Old Swan

Just got home after a one night stay at the Swan. Firstly, booking - the booking prior to arrival is rather confusing and wasn’t sure which one we were staying in, a more modern hotel/ spa or the pub the other side of the road, the pictures are a little misleading and confirmation isn’t very clear. We wanted a room in the Mill but ended up with a room in the pub. We confirmed our arrival time as requested prior to arrival and check in was 3pm so we got there for 3pm and confirmed this too. |However, when we arrived |, the room wasn’t ready, we did have plans too so this was a problem, we waited patiently and was told “20 minutes” as it’s just being cleaned… 30 minutes later nobody got us, so we headed back inside and asked and 40 minutes later we were in the room at 15:40|The room is what you’d expect from a pub that old, however we were a little disappointed as we were hoping the room was in the mill not the pub. We were also told that the WiFi was down, being a rural location, this was an issue for us as signal is pretty much non existent and we rely a lot on our phones for directions and information etc. |we quickly headed out late to our plans, when we returned back we wanted a few drinks in the pub, but again more problems, our first round was a lot cheaper than our second round despite buying the exact same drinks and measures. We didn’t feel like we could query it due to the service we’ve received so far in our experiences and felt it would cause more issues than it’s worth. |Our room had a broken fan which didn’t work either properly and an asthmatic person could probably blow out more air than that fan, this made sleeping impossible on a hot summers night. I guessing the only thing that made the room superior was a sofa next to the window. |The next morning we went to breakfast and felt again, wasn’t value for money, the food was nice and service was better but portion and options were limited, we didn’t pre book breakfast so we paid after, I wasn’t given a receipt prior to paying and just passed a card machine and then receipt after I paid to discover a service charge on it which I wasn’t aware of or mentioned on a menu. Hopefully it can go towards buying a new fan or costs of WiFi. |When we checked out as well, I’d already paid for the room prior to arrival but the staff member tried to say we hadn’t paid? ||We are pretty laidback people and I stay in hotels in rural locations often for work, once a month and this in comparison just wasn’t value for money. |The grounds of the mill are incredible and lovely and some of the staff were friendly just slow but just felt disappointed and not what I wanted or paid for but not sure how to address it. |I questioned myself and my booking too, and when looked online during the stay, I saw that a nicer room was cheaper in the Mill for the night we booked, and knew we would of enjoyed our stay more if it wasn’t for all the confusion.

Disappointing Stay – Health and Safety Concerns We were initially impressed by the beautiful grounds of the property, but unfortunately, our overall experience fell far short of expectations. The room we stayed in was extremely warm and had no air conditioning. We were advised to leave the window open for ventilation, but being on the ground floor, I didn’t feel safe doing so—anyone could have easily climbed in. I requested to move to another room but was told there was no availability, without any apparent effort to check the system. Our experience with the dining was even more concerning. At breakfast at the Old Swan, we were served cold and undercooked eggs. After asking for fresh ones, we received another plate—only for the eggs to still be cold. My partner, who was very hungry and tired of waiting, ate what was served. This ended up being the only meal he had that day. Tragically, later that day, he developed a fever and severe stomach cramps. It is now Monday 8 DAYS LATER and he still cannot eat or keep down any fluids. He has been unable to work, a trip to A&E, IV fluids due to food poisoning from the breakfast. I have already contacted the hotel directly to raise this issue and urge them to investigate the food immediately—I would not wish this experience on anyone else. I would greatly appreciate it if someone from management followed up with me regarding this serious matter.

Dry, plain burgers. The best food was the chips. Child-friendly. Beautiful garden. Lovely children’s mini playground behind the garden. Tables and chairs in the garden are dirty. Would not recommend for food, but worth a visit for a drink in the shade. If this is the village’s go-to pub, something tells me locals don’t go there for food. One final note: you wouldn’t know, but the food took ages to arrive.

We received a very confusing welcome as staff were talking to each other then another couple whilst asking us for allergies and showing us to our table. |The food was very good although not as described. I had the sausage and colcannon mash but the cabbage came separately.|What was jaw dropping was the price of a glass of wine......|£12.75 for a 175ml chardonnay. I was asked if I wanted a large glass but at £17.50 it was a definite no! The wine imo was also not great. Drink prices are way too expensive compared to other local restaurants. The drinks prices sadly would put us off returning.

Stayed here for 1 Tuesday night as we were going to a wedding nearby. The staff were helpful in the lead up recommending a reliable taxi company we could pre book travel to and from the wedding venue nearby. Also, we arrived at 11:30am (knowing we wouldn't be able to check in) and left our case at reception and used the public toilets to change and finish getting ready for the wedding. Sadly, that meant we checked in at midnight or so, so it was straight to bed. The room was very, very nice. It was pretty loud early on on the Wednesday morning though which wasn't ideal. Breakfast was across the road in a pub and we weren't thrilled by the menu but what we did order was good quality. Glad it was included in the hotel cost though as it was pricey. After breakfast we had a little walk around the grounds of the hotel which were really beautiful.

