Macdonald Swan Hotel

What People are saying

A nice traditional hotel

Fivestarcomforton 17/11/2017 15:40

I found the staff here generally very nice and welcoming. On arrival I spoke at length to I think a French gentleman on the reception. The hotel itself is surprisingly large and I was at the back which was (generally) quiet. The room was decorated in what I suppose could be called a traditional style. It was clean and well appointed. The fittings aren't new but nor were they tired.

Breakfast was very nice indeed, with a good spread and lots of choice. I did eat in the restaurant and am afraid I was somewhat disappointed. The food wasn't poor but neither was it as good as I had expected. For example, I had goats cheese tarts to start and short rib of beef for mains. The tarts were ok but nothing special and the short rib was certainly tender but a bit dry. However, I may have missordered and don't want to condemn the restaurant for one meal. However, I can't really push to four stars. The hotel is about an eight minute walk to Grasmere. Do NOT walk along the road and turn down the road to the villiage as that takes ages. Instead, walk down the road immediately opposite the hotel which is quicker.

Disappointed

Debbie Hon 14/11/2017 18:54

We stayed here for 3nights and have mixed feelings. Our check-in was excellent, the general manager was a lovely and helpful gentleman. We took our dog with us and he was great with him. Our room wasn't ready, which was fine as we were early, but he came and told us within 20 minutes that we could go to our room. It's a bit confusing where the rooms were, but advised us to park in the smaller car park to gain better entry to our room. Room was a decent size and big enough to fit our dogs bed in, however the bathroom was tiny. Lovely views out of the window which was nice. We went for a walk and on returning decided to eat in the restaurant. I chose lamb shank and my partner chose the fish pie. The lamb was lovely, but for some reason the bone was sat bare on top of my meal which was slightly odd and off putting. My partners meal looked lovely, however when putting his fork in and looking at the fish, it became very apparent that the fish was cold and raw. This was returned, when it came back I had finished my meal, but again when going to eat it, it was cold and raw again. We decided that we wouldn't want anything else and left the restaurant. The deputy manageress was lovely and apologised, it wasn't her fault. Really disappointing on our first night. We did speak to the general manager about this and he said he would sort it and tell the chef to check the heat before sending the meals out. Breakfast was ok, but you need to fill up on the cereals. Only one tiny slice of butter, and we had to ask for more and only one slice of toast each... We then went out for a walk returning on both days well after 1.00 and on both days our room hadn't been cleaned, so 3 nights of staying and our room was never cleaned. At check out, we were only charged for the wine on the night sitting in the restaurant, which was very kind. We only ever stay in a hotel as a treat and were disappointed that we had these problems. Not sure we would return, which is such a shame.

Welcoming

clairebaitsonon 12/11/2017 16:15

We hadn't booked and just turned up. Fortunately they had a room and the lady on Reception was brilliant. Very Friendly and accommodating. I couldn't catch her name but she was from Argentina! We had our meal there which was the rib-eye steak and it was delicious and tender. Our room was clean and plenty big enough with beautiful views. The breakfast in the morning again wonderful. Highly recommend the black pudding to which we asked who the supplier was.

We would most definitely stay there again.

regards
Claire and Andrew baitson

Lovely Stay with our 13 week old Bedlington Terrier

Iain Con 12/11/2017 15:58

Lovely Quaint hotel, with open fires in bar and lounge areas, food was great both dinner and breakfast, strongly recommend the lamb shank and the blade of beef both superb , well cooked and lovely accompaniments.

Super staff all very friendly , great service and they are super dog friendly especially as our 13 week old puppy was her first time in a hotel, made herself quite at home in front of the fire while we had dinner.

Mediocre

Charlotte Jon 06/11/2017 22:07

Family wedding - lovely service, quaint function room and tasty meal so really couldn’t fault the wedding aspect. However the hotel overall I don’t massively rate. Rooms okay but in need of an update, bar very expensive, breakfast small and service non-existent. Also accidentally left my filter water bottle in my Grandma’s room and informed staff but they never got back to me. I appreciate it wasn’t expensive but it’s the principle really, it would have been nice if it was returned. Probably wouldn’t stay again but that’s maybe just down to personal taste.