Name: Bedford Swan
Address: The Embankment, Bedford, MK40 1RW, GB

4/10

Poor

26 Jul 2026

Gracie

Both myself and my partner were really disappointed with our stay.
The shower was freezing, for an expensive hotel I expected to have hot water. The floor of the shower was cracked in two places. The room was unbearably hot with the air con not working. Again for how much we paid I wish we had just stayed in the travel lodge up the road.

8/10

Excellent

26 Jul 2026

adrian

Parking was £30 for 12 hours!!
No air con. No fans.
One other MINOR issue NO HOT WATER!! on Sunday am.

6/10

Pleasant

23 Jul 2026

Carl

I have never stayed in a hotel room without a wardrobe? Strange, nowhere to hang my suit up for the next day.

10/10

Exceptional

20 Jul 2026

Heather

Great stay as always. Staff helpful and quick room arranged when we had a problem with the room door

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

12 Jul 2026

Kimberly

Very cute property! Enjoyed stay!

Friends

10/10

Exceptional

09 Jul 2026

Helen

Helpful and friendly staff. Lovely decor and well equipped rooms. Wish there’d be time
in my diary to try the spa but that’s a good reason to come back!

Self

8/10

Excellent

06 Jul 2026

Gary

Excellent hotel, great location, bit of a warren of corridors when finding room, well sign posted though.
Only issue I would point out is the menu for snacks etc was a bit confusing as to what you could order depending on where you were sitting.
Would definitely use this hotel again if revisiting Bedford.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

06 Jul 2026

Tracey

Reception staff could have been friendlier, a smile helps. Room well appointed as always. Big comfortable bed.

Partner

4/10

Poor

05 Jul 2026

Nicholas

Nice looking hotel, but staff were mostly pretty unhelpful or clueless and the food in the restaurant was awful (avoid! )

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

08 Jun 2026

des

Spectacular

10/10

Exceptional

02 Jun 2026

jasdeep

I stayed just one night and left early the next morning but definitely would stay again for a longer trip!

Self

10/10

Exceptional

30 May 2026

Julie

A perfect stay, checkin was amazing and the room was beautiful.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

30 May 2026

Jurijs

👍

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

25 May 2026

Emily

We enjoyed learning the history of this hotel. Excellent views of the river and swans from the bar, breakfast had lots of choices, conveniently located in the town near shops and restaurants.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

24 May 2026

Samantha

Car park was very small and chaotic with many cars driving around unable to park. There was no space designated to unload luggage which was a huge problem as I had my daughter and all of her bridal attire. Had it not been for a wonderful member of staff named Joy, we would’ve been clueless as to where to park and would have had a long walk with all our luggage. Thank you so much Joy, you were amazing, and you went above and beyond. I’m very grateful.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

24 May 2026

Ibiba

I couldn’t use the guy because it’s too small. I wasn’t informed the spa was different booking.
I asked the cleaners to clean my room because I was going out but they did nothing

Self

6/10

Pleasant

24 May 2026

Lisa

The hotel is wonderfully situated, rooms are nice and well designed.
The breakfast was like a staff canteen, too much queuing due to a high volume of people stayibg, wet warm coffee without any flavour but very lovely staff who were run off their feet. Staff in the hotel were either doing multiple jobs or sat behind reception doing not alot. Our kettle didn’t work, when I called reception noone picked up, when I walked to refeption staff were helpful but the phone kept ringing.

Friends_and_family Friends

6/10

Pleasant

23 May 2026

Eva

The hotel is very nicely presented, art deco type of style to it. Restaurant staff friendly and helpful and food very good, highly recommend eating here. Our main issue was the total lack of hanging space in the room, no wardrobe or hooks to hang anything. We were attending a funeral & had nowhere to hang out suits. Bathroom also has no space to put washbags.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

10 May 2026

Mandeep

Front desk staff were lovely. The hotel itself is very nice, room was a bit run down - missing faucet handle bit, needing a little tlc overall. Sheets seemed clean but I found hair that wasn’t mine around the room. My biggest complaint though isn’t with the hotel itself but instead the restaurant within the hotel. No matter when I called or how many times, they never answered. Not once during my entire stay. Reception tried to connect me - no luck. When I went to the restaurant they told me they couldn’t do lattes or coffee to go although earlier people were taking hot drinks to go. They were out of gluten free toast although it’s on their menu as something available daily. Room service was a big let down. Other people seemed to have the same issue.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