Location is stunning. However, for the price i would not recommend staying again. We just stayed a night and overall for the price found it disappointing. Room cleanliness was bad, there were dirty towels and a coke bottle left under a bedside table. We had requested morning papers and neither room got any. The Wychwood is also incredibly hot, and although a fan is provided it does not alleviate the temperature at all. The lady who appeared to be the manager was screaming at staff whilst we were waiting to be served for breakfast and didn’t seem at all concerned that customers could hear her. Avocado had been requested with eggs at breakfast and never delivered. When checking out, the manager didn’t seem to have a clue that we had already paid and couldn’t find any evidence of it. She also seemed completely unbothered by the mention of the above room cleanliness issues and missing morning papers. The only lovely staff member was a young girl with red curly long hair, she was lovely and incredibly professional. Not a great experience.

One of the worst hotel experiences I can remember. ||The receptionist was eating at the front desk when we arrived. She couldn’t find our key. When we got to our room, there was no WiFi.||The next morning, the shower flooded the bathroom. Still no WiFi. In spite of the heat wave, there was no effort made to clean the room or change the bedding. Towels were simply hung up and DIRTY cups put away in the room.||Day 3 - intermittent WiFi. Room is finally cleaned but that night, the room filled up with a strong smell of smoke at 11:30 pm. No explanation as to why the next morning. The smoke returned at around the same time every night thereafter.||For all the claims, this is simply not a 4-star hotel. The amenities at the local Premier Inn in Witney are better and the price point much more reasonable. Save your money, stay there and spend what you save enjoying the Cotswolds.

Having returned from staying at The Minster Mill I feel one must share the rather appalling experience we have had. Although a pretty setting the tower of negative points put any initial hopes into darkness.|Feature Room - "With magnificent views of the River Windrush" the website states!!. No view of River due to overgrown nettles and untidy green mess presented to you when opening the door to your private terrace, patio area needs weeding, wooden privacy gate broken off so no privacy. Previous burnt logs and ash left. No wifi at all anywhere. Scuffs and all over walls, unclean room and bathroom. In general appalling for over £300.00. Your website photos are totally misleading and I would never of paid to stay here if an accurate truthful portrayal of the Hotel had been shown.|The wonderful chorus of drunken women who had booked some rooms next to each other went on until 3am. Why on earth did no one do anything about them??????????. Please don't say it was up to us to say. You could and should of done something you could hear them all over the grounds clearly hour after hour.|Staff were dressed inappropriately, with mis matching clothing that looked untidy, breakfast over the road as the hotel your paying to stay at doesn't offer breakfast was terrible. Lady took our order which took over 30 minutes to come after several enquires, it turned out it had not been passed on to the chef. First in yet sitting there with all later arrivals being served or finished. Left breakfast to follow member of staff going back over to the hotel with breakfast sandwiches. Disgusting service!!!!

Quaint hotel and great staff made my business stay enjoyable. If you want an "English countryside" experience, you will get it in this 15th century hotel. The basic rooms are small, but comfortable enough that I slept well each night. The convenience of the onsite restaurant was nice, and the food was decent. I stopped in the spa for a manicure which I do not recommend. The girl that did my manicure was very nice, but had a hard time getting my gel off so I ended up scraping it off my nails myself, and then the polish she used came out bubbly. Not worth the £50. The hotel also has a gym and free bicycles you can use. About 1/4 mile down the street are 14th century ruins that are worth a visit, just follow the signs to the church.

Lovely country inn and an authentic English inn experience. A bit out of the way in Oxfordshire but isn't that the point? The inn is staffed by a seemingly small but professional staff who check you in, draw you a pint, and show you to your room. The rooms are a bit small (it dates to the 15th Century) but comfortable and well appointed. The inn serves 3 meals a day and the menu is rather upscale. I only had lunch which was delicious and commensurately priced. The inn isn't really within walking distance from much to do so have a plan to get out an about via car. Overall, not a 5 star experience by far but very nice and recommended.

This hotel is slightly oddball, but set in a lovely village in Oxfordshire. The River Windrush flows next to the Mill, and the gardens and grounds are great for quick walks. There is also a Gym. The Mill is the hotel, while The Swan is the pub/resturant - all run by the De Vere group. This is a nice setup, though I guess it could be quite annoying in wet weather. The rooms vary, but some can be extremely small and cramped. The restaurant is also very overpriced, and I advise you look elsewhere for your tea! That said, and despite it not being the best hotel in the world, the setting and location make up for that, and we were happy with our stay here. Very good for visiting Oxford.

Beautifully situated hotel and old inn. Be aware there are two properties and more rooms than one might think looking at the web site presentation. Plus the inn seems to get plenty of local patrons wanting pub lunches and family dining seats. Bar was cosy with a goodly amount of draft beer taps and the menus for the various sittings of meals were thoughtful and expected of what is obviously a serious destination. I avoided paying 25 pounds for a swim in the spa center which can be avoided if you have a treatment in the spa. Lovely walk along the river aside the property and you can fly fish for half a day on said river (for 60 pounds) Reception made an error processing my final bill which probably wouldn't have been caught without my input. Rooms in the inn seem to have more hidden away rooms . Mercia room was at the top of a vertical spiral suitcase in the inn.! Help was needed to move suitcases. But the Mercia room had an outside patio albeit it close to the coolers by the kitchens. Parking easy and plentiful out back.