Bedford Swan

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

10/10

Exceptional

19 Jul 2025

Julie

We were in 311 got up at 8 no hot water to shower or wash went for breakfast came back and it was red hot

Friends_and_family Family

6/10

Pleasant

18 Jul 2025

Patricia

Staff better than 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.

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

06 Jul 2025

Fiona

Clean and comfortable although bed wasn’t as comfortable as our last stay there 2years ago and room overlooking restaurant side this time so a bit noisier. Good supply of teas, coffee, toilet paper etc and it’s really helpful having decent toiletries in bathroom. We didn’t have breakfast as we had a very early start

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

05 Jul 2025

Michael

Location good, good staff

10/10

Exceptional

04 Jul 2025

Tracey

Beautiful room breakfast was fabulous definitely recommend

Partner

4/10

Poor

04 Jul 2025

malcolm

Parking was a nightmare think the hotel should be notifying people about this !! Woulostay again

Leisure

8/10

Excellent

28 Jun 2025

CHEN HSIANG

I am not sure if only me encountered this. The shower temperature is not hot enough during my 2 out of my 6 stays

Business

10/10

Exceptional

22 Jun 2025

Paul

Really nice hotel, attentive staff, spa was a bonus and worth paying for as less people to share with.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

22 Jun 2025

Sarah

Swan Hotel Bedford, Bedfordshire.

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.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

22 Jun 2025

Louise

Room was spacious and very clean. I booked a single room and the bed was more like a small double. Breakfast was slightly disappointing as they were not replenishing items quickly enough when they ran out. But overall this was a lovely place to stay.

8/10

Excellent

18 Jun 2025

Lisa

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

Business

6/10

Pleasant

17 Jun 2025

Linda

Hotel & staff great but I booked a Deluxe Double room & it was very small I even checked at reception if I had been given wrong room

10/10

Exceptional

17 Jun 2025

Sam

It was a great stay for Buisness, Staff all very freindly

Business

6/10

Pleasant

15 Jun 2025

Anna

Hotel has a nice finish and the staff was friendly, however they would need to work on few details. The room was set for one person when we arrived and didn’t have enough towels, the dryer was not working and breakfast was not too great. Also, finding a spot in the car park can be tricky. Also, bed and pillows were too soft for my liking.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

15 Jun 2025

Gloria

Parking was a bit of an issue as property was very busy

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

10 Jun 2025

Robert

Great time Love it.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

02 Jun 2025

Melanie

The Swan is a lovely hotel. Great staff, facilities and lovely view of the river.

Leisure

10/10

Exceptional

25 May 2025

Sue

Beautifully decorated. Friendly, helpful staff. Afternoon and breakfast was the best I’ve tasted, experienced in a long time.

8/10

Excellent

24 May 2025

Marie

Very nice and quiet. Staff very friendly.

Business_and_leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

18 May 2025

Gillian

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

Leisure Self

6/10

Pleasant

17 May 2025

Andrew

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

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

12 May 2025

Phillip

Great spot

The building and decor is fabulous. Real feeling of history and space. Outside bar and restaurant lovely on the river even with a regatta and a wedding on.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

08 May 2025

Stephen

Always a great hotel to stay at , one 1 little point. My room was cold so include additional blanket somewhere.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

30 Apr 2025

Valerie

I had a lovely overnight stay for my sisters birthday, staff were very nice, room was great and restaurant great too.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

26 Apr 2025

Eugene

The room was very nice spacious love the heated towel rack! We had issue with too cold the staff helped right away to fix the issue.Food. Was very good.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

24 Apr 2025

Dale

Very nice thanks

6/10

Pleasant

21 Apr 2025

Verified traveler

Average

We had an ok stay at The Bedford Swan. The room was dated and the wardrobe sliding doors jammed on their first use. The toilet roll holder also fell off. The hotel receptionist was a little curt when we checked in. Breakfast was average, we went down at 10.15 when it finished at 10.30 and seemed to be a lot of stress about all the buffet being cleared away by 10.30.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

19 Apr 2025

Laura

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.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

15 Apr 2025

Karl

Great hotel in a prime location, with friendly staff and service all round.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

06 Apr 2025

Jackie

Great location for an overnight stay

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.

Friends_and_family Friends