20 Apr 2026

T

Very helpful staff ,lovely restaurant and very convenient location

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

20 Apr 2026

Victoria

Fabulous breakfast, lots of options. Very friendly staff; helpful and chatty. Bar is nice with nice atmosphere. Gym was small but had a range of machines and also free weights. Spa small but enough to do for 2 hours. Whole ambience of the hotel was delightful and I’ll definitely return. Highly recommended

Self

4/10

Poor

11 Apr 2026

Isobel

We stayed here before but things gone downhill. The breakfast was not that hot.
We had a AV car. Non EV cars were parked in the Charging points. The staff said they could match registration numbers to guests. I asked them to put a note on their windscreen. Nothing done. Very annoying. No mirror in dressing table. Small attentions to details gone x. Staff were on the surface great x

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

11 Apr 2026

Toni-ann

Decor was beautiful, room and bathroom clean and really nice. Staff was ok.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

06 Apr 2026

Kate

Staff were very polite & friendly. The room was beautiful and clean. For the breakfast buffet, a non pork meat option such as beef sausages or turkey rashers etc would be very ideal.

6/10

Pleasant

30 Mar 2026

David shaw

advertised as a spa hotel but spa is not part of hotel facilities. very small and u have to pay. Also fully booked up so not avaliable to guests. this needs to be advertised cirrectly in advert. expensive enough but not justified for small upgrade room and no use of spa

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

30 Mar 2026

Marianne

Great customer service by Holly at the front desk upon check in. Clean room, great breakfast, and very peaceful. Definitely recommend!

10/10

Exceptional

28 Mar 2026

Clare

Highly recommend this hotel.

10/10

Exceptional

28 Mar 2026

Madelaine

Friendly staff at check in and great room. No issues. Photos are accurate. Great to have free parking on site. My only very small point for improvement would be to have more options for the cooked breakfast as it is either a fry up or vegetarian fry up. There was also a bit of a delay in the breakfast order being taken and then arriving as it is not self-serve. For non-business guests this is unlikely to be an issue, but if staying for work then allocate around 25-30 minutes for breakfast if you would like a hot breakfast.

Self

6/10

Pleasant

20 Mar 2026

Adrian

Room was nice and tidy. However, when I woke in the morning all of the plugs in the room didn’t work, which meant I couldn’t use them for charging my phone etc.
When I mentioned this to reception at checkout I didn’t receive an apology or thanks for raising the issue, she just said she’d mention it to housekeeping and carried on talking to her friend….!!

Self

8/10

Excellent

14 Mar 2026

Jill

The bathroom was lovely with a good shower.
The room was clean but some of the furniture felt tired and dated. Paint chips and heat/water marks on surfaces.
Overall, very happy, though.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

05 Mar 2026

Steve

Expect a hotel of this standard and price to have a bar open to residents until a reasonable time, the last 3 times I have stayed here the staff stopped serving at 10.15 despite signage clearly stating that the bar is open until 11.00

Self

10/10

Exceptional

14 Feb 2026

Selina

Lovely hotel, great spa and on site restaurant. Highly recommended

Partner

8/10

Excellent

08 Feb 2026

Paul

Very nice

Partner

2/10

Poor

01 Feb 2026

kiyomi

We wanted to go to an exercise class in the morning and so needed an extra 30 minutes to check out, but they wouldn’t allow it. I don’t like these mean hotels that have no flexibility.

8/10

Excellent

29 Jan 2026

Sharon

room clean, young man on reception was helpful as was the young lady.

Staff in the lounge were also helpful, although service was a little slow - perhaps it was a busy time around 2.00pm.

Business

8/10

Excellent

20 Jan 2026

Joe

The reception staff, were always very helpful and accommodating - nothing was ever a problem. The service from the staff in the restaurant at breakfast was excellent too.

Friends_and_family Friends

6/10

Pleasant

18 Jan 2026

Alan

Room was very cold, aircon/heater impossible to understand. Wall had something splashed over it. Bed was lumpy and not very comfortable. Could not get around the posts in the car park(which had scratches from previous cars) had to reverse 20 yds (against the flow to get out. Phone in room had a bright screen that lit the room up at night and there was a constant gurgling noise for most of the night.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

05 Jan 2026

Arcangelo

Very good for dinner and breakfast

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

01 Jan 2026

Diane

Room spotless & smart decor. Friendly & welcoming receptionist

Friends_and_family Friends

8/10

Excellent

27 Dec 2025

Jennifer

The hotel design and architecture brings on the old world charm in a good way. We liked the vibe of the hotel and the friendly staff who were always helpful. We would stay again!

