and staff were all very helpful although it was understaffed for demand at the bar with long queues because of the glorious weather. Rooms were spacious and spotlessly clean. Would recommend this hotel.

Room spotless & smart decor. Friendly & welcoming receptionist

So clean, infact immaculate, staff so presentable, friendly and professional, love this hotel

The staff are marvelous, friendly helpful and efficient, but although the lobby and some areas downstairs are magnificent, the dining room is looking tired and the chairs are note especially clean. Breakfast was plentiful and average about what we expected . Our bedroom was rather sparse, the ‘King’ bed was rather small but comfortable enough. The bathroom was lovely and clean but no loo brush? All in all for the decent price we paid we were very happy but it was not quite what we had expected, the lovely staff make your stay more than the hotel does.

I liked the location, the service was below standard in your restaurant, you need new bedding, new cushions and the room wasn't cleaned after the second night.

It was alright, restaurant and bar are great, good food, friendly staff and fast service. The hotel rooms were clean, but dated. The air con didnt work and it took multiple requests for anything to happen. Also the TV only gets 3 channels. They also wouldnt let me check in earlier than 2pm. I understand its their policy, but i was only 15 minutes early. Seemed a bit petty

We stayed in room 253 on the 2nd floor of the hotel. Although the room was clean it was very cramped with no facilities to hang clothes. This is our 2nd stay at the hotel . On the first occasion we stayed in a room on the 1st floor (for the same price) which was far less cramped . The hotel itself is in a lovely setting on the embankment, with a very nice bar and restaurant.

Black pudding at breakfast was dried out, scrambled eggs were horribly overcooked and dry. Otherwise breakfast was okay. Room was small and temperature control was very hard to work out.

Wi-Fi was non existent very poor

Lovely, clean room however, no bath! Bed is huge, comfortable and fresh. Bathroom is spotless. The only negative was the noise, both internal and external. People slamming doors at stupid o’clock and outside revellers. I know some people said parking was an issue but not for me.

Clean and spacious room. Lovely hotel in a great location

The rooms need updating. We had many maintenance issues which were not resolved, although the staff was very friendly and supportive. Example: shower too hot and cannot be mixed to cool. Taps lose. TV not working properly. Internet weak. Cupboard door stuck.

After driving around for 40 minutes trying to find parking, we were in a room with noisy generators outside the window and a store room next door, we had an awful night sleep because of the noisy generator and 3x were woken by staff entering/exiting the store room, talking and unlocking/locking the door. The room was so hot we had the air con on, and it was rattling so loudly every time it started up. Causing us to wake up in the night. The pillows were really flat and bed wasn’t the most comfortable. Other than that we had a lovely time. The room itself was nice, as was the bathroom. Very clean. The breakfast and spa was great.

Stay overall was good On third floor was hot in our room We found very poor sign posting to stairs that actually went right down and you could get out of the stairwell! Lift was always busy and very slow!

This is not the first time we have stayed. The room was spacious and tastefully decorated. Bathroom was well appointed with bonus of a bath which not all hotels have. Toiletries acceptable but limited, no shower cap or flannels which would expect from this standard of hotel. Bed was big and comfortable. The air conditioning was a great bonus as the weather had improved.

Very helpful staff and always with a smile

Really good value for money The breakfast room was a little overrun at 10am on a Saturday morning Wasn’t offered a seat and waited for ages and wasn’t offered a hot drink Food okay Rest of hotel was really good and good value for money

Room/restaurant was fine, but trying to get a drink as a resident was a poor experience. Had to vacate the bar area at 11pm and sit round the corner where we were served warm bottles of beer from a most disinterested member of staff as if we were an inconvenience! Shocking behaviour to paying guests.

I'll remember The Swan as comfortable, clean and friendly, with beautifully battered hake and chips. You'll need sunglasses in the sparkling bathroom, with dazzling white towels. A very comfortable bed offers really plump pillows, and is made up with good linen, completing the overall impression. You have to be quite tall to play hunt the hairdryer (mine was found by a member of staff, on the top shelf of the wardrobe). A substantial brunch menu made up for that, allowing a flexible start to the day. The menu is most inviting; leek and potato soup of the day, for instance, was just delicious. It was easy to access the internet, although the signing in process is duplicated in the restaurant, and other areas of the hotel. It's best to organise a taxi in advance, if you need one. I didn't and this oversight required assistance from the receptionist at a very busy junction in her day. She kept her cool. That suggests a classy staff training regime.

I gave a low rating due to poor service. I requested room service at 2am, as the in-room menu clearly stated it was available until 7am, but I was told it was not an option. I went down to reception to ask why, and was informed the staff member on duty was alone and therefore unable to provide food. We ended up having to drive to McDonald’s. To make matters worse, I tried calling both reception and room service again at 8am to request a jug of water, but received no response from either. Very disappointing overall.

