The Swan

Overpriced, mediocre and complacent. A really suboptimal stay. This once great establishment with kerb appeal is now neglected and sanitised of any character as part of a bland chain. Clearly relies on the tourists who arrive by the coach-load to blight Bibury. An equally clear lack of managerial oversight or care for patrons. Instead, a collection of very young overseas staff trying their best, but leaving a terrible, amateur air of indifference. Nobody makes eye contact or speaks from behind front desk. No welcome or interest at all. No desire to hear about our stay. No care full stop. Staff more interested in ferrying their own food and drink to their workstations whilst leaving the front desk and elsewhere empty at peak checkout time. The highlight is the hotel’s very pretty private garden. Otherwise the brasserie and bar are corporately dreary and soulless. Sad. Meanwhile our room was really poor for £300. Small, stuffy, smelly, dated, cracked and damp ceiling in bathroom, windows covered in mould (see photos). View was of rear bin area with no attempt to tidy it. We woke to the bins being dragged and loud conversation at 0545. Zero soundproofing - you can hear everything from nearby rooms. Corridor has peeling wallpaper and migraine-inducing tartan carpet. Like the extremely dated bathroom, harks back to 80s. Not exactly the atmosphere we were seeking for our anniversary and birthday celebration. Food is ok but, like the wine, greatly overpriced for its quality. Service patchy, depending on how confident (or not) the staff member was. On reflection, we should have cancelled as soon as our (confirmed) booking started to be changed. We left exhausted, ripped off and thoroughly fed up. Best avoided.

Having had a long walk around Bibury and the local fields we stopped for a break in the Swan. One of us being coeliac we were pleased with the gluten free sandwich choices. Sadly the chips weren’t GF but this didn't matter. Lovely courtyard area to sit with the dog!

Pretty on the outside, but rooms leave a lot to be desired. No water pressure - turn on the hot tap and NOTHING comes out. The same dirt stayed on the carpet for the three nights we were there. Bugs everywhere, flies, moths, crawling insects. The restaurant food was not up to expectations at breakfast or dinner. Captive audience means little effort.