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

27 Dec 2025

Denise

Our 3rd stay here. Enjoyed a Christmas break this time. Excellent.

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

27 Dec 2025

Gillian

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!

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

26 Dec 2025

Paul

Had to move rooms three time as we could not sleep because of the noise from generators behind the rooms. Plus two dogs having a barking contest either side of the third room.very disappointed with this and did not have a proper sleep.

10/10

Exceptional

22 Dec 2025

Suzanne

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

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

21 Dec 2025

James

Recently refurbished. Lovely rooms. Great spa facilities

Partner

8/10

Excellent

21 Dec 2025

Ann

Lovely hotel, clean, staff great

Friends_and_family Friends

4/10

Poor

21 Dec 2025

Seamus

The room was dated. Barely any toilet roll. Didn’t know we had to book the spa so couldn’t get in.
Extremely busy and couldn’t get a drink at the bar as restaurant was overly full.
Breakfast - coffee awful, not all items available on the hot buffet.
Would definitely not recommend paying for breakfast at all

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

19 Dec 2025

Mark

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

Partner

8/10

Excellent

17 Dec 2025

NIGEL

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.

Business

6/10

Pleasant

17 Dec 2025

Kevin

The room needed some attention for the hotel rate, although was comfortable

Business

10/10

Exceptional

14 Dec 2025

ALISON

All ok thank you

Friends_and_family Friends

8/10

Excellent

13 Dec 2025

SEEMA

Quick check in, lovely room and bathroom. Breakfast was great enjoyed our stay but would have preferred a firmer mattress and sounds of doors closing can be heard along with creaky floorboards but this is down to it being an old building. The hotel is beautifully decorated for Christmas and I would definitely return.

Business_and_leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

07 Dec 2025

Shaun

Excellent room, and service.

10/10

Exceptional

29 Nov 2025

Andrew

Quick check-in

10/10

Exceptional

28 Nov 2025

STEPHEN

Everything about our 3 night stay at The Swan Hotel Bedford was great. We would certainly consider a further stay.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

27 Nov 2025

Y H

Great hotel in Bedford, very nice room which has a fridge. Close to everything in Bedford. Will definitely stay again if I'm there again

Self

8/10

Excellent

25 Nov 2025

Mr Perer

A great improvement on a few years ago. Well done .

Business

10/10

Exceptional

23 Nov 2025

Candy

We had a wonderful stay at the Swan hotel, definitely will return

Leisure Partner

6/10

Pleasant

16 Nov 2025

Nicholas

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.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

13 Nov 2025

Ian

Clean and spacious room. Lovely hotel in a great location

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

09 Nov 2025

STEPHEN

Great room hotel is lovely. Terrible parking. Needs more reserved parking for guests as it all gets taken up by people having afternoon tea and meals etc.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

08 Nov 2025

Jessica

Room was a lovely size, clean and had all the things I’d need.
Slight negative is the corridor was loud with alarms kept going off.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

02 Nov 2025

Raymond

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

Self

10/10

Exceptional

31 Oct 2025

BRIAN

Very satisfactory

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

28 Oct 2025

Simon

Beautiful hotel and facilities

8/10

Excellent

26 Oct 2025

Rod

Only required the room for one night very clean and staff helpful didn’t require any refreshments

Leisure Partner

6/10

Pleasant

22 Oct 2025

Steven

Poor

Room booked was a Delux Room with King bed. Room was small, bed no bigger than a double and the room smelt of dampness and was overwhelming at times. Asked for explanation from reception and told that it was a UK king bed, and very apologetic regarding the room smell but that was all they had. Make sure you don’t get room 234

Business

8/10

Excellent

22 Oct 2025

Jonathan

good variety

Self

10/10

Exceptional

12 Oct 2025

Richard

This was an excellent hotel with great rooms and breakfast

8/10

Excellent

11 Oct 2025

Margaret

Check-in was efficient and on the whole not a bad stay. Room could’ve been cleaner. Dinner was very limited selection and they didn’t allow room service?? Rating: 3 star

Leisure

10/10

Exceptional

10 Oct 2025

Susan

Safe parking area, lucky to get spaces as small carpark and busy; Staff really helpful and friendly; Dinner was fabulous. Breakfast so so. Room was lovely, very quiet. Shower really good. Spa was fabulous, would have been nice to have been shown each station and that there was an ordinary shower to shower off after the steam/sauna rooms (it was stuck on scalding hot when I was in there the first day). But generally great stay - and I've booked again when I travel for my next course in the area.

