The Swan Hotel, Bibury

The Swan Hotel has a beautiful setting and a charming atmosphere, making it a lovely place to stop in Bibury. I tried the sticky toffee pudding, which was well prepared, rich in flavor, and nicely presented with ice cream and caramelized banana. It was definitely the highlight of my visit and showed good attention to detail in the kitchen. On the other hand, the service could be improved. While the food was enjoyable, the staff did not come across as particularly welcoming or attentive. A warmer and friendlier approach would make a big difference and elevate the overall dining experience. Overall, it’s a nice spot with great potential, especially thanks to the quality of the dessert, but the customer service leaves room for improvement.

This was an impromptu but long-overdue trip to Bibury, and we stopped at The Swan Hotel for lunch. We were lucky enough to find parking right outside and even get a table outdoors without booking—a rare treat given the village was bustling with visitors and the hotel was hosting a wedding.||Service was impressively quick. We ordered, and within just 10 minutes our food arrived. Admittedly, we only ordered sandwiches, but the chicken and lemon pesto combination was outstanding—light, flavourful, and perfect for a summer day. It came with a choice of side salad or chips, and both options were fresh and well-presented.||We loved sitting outside, enjoying drinks and watching the world go by in such a picturesque setting. It was the perfect way to break up a day of exploring Bibury.||I’ve already recommended The Swan Hotel to several guests at the hotel where I work in Broadway, and I’ll continue to do so. Well-run, great food, and a beautiful spot to relax.

Unfortunately our waitress, while friendly and smiley, was not very good. It was an immediate red flag when I could see she wasn't writing anything down when we were saying what we wanted. And no surprise that the broccoli we ordered as a side dish never arrived. Just write it down!! Pen and paper works every time. Then the person I was with had to get up and track down a member of staff to request a spoon as one wasn't provided for her soup. She also only asked the person I was with if they wanted any more water. When they said no she left. I would have had some more water. I like water dammit. Hydration is important. Also I didn't rate the food highly. We had steak and my stomach didn't feel comfortable for the rest of the evening. That being said, the waitress was friendly and chatty as mentioned earlier, the cream tea we had there was nice, and the staff were friendly and generous on that occasion too, giving us 2 pots of extra jam when we ran out (the tiny pot provided as standard is not enough) on top of that, the location is beautiful.

We stopped by The Swan Hotel on a hot summer day and really enjoyed our time there. It’s a lovely place to relax, with great seating both indoors and outside. We grabbed a couple of beers and ordered some small plates—triple-cooked chips and sourdough with olives. Everything was delicious. The atmosphere was calm and welcoming, perfect for a laid-back afternoon. Plus, the location is ideal - just a short walk from the famous Arlington Row. Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area!

The hotel is set in a beautiful setting in the village of Bibury. We came here as part of a wedding gift from a dear friend. Room was very nice. House keepers were very helpful. Reception staff were very warm in their greetings. We had dinner at the restaurant and we both enjoyed our food. Parking is limited outside the hotel but we were very fortunate. Short walk to the trout fishing warm. There is a brochure detailing a short trek around the village. We enjoyed our stay and seeing what is to offer in the Cotswold.

We went to celebrate our Golden Wedding. Staff were courteous and friendly and even left a greeting card in our room. The bedroom was very comfortable and well equipped. Our dinner in the restaurant was delicious- the treacle tart with clotted cream was amazing! There was a great variety of breakfast items. We had a lovely time there reliving old memories. Bibury was very busy with many tourists, but The Swan was an oasis of quiet.

Was in the area visiting the trout farm and needed to get a bite to eat. Stopped by the restaurant and needed a reservation but didn't have one. They still helped us out and we were able to set in the bar area and get some great food. The trout fish dinner was amazing. Thank you for your kindness. The lady bar tender was helpful and kind while we requested our food. If in the area, will be back.

Beautiful venue. We were recently there for a wedding and I have to say it was a great venue. Food was amazing, staff were very polite and helpful. Rooms were great and the food was top notch. Will 100% book again to just stay and admire the views and the things to do locally.

The Swan is an often-photographed inn in the heavily touristed village of Bibury. I would highly recommend that visitors take a photo and move on to stay at any one of the many far nicer inns in the Cotswolds. The Swan is, sadly, simply shabby and neglected and a terrible value for the price point. This photo is of the wall immediately outside the door of our 300-pound-per-night room (about $390). A room in which the toilet was broken and we had to wait for almost two hours to have fixed (kind of fixed, I should say; it continued to leak for the rest of the night). Zero urgency. In fact, they first sent up two girls who were giggling in the bathroom for ten minutes before telling us that it needed a plumber. In addition to the room, we spent over 200 pounds for dinner at the restaurant (entirely mediocre in both food and setting- cold and drafty) and more in the pub. Well over 500 pounds total for one evening ($650-700!). When I checked out, I very politely mentioned that I felt that the inconvenience of not having access to our own bathroom should merit an adjustment to the room fee. The front desk person left and came back and said they could credit me 20 pounds, was that ok? I replied that I'd spent more than that in five minutes at the pub. I was certainly not looking for my room to be comped, but think that knocking fifty pounds off would have been at least a reasonable and respectful solution. She said the manager came in later that day and they would figure out a more suitable credit and get right back to me. They never got in touch with me- not even after I wrote to remind them. I had visited Bibury before by myself and thought that the Swan would be a lovely place to stay on our romantic vacation; it was anything but. Huge mistake. Caveat emptor.

