Bedford Swan Hotel, Bedford - Reviews & Ratings
The Embankment, Bedford, MK40 1RW
Bedford Swan Hotel, Bedford
Bedford's most historic hotel has been transformed, and features sensational new rooms with air conditioning, a great town-centre location and stunning views ov... more
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| Hotel Details | Hotel Reviews | How to Book & Cancel |
8/10 Overall rating
| Category | Average Rating |
|---|---|
| 8/10 | Check-in process |
| 8/10 | Your room |
| 7/10 | Working order of facilities / equipment |
| 8/10 | Order and cleanliness of the hotel |
| 7/10 | Performance of staff |
| 8/10 | Overall experience |
| 8/10 | Overall value for money |
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Anonymous ( Solo leisure traveller)
on November 5, 2009
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Anonymous ( Solo leisure traveller)
on September 24, 2009
Bedford Swan Hotel, Bedford - Reviews & Ratings"Pleasant and comfortable stay. " (108364229)
Automatic upgrade to double room because the hotel was not full. Herbal teabag on the hospitality tray.
Over-sophisticated shower mechanism and I could not discover how to operate it. Room was too hot, but that was probably due to the direction it faced and nothing that the hotel staff could have rectified.
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Anonymous ( Mature couple)
on September 14, 2009
Bedford Swan Hotel, Bedford - Reviews & Ratings"Regular stayer and i really like the hotel for all of the reasons stated" (108628272)
location and facilities. Perfectly presented and efficient staff
None that i can recall but i do think £3 charge to bring already highly priced to a room is a tad rich but that is my only negative point!
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Jeanine ( Group of adult friends)
from Los gatos , US on August 12, 2009
Bedford Swan Hotel, Bedford - Reviews & Ratings"The hotel stood up to the 4 stars it was given on Travelocity (where I booked it). Most of the hotels I have booked through them do not turn out to be anything close to what they advertise. The Swan was wonderful! " (107419828)
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Anonymous ( Mature couple)
on June 24, 2009
Nice 'historic' feel to the hotel, with friendly and on the whole, helpful staff
Very expensive, given the size of the room we were in.
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Anonymous ( Young couple)
on April 15, 2009
Bedford Swan Hotel, Bedford - Reviews & Ratings"Had a noce time and will definitely book again" (107761525)
Considering there was building work going on in the hotel, it did not intrude in any way and we barely noticed it. Room was comfy and clean and we slept very well.
There was mould on the grouting in the bathroom which was very obvious as the room had only just been renovated. Cillit Bang Stain and Drain and a bit of elbow grease is all it needs!
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Anonymous ( Solo business traveller)
on March 23, 2009
Bedford Swan Hotel, Bedford - Reviews & Ratings"The hotel is lovely but it was spoilt because of the unfriendly atmosphere. There's a lot potential but I'm afraid I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else." (107968330)
The hotel itself was extremely clean and comfortable.
With about three exceptions, the staff were neither welcoming nor helpful. Some enquiries were not answered at all. They had no knowledge of computers or their broadband system. One young member of staff in particular made me feel very uncomfortable with his sullen attitude. My mobile phone charger went missing from my room and there was no safe for valuables. The jacuzzi broke after one day of my stay and there was no information on it until I was in it which was a hassle. There were no instructions in the room on how to work the air conditioning so I was cold but didn't want to ask the staff because of the general reception I had received.
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Susan ( Mature couple)
from Birmingham , GB on February 24, 2009
Bedford Swan Hotel, Bedford - Reviews & Ratings"We had a very enjoyable break at this hotel and would definitely stay there again. The hotel is very beautiful and right on the bank of the river. " (107910311)
The room was excellent,very nice and clean with lovely decor. the pool was devine, especially the hot tub.
The internet wireless signal was too weak to reach our room. We tried to use the cable provided instead but that wasnt a live port. I work in IT and our laptop is in perfect working order. I knew that it was the hotel connection in our bedroom which was at fault. Unfortunately the receptionist had no idea what I was talking about and we drew a blank with getting it fixed. We had an evening meal at the restaurant but I had to send my steak back, it was well done when I had asked for rare. The meal itself was served on a wooden platter which I didnt like at all. Wooden platters hold germs and bacteria and I would much prefer a plate for service of my meal. Once the steak was replaced the meal was very nice though, and the service in the restaurant was faultless.