8/10

Excellent

03 Oct 2025

Craig

All was fine

10/10

Exceptional

02 Oct 2025

Lisa

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

Friends_and_family Friends

8/10

Excellent

01 Oct 2025

Craig

All good

Leisure

8/10

Excellent

30 Sep 2025

Kathy

Check in staff is friendly. Room was clean

Business_and_leisure Self

2/10

Poor

29 Sep 2025

Fabia

worst hotel I ever been. Noise , dirt , unfriendly staff rude and nasty

Friends_and_family Family

6/10

Pleasant

23 Sep 2025

Heather

Avoid staying on the 2nd floor

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.

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

22 Sep 2025

Valerie

There was a lot of noise and no parking due to functions at the hotel, this was fine and staff did direct us to their parking. There was not a non slip mat in the bathroom, just a small sticker on the tiles telling you to request one from reception. The shower was very slippy once water got on it, I personally feel that there should be a non slip mat supplied to the rooms as standard. I did not notice the sign until I got out of the shower.

Leisure Friends

8/10

Excellent

16 Sep 2025

Gavin

Quirky hotel. Lovely to stay. Very clean and comfortable. Restaurant was under staffed , but the staff were extremely nice.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

14 Sep 2025

James

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...

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

13 Sep 2025

Victoria

Lovely room and centrally located. Perfect for our visit to Bedford.

Leisure Family

6/10

Pleasant

10 Sep 2025

Roger

Shower tray overflowed

6/10

Pleasant

08 Sep 2025

Stephen

Good

The staff were very friendly and welcoming. The room was clean and quiet, which was a great plus. However, the bed was quite small for two people, and it was a bit short. On the downside, the hotel restaurant was closed in the evening, but the staff kindly recommended a restaurant within walking distance. Overall, a comfortable stay with some minor drawbacks.

Friends_and_family Friends

8/10

Excellent

08 Sep 2025

Amanda

Everything was fabulous apart from the bed, it was soft and bumpy.

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

31 Aug 2025

Yvonne

Amazing Bedford Swan

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.

Partner

4/10

Poor

25 Aug 2025

Louise

Management nice but that was it!!!

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!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

24 Aug 2025

Robert

Great stay

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

20 Aug 2025

Nattanya

It was amazing and very comfortable sleep location was very easy to find. Shop is very close by staff are friendly.

Self

8/10

Excellent

20 Aug 2025

alex

Beautiful room,

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

19 Aug 2025

Leila

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.

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

18 Aug 2025

Sheila

An invitation to real comfort

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.

Self

8/10

Excellent

16 Aug 2025

Stephen

Great stay disappointing lunch service

Quick check in, stayed many times before but not recognised by hotel systems, very comfy bed and good sized double room.

Superb location on the river and easy walking to the town centre. Restaurant Pen and Cobb has good selection for breakfast, lunch and dinner but this stay we were disappointed when ordering at the bar two identical dishes (steak and eggs) and only one turned up. We were made to feel it was our fault, there was no apology given and to make matters worse my friend had to go back inside to pay extra as the ticket had incorrectly been logged as one steak and eggs with extra fries. No signal outside to pay by card. Something went wrong, it’s never happened before and the food when it arrived was very tasty so we’ll probably stay again and have lunch on the last day of our trip.

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

16 Aug 2025

Queenie

IThe location is excellent and in the centre of the town adjacent to the river.The only issue I had was the were stairs in the corridors on the floor which I struggled with also the lift into hotel from carpark didn't work and the lift to the dining room broke with me in it.

Leisure Self

6/10

Pleasant

13 Aug 2025

Simon

Overrated

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.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

04 Aug 2025

Toby

Beautiful p

6/10

Pleasant

03 Aug 2025

RICARDO

.

Leisure

6/10

Pleasant

03 Aug 2025

RICARDO

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.

Leisure Partner

4/10

Poor

25 Jul 2025

Dale

Appalling bar service

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.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

25 Jul 2025

Cathy

Very attractive, large hallways and lobby, old building.

10/10

Exceptional

23 Jul 2025

Derek

Tastefully decor old school , quiet, great position for a few beers whilst watching river

Leisure Partner