This hotel was nice for a pit stop on our trek through the Cotswolds. Located right next to the Bibury trout farm (oldest trout farm in England) and just a few minutes walk to Arlington row. Beautiful scenery right outside the window. The river flow creates such a peaceful setting. Breakfast included with the stay, which was quite filling. I got the avocado toast and my husband the English breakfast. Rooms are clean and spacious but could do with a bit of updating. The elevator also needs a bit of updating. On our morning walk towards Arlington row, we were greeted by a pair of beautiful swans. They also have a private garden for guests to enjoy in front of the hotel, next to the trout farm. Our room was quite warm and the heating takes a while to cool down, but within a couple minutes of calling front desk, they arrived with a fan to help us out. Their shampoo/conditioner and body wash are all for sale, too. I absolutely loved their shampoo but I wasn't willing to pay $20 per bottle. But it was quite the treat to use while being a guest here. Great rain showers, too with a good amount of water pressure and plenty of warm water.

This review is for the pub only as we did not stay in the hotel. Lovely riverside 17th-century coaching inn located in the picturesque village of Bibury in the Cotswold. The setting is heavenly and is located across from the Bibury trout farm and the river which is there. Worthy of a stop off for refreshments.

I joined friends here for dinner. I was in the UK for two weeks on holiday and went to London, the Cotswolds and Edinburgh. My meal at Swan Hotel was the best meal of my entire vacation. I got pork belly with a scotch egg made with black sausage. Everything was fantastic. I am drooling thinking of it. My husband go the gnocchi which were like little pillows. I am not sure I'll ever get the chance to return but if I am near by I would definitely go back. YUM

As one of the other reviewers mentioned, there isn't much competition in Bibury as far as restaurants/cafes, so we ended up at The Swan Hotel. They have quite limited parking, so you may end up having to look for parking on the street or elsewhere and make your way back. We took a look at the menu as we were waiting for a table in the courtyard to open up. It looked like it would be awhile, so we went inside. There were a number of staff that were standing in a doorway, but not really doing much and Mr. Snarky had to approach one and ask about the different seating areas. If you walk into the hotel and turn right, you'll end up in the restaurant, while if you go to the left you can order off of the bar menu. Fortunately there were a couple of tables available in the bar area, so we sat down and took a look at the menu. The table hadn't been cleaned and the cloth napkin that was left from the last customers was just left on the table. For as many staff that were just standing in the doorway not doing much, it was a bit surprising. The courtyard is lovely and so is the bar area indoors with cushy seating. Across the road is a garden owned by the Swan for those staying at the hotel to use. I only knew about it because a couple came in and couldn't find any seating, inside or out, but just wanted a drink. They asked, what I can only assume to be, the manager and he told them about it, but I'm not sure if he agreed that they could take drinks from the bar over there. After lunch we did walk by the garden and while it looks lovely, I noticed that you don't get any privacy from the road or any buffer from the sounds of the road, but they did block off the view of the Trout Farm, which is surprisingly lovely. We didn't quite understand that. Anyway, the menu has many of the same things you would find on a standard pub menu, however, it is a pricey menu, especially if you are a family looking for lunch on your day out. And there were a lot of families with small children around. You order at the bar, but there are no numbers on the indoor tables. We spent over £30 for two mains and two Diet Cokes. Our meal took quite awhile to come out, so long that we wished we had ordered a starter, although I'm not sure if that would have arrived any sooner. The food that was coming out looked great and everyone seemed to be enjoying their food. Eventually our food appeared and while it looked lovely, there was quite a difference in the amount of food between my plate and Mr. Snarky's plate. I had gone for the Local Bibury Trout (seeing as how there is a Trout Farm over the road) while Mr. Snarky had ordered the Pork Belly. The plates were the same size, however mine was quite crowded with the whole trout, steamed veg, new potatoes, a grilled lemon, and some kind of white sauce. Mr. Snarky's plate looked quite bare with a square of pork belly served on some veg covered in a brown sauce that blended in with the pork belly. They really skimped on the veg. Needless to say, I could see Mr. Snarky's snarky level was beginning to rise. The trout was nice, although for those of you who don't like skin and bones on your fish, then you may want to order something else as it is a bit of a delicate process to make sure you don't eat a bone. The veg and new potatoes were nothing special and the sauce... according to the menu it is a butter sauce, but the sauce reminded me of single cream and was slightly sweet. Mr. Snarky said that the Pork Belly was nice, but the brown sauce (I think it was Hoisin) was so strong that it overpowered everything. