Swinton Park

Swinton is an outstanding experience. Even in the eye of a big December storm, the buildings and grounds are impressive. The insides are warm, welcoming yet still sumptuous The service and food quality is second to none. We had one of the cottages so we could be together as a family for my wife’s 60th birthday. A gorgeous home from home with all the amenities on top Samuels restaurant was a particular highlight of our weekend stay. One to return too. Often!

Both myself and my wife booked an overnight stay, evening meal and spa package. Driving through the hotel gates the view of the hotel and grounds was amazing, and the hotel certainly didn’t disappoint. The hotel was magnificent and was full of character and history. It was extremely well kept and clean. What was nice is that you’re welcome to explore the hotel grounds and nowhere seemed out of bounds. Lovely walks round parkland, lakes, and kitchen gardens with Birds of Prey to look at. We had the option of eating in the terrace or Samuel’s, we chose Samuel’s. The food was delicious, we both chose the Sirloin steak and this was cooked to perfection. We stayed in the Bedale room, for one of their cheaper rooms we were really pleased with how spacious it was. Overnight there had been a bad storm that knocked the hotels power out and caused damage to trees in the park grounds. Unfortunately this caused us to miss a cooked breakfast (although we did get a delicious cold breakfast) and we also had to miss our prearranged spa day. The staff dealt with this fantastically, and with a few emails had our spa day rearranged for another day. We returned a few weeks later for the spa day and thoroughly enjoyed it. The spa was one of the best we’ve been to for a while. What made our time at Swinton so special was how friendly and helpful the staff were. The hotel didn’t have a pretentious feel to it like some luxury hotels do, it had a more warm and friendly feel. We will definitely return.

We booked a spa stay as an anniversary treat. The estate and castle are beautiful and we were warmly greeted and shown to our room with a little history along the way. The only part which let the stay down for us was that one of our massages had been moved due to staff sickness, which I understand can't be helped, but the first we were told of this was upon checking into the spa. This meant that both my husband and I would now be spending time on our own whilst the other received their treatment. Also some facilities were out of order/closed for maintenance which we were not previously made aware of, this included the salt steam room, the outdoor pool and the air tub/recliner in the thermal pool. All of which would have been nice to try during our stay. The spa however is also beautiful and kept super clean with robes etc provided. We ate in the Terrace restaurant and all of the food and cocktails were exquisite along with the service. Breakfast was also delicious, this time we were served in Samuel's restaurant where we had a choice of continental or cooked breakfast before checking out. I'd love to return but would check ahead regarding facilities etc to make the most of our time there.

This is our second week long stay at the Swinton (after a fantastic time last year) with our grumpy Pug. Staff always lovely and helpful, facilities brilliant and this year we have especially enjoyed two falconry experiences with wonderful Mandy including a Hawk Walk and Owl experience which have been the highlight of our trip! The option of brunch in terrace as part of meal package is very welcome as sometimes after a big dinner we are not hungry by breakfast the next morning and it’s nice to go to the spa and swim so that has been a great change from last years stay. We shall be back next year :)

We took advantage of a dinner, bed and breakfast deal offered in January and thoroughly enjoyed the two night stay. The food is excellent wherever you dine and the estate has plenty to do for couples or families. We booked a one week return visit in the summer to celebrate a special birthday with our family as our stay was so enjoyable.

We stayed in the Colsterdale Suite for 3 nights dinner, bed and breakfast at £870 a night. The suite was great, 2 big rooms , right next to the boot room and external door. But for the first 24 hours the heating didn’t work properly. We were given electric heaters but these just about warmed the bedroom so we couldn’t use the lounge area until the last evening. Also water lukewarm. The grounds and walks within them are fantastic. The common rooms are impressive if a bit dated. Generally we found the staff helpful and the service was fine apart from 1 breakfast. The massive disappointment was the food. The boef bourgignon was dry and tasteless.The Sunday lunch was a car crash, we were last in and both mains were inedible and sent back. They were replaced by a reheated pre cooked 1/2 roast chicken to share which was dry, as were the potatoes and veg. The waiter was completely embarrassed about what he had put in front of us on both occasions.We left 90% of it and walked out without bothering with the deserts. Even the other meals that were cooked properly were no better than decent pub food but twice as expensive. To pay £870 a night for an all in package and get food of this quality is awful. It shouldn’t be like this.