The White Swan Hotel

We always stay at the White Swan (and we always will!) Of all the many accommodations in Stratford-upon-Avon that we've tried, White Swan is by far our favorite. The staff are all excellent (kind, helpful), the historic old building (with Shakespeare quotes in front of each room) is lovely, the Wifi fast, adjustable AC, OUTSTANDING breakfast in a land of great breakfasts!!! The restaurant is superb (terrific wine list, locally sourced products), the whole building is clean, rooms are well-appointed with thoughtful touches (like plugs near the bed, reading lights)! Information about the hotel and the area is wonderfully included in a menu on the spacious room-desk. My husband is picky about bathrooms and the bathrooms are always American-large ;-)

We had a couple issues with our key cards this time, but its NEVER happened before and they are getting the issue fixed and it was ONLY our room. I cannot recommend this hotel enough--it is excellent!!! (Especially if you love history and Shakespeare)!

The hotel is in a magnificent old building and the front desk staff were excellent and went out of their way to make us feel welcome. The rooms are comfortable and well-equipped with complimentary fresh milk and freshly-baked biscuits (delicious).

The breakfast, whilst delicious, rather let down the experience. I was completely ignored by two members of staff when I arrived. Common courtesy, let alone basic training, should dictate that you at least acknowledge someone, even if just to apologise for not being able to assist them immediately. Then the cooked breakfast took 50 minutes to arrive, which we were not warned about, making my wife late for a meeting.

beautiful property lovely staff poached eggs cooked to perfection

neither my husband or I enjoyed elements of the breakfast. bacon and sausage looked and tasted like it had been previously cooked then warmed up.

The decor of rooms and attention to detail in the bar / eating area was of a high standard. The Shakespeare extracts and references on the walls were appreciated. Our room was very clean with a large comfortable bed and great shower! Exceptional service and welcoming interactions from nearly all of the staff right from the reception desk to maintenance to housekeeping. The hotel’s location is central and it’s very convenient for the town and theatre alike. We have re-booked another visit and are looking forward to our next stay.

One of the waiting staff at breakfast didn’t know the menu and did not have the same high standards of service and knowledge that all the other members of staff had e.g. didn’t know what sourdough bread was on the breakfast menu. It appeared that he may been rostered in from the bar or was a temporary employee possibly.

The staff were lovely at reception as well as in the bar and restaurant area. Everyone was super kind and helpful. The receptionist even gave us some history about the building and the painting in the restaurant which we found really interesting. The room was well decorated, clean tidy and had everything you could need. It is also in a good location to reach all of the local sites on foot.

Just a minor point. The full English breakfast comes with streaky bacon (which is fine, I don't mind it), except it wasn't well done and so there was a lot of fat. Also, the hotel charges you extra (£5) if you have Eggs Royal (poached eggs with salmon). This seems a little tight when it's already quite expensive to stay in the hotel.

The room was lovely, period features and a comfy bed. The bathroom had a shower no bath but he shower was amazing! Good water pressure, clean and complementary toiletries. The mini bar was useful and bottled water was nice too. Iron and ironing were handy and a decent hairdryer too.

My only gripe is that we had been there for a wedding and after a late night got woken at 8 am-10am with intermittent fire alarms going off. I had been looking forward to a lie in and had arranged a late breakfast specifically so we could relax in the room and then smoke alarms!!! Arrrrrgghhhhh! So annoying! The room wasn't cheap and we had treated ourselves as it was the week of our anniversary so not happy when we had been disturbed. Not only that but cleaning began in the hall way outside our room with the hoover going at 8;30 to top it off! That's it we were up!

The building, bar, rooms were all exceptional and are highly reccomended.

Constructive feedback The cooked breakfast was so small, scrambled egg, 1 rasher of bacon cut in half and a single hashbrown the size of a two pound coin. We had sandwiches and chips at lunch (quite expensive for the amount given) yet they lacked all of the stated content. My partner experienced an issue with a box used for a table which resulted in her spilling her drink, normally elsewhere a replacement would be offered, but not here, she was told she would have to pay again. Clearly you are attempting to save money on the small things, which is disappointing as it is an excellent hotel and it is the little things that matter.

I booked the White Swan via Booking.com to take advantage of my status (currently Level 3 on their Genius Programme, which provides discounts - 10% applied on this booking). I also booked via Quidco so will receive another 4% cash back on top. A small double Room costs £128. The hotel is centrally located, doesn’t have a car park but there are public car parks very near by which cost between £12 -£14 for 24 hours. Ahead of arriving, the hotel emailed to provide an online checking form to complete and then on arrival we just had to pay to check in as they don’t take payment via Booking.com The room was pleasant maybe slightly warn.  I was staying on my own but the room would have been okay for two people for a short break. Think it’s a nice touch that each room has a quote from a Shakespearean play. I had a really good nights sleep as the location was quiet and I could have my window open for some fresh air. The Breakfast - I had a little bit of a mix up with mine but probably caused by me. My mum and friend's breakfast looked very good and they were nothing but complimentary about it.

Some very small gripes about my room but nothing that would put me off staying again... I had to move the desk to be able to plug anything in the plug sockets which sat above the desk. The chair in the room was too big for the desk so stuck out into the room. The shower leaked into the rest of the bathroom.

Breakfast was lovely Really good quality ingredients Staff mostly very good- some had forgotten how to smile 😊 Been on numerous occasions and always enjoyed our stay!!! Sleep was poor/ interrupted due to inconsiderate guests above or room- constantly walking around room/ shouting but that finally ceased at 5am. Not quite as good as it used to be but rarely anything is unfortunately.

Noisy inconsiderate guests Our room had been accessed by another guest as they had bern given a key prior to us checking out all our personal belongings were still in the room but luckily for us the other guests were honest and nothing touched.

The White Swan is in a fantastic location. It has a lovely Shakespearean feel to it too & was a cosy and quiet spot to retreat to after a day of exploring. They also keep the bar open for hotel guests in the evening. The little extras were much appreciated- lovely coffee & biscuits left in the room for us. The staff were also very welcoming and friendly. The bathroom was also beautiful!

We didn’t feel that the room had been cleaned thoroughly- one of the spoons for the drinks was dirty, there was a dodgy looking stain on the bed & there were hairs in the bathroom :(