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Anonymous ( Solo leisure traveller)
on January 29, 2009
Bedford Swan Hotel, Bedford - Reviews & Ratings"I stay at this hotel several times a year and find it comfortable, pleasant and convenient." (107891673)
Upgrade to larger room at no extra charge. Nice few of the embankment and the river from my room.
Restaurant service was a bit slow.
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Larry ( Family with older children)
from County kildare , IE on November 19, 2008
Bedford Swan Hotel, Bedford - Reviews & Ratings"Overall OK - but not a 4* experience - if travelling with elderly or young children - check if late night music is scheduled." (107944888)
In general staff were helpful and friendly; rooms were tidy and clean; resturant was good.
Loud music on Saturday evening until 12.30am was unexpected and disturbing. Service at breakfast time varied - lack of cutlery and napkins and overall attention. Twin rooms varied in size. TV set badly position for ease of viewing.
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( Same sex couple)
from Bridgend , GB on November 3, 2008
Bedford Swan Hotel, Bedford - Reviews & Ratings"I have stayed at the Swan on previous visits to Bedford and will use the hotel again." (107916239)
Easy parking, good facilities available to guests.
Poor small tv in room - insufficient channels & no radio
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Anonymous ( Solo leisure traveller)
on October 23, 2008
olde world charm-quite elegant
Furniture in room quite dark.Breakfast a bit on the cold side.Had to order fried eggs.
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Anonymous ( Solo leisure traveller)
on September 8, 2008
Bedford Swan Hotel, Bedford - Reviews & Ratings"This is a pretty good hotel, well-furnished, helpful staff, reasonable food, and in an excellent location in the centre of Bedford." (107140655)
Reasonable sized room for a single person. Staff happy to look after my bag before and after check-in/out. The window opened.
The mattress cover and sheet were not fitted properly so that the bed was uncomfortable until I re-made it.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful:
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Michael ( Mature couple)
from London , GB on September 5, 2008
Bedford Swan Hotel, Bedford - Reviews & Ratings"It does not deserve four stars. Two would be generous." (97561575)
On several occasions I found that items were incorrect on bills at the hotel and staff were shortchanging me. Thr staff here seem to regard guests as a target
1 of 1 people found this review helpful:
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Jonathan ( Mature couple)
from Reading , GB on August 29, 2008
Bedford Swan Hotel, Bedford - Reviews & Ratings"We were very pleased with our stay and we'll make this our base again if we return to the area." (107251093)
A fine old historic building with lots of character and atmosphere thanks to the furnishing and decor. Yet we experienced none of the discomforts sometimes found with historic buildings - even though our room was possibly once part of the servants' attics. The 'Roman' swimming pool was very imaginatively designed (although rather small for serious swimming). The food and service in the restaurant were good. Excellent location on the Embankment in the town centre.
The swimming pool had some sharp edges under water (the pillar and water slide), and the waterfall puts part of the pool off limits if you don't want to get your hair wet. The standard buffet breakfast was reasonable but could have been made more interesting with a wider choice of dishes.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful:
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Anonymous ( Other)
on July 15, 2008
Bedford Swan Hotel, Bedford - Reviews & Ratings"We had a wonderful weekend and shall return." (97688314)
Staff and hotel lovley.
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Anonymous ( Mature couple)
on July 9, 2008
Bedford Swan Hotel, Bedford - Reviews & Ratings"Very pleasant" (97376526)
Room small but comfortable; good view. Breakfast excellent, with attentive service.
No fridge or mini-bar in room.
