Swinton Hotel

The staff were lovely - so helpful. Breakfast was pretty good, and it was handy to have a place to sit in the foyer to meet with colleagues. However, the rooms were pretty basic. The curtains towels and duvets have seen better days, need renewing.

My wife and I stayed at the Swinton for two nights in September 2024. We had returned from a trip to York and just needed somewhere close to Kings Cross. I really want to give The Swinton a good review, because the staff tried very hard to make our stay enjoyable and their effort should not go unrewarded. But the truth is as hard as the staff worked, the hotel is just not that great. It’s okay. It served our needs. It is close enough, just, to Kings Cross but with suitcases to schlap through the inner London streets it is at the limit of what I would call convenient. Without luggage its a different story. We came and went easily. There’s a lovely bakery coffee shop between the hotel and the station I highly recommend. The street is quiet and seemed pretty safe when we arrived late at night. The room we had, which the desk staff said was one of their bigger rooms, on the ground floor was pretty small and tight. It must have been a disabled access room as there were some weird ramps in the entry and bathroom. The TV was mounted practically on the ceiling. The view from the window was not of the garden (as we had hoped) but of the trash cans. The pillows were flat and unmatched, just random. The room and bedding were clean, it wasn’t dirty at all, just some odd decor choices. Its like they were really trying to make it ‘nice’ on a budget, but didn’t really have any idea how to do that. In the mornings we were able to sit in the garden and it was indeed quite nice. Second floor rooms have steps dow to the garden and I assume a much nicer view of it. There is a kitchen where breakfast is served but we did not use it. The menu was not terribly inspiring, and besides we had found the Aux Pains du Papy coffee shop and loved that place. Like I said the staff were super friendly and helpful, so I’ll give an extra star for them, but truthfully this is a 3-star hotel at best. Adequate for a short stay.

Great for one. Tiny, Clean, Courteous. For a single traveller looking for a super convenient location the cleanliness, cute courtyard and quiet room were just what was needed. If you were a couple you'd be tripping over each other, squabbling over who gets the 'full pillow' versus the curiously cute half size one. You can't compare a 2 star hotel to a 5. This against other 2s was a stand out for coffee making facilities, nice towels and sheets. Recommended for travellers looking for a budget option for an overnight stay. Note for those that struggle with mobility there are narrow stairs and no lift.

Me and friends were booked in for two nights but left after one. The hotel is small and dated but looked clean and relatively freshly decorated and we aren't fussy travellers so, so far so good. We were on the second floor and were slightly concerned that the floor felt a little 'bouncy'. Got into my room and straight away noticed the floor was sloped, from one side of the room to the other. Reception couldn't change my room as no others available and as it was late I thought I'd put up with it for the night. My bed was hard, the duvet and pillow were thin. The traffic noise was insane (needed window open for air). I didn't sleep much at all. Next morning I go for a shower and when I walk back into the bedroom I noticed a bed bug on my pillow. Absolutely wasn't staying another night and we had to find another hotel. The male receptionist was apologetic and after I showed him the squished bug he was empathetic and checked on Google if it would make me unwell. The housekeeper suggested it was caused by someone from another country and went to pains to tell me the hotel was clean (and it was, I said as much), but she then questioned my friends about why they were leaving too!

The facilities were fine, quite basic but for the price we couldn’t quibble at all. The hotel was clean and welcoming as were the staff who couldn’t do enough for us. They were so polite and kind. We left our bags at reception before the room was ready in order to go off and explore. Nothing was too much trouble.