Although the hotel is really lovely it has gone downhill since our last stay. We had no working aircon so had to move rooms and this too had a faulty system. The manager was really helpful and offered to move us to a lower grade room with working aircon but this was small and not what we wanted. Instead she got us a fan which helped a bit. The hotel was full so no other options. Breakfast was poor. It was run by a group of younger staff who did not smile, engage or want to make sure the breakfast items were refilled. In fact one of the staff walked through the dining room swearing and moaning about one of the others. It was unprofessional and a shambles. The food was cold and the whole food area dirty and unwiped. Plus point was the new gym area, really well equipped but the aircon wasn't working and no windows. It will be great when it is sorted! Apart from that we didn't eat or drink in the hotel and will not be returning. We paid a premium price and would have been more comfortable in one of the other chain hotels up the river!

As usual everything was what l'd expected. Nothing was too much trouble and every member of staff was cheerful and very courteous.

Stay was peaceful, staff was excellent prompt and informative at check in, check in was fast.

Beautiful building, nice spot, lovely room. But… Reception couldn’t crack a smile on check in and was brusque. Another customer was complaining that someone had entered her room with her key card. Car park full. Breakfast awful, not cooked well. Vending machine type coffee, basic sliced bread. Stuff running out and not replaced. Everything seemed a bit too much bother. Pity given the site and the general decor. Maybe just really bad morale but my goodness it shows as they clearly don’t want to be there.

I thought the staff were very professional and helpful. Room was great and the breakfast had lots of choices

The hotel was very nice all the amenities you need but outside the property on a gloomy day of rain was disappointing. The river would be nice in the summer but the rest of the street was a dump. No really nice places to eat they all looked like real dives.

The area outside is very poor and run down

Perfect location for town, nice breakfast

Location good, good staff

Clean and spacious room. Lovely hotel in a great location

Fantastic location, really cute decor and bar. Right opposite the river for a walk.

A lovely spot in front of the river Ouse. Would stay again

Location

Good hotel, nice room, nice location on the river.

Excellent central location for visiting Bedford.

Good bar and restaurant, people at the bar good and helpfull, but what I did not like was that you have to go to the bar to order a meal.

Really good value for money The breakfast room was a little overrun at 10am on a Saturday morning Wasn’t offered a seat and waited for ages and wasn’t offered a hot drink Food okay Rest of hotel was really good and good value for money

Black pudding at breakfast was dried out, scrambled eggs were horribly overcooked and dry. Otherwise breakfast was okay. Room was small and temperature control was very hard to work out.

I'll remember The Swan as comfortable, clean and friendly, with beautifully battered hake and chips. You'll need sunglasses in the sparkling bathroom, with dazzling white towels. A very comfortable bed offers really plump pillows, and is made up with good linen, completing the overall impression. You have to be quite tall to play hunt the hairdryer (mine was found by a member of staff, on the top shelf of the wardrobe). A substantial brunch menu made up for that, allowing a flexible start to the day. The menu is most inviting; leek and potato soup of the day, for instance, was just delicious. It was easy to access the internet, although the signing in process is duplicated in the restaurant, and other areas of the hotel. It's best to organise a taxi in advance, if you need one. I didn't and this oversight required assistance from the receptionist at a very busy junction in her day. She kept her cool. That suggests a classy staff training regime.

We used the thermal spa and very happy, not crowded plenty of space, throughly enjoyed. We managed to get a table at the pen and cob restaurant without booking, my husband is gluten intolerant and they had a separate menu for him which was good and my food was good also. We had booked breakfast which was a help yourself to hot and cold breakfast items and hot and cold drinks. We said to the waitress that my husband is gluten intolerant and do you have anything gluten free, she went to ask the chef is there any gluten free items and promptly came back and said that there was nothing gluten free apart from toast. We felt that come back was not helpful at all and very disappointing. We felt that the food that was there was not a good standard, beans stone cold, mushrooms un washed, hash under cooked and bacon very fatty and poorly cooked. So not happy at all for breakfast, but the room and the thermal spa and the reception were very good.

Although the hotel is really lovely it has gone downhill since our last stay. We had no working aircon so had to move rooms and this too had a faulty system. The manager was really helpful and offered to move us to a lower grade room with working aircon but this was small and not what we wanted. Instead she got us a fan which helped a bit. The hotel was full so no other options. Breakfast was poor. It was run by a group of younger staff who did not smile, engage or want to make sure the breakfast items were refilled. In fact one of the staff walked through the dining room swearing and moaning about one of the others. It was unprofessional and a shambles. The food was cold and the whole food area dirty and unwiped. Plus point was the new gym area, really well equipped but the aircon wasn't working and no windows. It will be great when it is sorted! Apart from that we didn't eat or drink in the hotel and will not be returning. We paid a premium price and would have been more comfortable in one of the other chain hotels up the river!

Lovely old hotel with a horrible modern bar/brasserie where you can’t get a pint of proper beer. Room was ok

Poor breakfast

Beautiful room breakfast was fabulous definitely recommend

We stayed here on our way back home form Essex. What a fabulous Hotel, the décor and amazing touches are just gorgeous. Our room, 107, was fairly basic but we had everything we needed and the beds were really comfy. The food was amazing, we ate in the Pen & Cob Brasserie in the evening and we had the best treatment, felt very special. thank you Daniel.