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James ( Group of work colleagues)
from Glasgow , GB on July 8, 2008
Bedford Swan Hotel, Bedford - Reviews & Ratings"very good" (97836306)
the hotel very nice and staff very pleasant
breakfast could would be better half an hour earlier
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Gillian ( Mature couple)
from Stoke on trent , GB on April 17, 2008
Bedford Swan Hotel, Bedford - Reviews & Ratings"the staff were very professional but also friendly. all requests were dealt with. the view was excellent adequate car parking space. although there were weddings on in the hotel we did not feel that we were in the way the spa area was excellent the restaurant food was excellent" (97263025)
the room was lovely and had a fantastic view of the river great restaurant
the TV did not have BBC 1 and despite the reception staff telling me that it had been sorted out, it still din't work. It did not however detract from our stay
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Anonymous ( Young couple)
on April 9, 2008
Bedford Swan Hotel, Bedford - Reviews & Ratings"1)The Hotel staff were generally unattentive 2) I was woken up in the night by other guests in the neighbouring room having a party in it 3) On complaining to reception the first suggestion that I move my room. This is a 2 O'clock in the morning! 4) It is unclear whether the staff in the hotel dealt with the problem of the noise or the party ended of its own accord 1 hour later 5) For the money you would get better service in a travel lodge 6) On checking out no one asked whether you had enjoyed your stay or gave you an opportunity to comment on the service" (97895437)
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Anonymous ( Solo leisure traveller)
on January 22, 2008
Bedford Swan Hotel, Bedford - Reviews & Ratings"This hotel has a good overall standard of presentation, professionalism and service. It is centrally located in Bedford. It is overheated, but the windows open so a comfortable temperature in the bedroom can be obtained." (97926658)
good overall standard
Hotel is overheated.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful:
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Pamela ( Mature couple)
from Hastings , GB on March 15, 2008
Bedford Swan Hotel, Bedford - Reviews & Ratings"would have liked to have been informed beforehand that premier rooms are non smoking." (97264773)
well presented comftable.lovely view of the river. very close to amenities.
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David ( Mature couple)
from Colchester , GB on March 14, 2008
Food was excellent. The room was cramped but comfortable. Easy to locate the hotel and park.
The swimming pool had a very small notice that was hidden by someones towel saying Do Not wear jewellery in the pool as it will discolour. We missed that much to our peril!!!!
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Anonymous ( Solo business traveller)
on March 4, 2008
Bedford Swan Hotel, Bedford - Reviews & Ratings"Rooms are shabby and money needs to be spent on modernisation, breakfast is too expensive" (97241312)
Shabby rooms - requires redecoration and updating
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Barbara ( Mature couple)
from Watford , GB on March 1, 2008
Bedford Swan Hotel, Bedford - Reviews & Ratings"The hotel has a country house look and is in the centre of Bedford and quite accessible which is a plus. Staff were very good and helpful. The decor of the rooms while clean has a slightly tired feel.The promised fridge was not working. On the plus sides excellent towels I was hoping for a view of the river in a superior room and the view of the car park was not great but this did not affect the stay. That being said car park was an advantage." (97165981)
comfortable room, good staff. relaxed atmosphere,pool was a bonus but needed a bit of a redecoration refresh
breakfast being served buffet style. Never as good as freshly cooked. The evening we arrived there was a major event in the hotle and we were unable to get to the bar, Obviously this is not something that would happen every time
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Paul ( Mature couple)
from Norwich , GB on February 4, 2008
easy parking, quality service, excellent food, nice location.
jacuzzi was too cold only wanted to stay in for 5 min . pool could have been a touch warmer too.
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Karen ( Mature couple)
from Sandbach , GB on January 22, 2008
the room was full of character,spacious and well decorated and equiped.The whole hotel had a pleasant atmosphere and staff were extremely friendly and helpful
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Stephen ( Mature couple)
from Chinnor , GB on January 9, 2008
The hotel has lots of character - the room was spaciously sized, well decorated with good facilities and the en-suite very clean
Nothing - I wish more hotels would try as hard to please.
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Doris ( Mature couple)
from Bloomington , US on January 8, 2008
Stuff was very friendly. Breakfast was good. Nice lobby- and barsection
When we arrived after midnight (our plane was delayed), we found our room extremly cold and it smelled bad. The heater was off and it took a long time to heat the room. We felt very cold that night. There was only one blanket. The safe in our room didn't work.
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Anonymous ( Other)
on December 12, 2007
Bedford Swan Hotel, Bedford - Reviews & Ratings"Overall I was very happy with my stay at the Bedford Swan. It was a comfortable hotel and the staff was helpful. Food and restaurant service could have been better, as could have the number of TV and radio channels in the room, but in general I'm pretty satisfied." (97088335)
Accommodation was clean and tidy. I did like the fact there was a teapot in the room and the complimentary biscuits were also good. Beds were pretty comfortable and bathroom facilities very good.
Not very many good TV channels and no decent radio stations on the TV in the room. The restaurant service was pretty slow even when the restaurant was almost empty. Food although good was over priced and extremely fancy. A more basic, cheaper menue together with a prompter service would certainly be apreciated.
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Anonymous ( Mature couple)
on December 9, 2007
Bedford Swan Hotel, Bedford - Reviews & Ratings"This Hotel whilst having pleasant and spacious bedroom accommodation fell down on a number of points and did not in our opinion deserve its 4 star rating because of this. 1. No assistance was provided to help with luggage to a room which was situated remotely from a lift and up several flights of stairs 2. Staff were generally unhelpful and lacking the correct attitude for the employment they are in. 3. The bathroom provided for an otherwise very pleasant spacious room was not good. The bath was too small for comfort and the shower installation was the sort of fixture which had obviously been supplied on the cheap. Really not good enough! 3. We arrived at 0940 for a breakfast which was advertised to end at 1030. Scraps only were left and fresh food was difficult to arrange from staff who were conspicuous by their absence. Once found it was apparently an effort to arrange, with excuses being made about being busy, whilst this was patently not the case. For the attitude of the staff see comment 2." (97909834)
Space
Bathroom poor. Bath small and shower cheap and nasty
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Anonymous ( Young couple)
on November 21, 2007
Excellent Accommodation, excellent public area's and bar and lovely location in Bedford
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Anonymous ( Family with older children)
on November 20, 2007
nice large twin room good size bathroom
room cold heating not working
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Anonymous ( Solo business traveller)
on November 14, 2007
Bedford Swan Hotel, Bedford - Reviews & Ratings"as above a truly unimpressive hotel and stay...i would never stay there again and will advise my friends of same" (97632662)
There was always hot water. Their was a bath.
The height of everything in the room, im five foot ten and everything was barely to my knee. I had to bend down to see the television. Throws on the beds ...definitely have been replaced by clean white sheets in most good hotels now.My sheets were not changed in the three nights i stayed. I found the staff very unpleasent and unhelpful throughtout my stay. Also they made a mistake when i paid by credit card and they charged my credit card an extra 100 pounds without informing me first...i find this truly unimpressive
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Halil ( Group of adult friends)
from Peterborough , GB on November 14, 2007
Bedford Swan Hotel, Bedford - Reviews & Ratings"The rooms were clean and comfortable. We had a double superior room for 2 people which could have been a little bigger, as a single friend also booked a double superior room which was double the size of ours. The shower was fantastic, such high pressure I didnt want to get out. The staff were excellent, especially the night porter who provided room service at 3am. We used the pool and spa room, we found the water temp in the spa slightly cold and were unable to stay in it for any period of time. We enjoyed our stay and would book again without hesitation." (97891973)
Comfort and excellent staff.
Noisy radiator.
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Anonymous ( Solo business traveller)
on November 4, 2007
Bedford Swan Hotel, Bedford - Reviews & Ratings"This was my second stay. Last time I had a modern room but no view. This time a wonderful view but an old tired room. Staff variable. Managed to get through one breakfast without a single member of staff offering me tea/coffee or toast. A typical English hotel. i.e. Less good value than most other countries, but a decent stay if luck goes your way." (97068053)
Room at the front with lovely view of river, swans and boats.
Old blanket with what appeared to be a congealed blood stain on it. Urgently needs replacing.
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Anonymous ( Mature couple)
on November 1, 2007
Bedford Swan Hotel, Bedford - Reviews & Ratings"Nice place, if a bit dark all round (general decor), not to suggest I am a fan of the Holiday Inn ilk...One big gripe only, which was that drinks at the bar were on a par with Park Lane Hilton, but you expect to pay through the nose there...the result being (and we're not short of cash), we only had one drink in it - is that good business? Of course the answer is probably yes because all the company rep types go there on expenses, and people at weddings are not likely to gripe even if they want to...but far too pricey for us. Apart from that, pretty good." (97575129)
Comfortable, with responsive heat controls, and very balacked-out and quiet (important as we had a room with a view - of a construction site!), super bathroom and very firm mattress.
Awkward key, and a TV on a stand so short it could not be viewed from bed! Who chose those...?
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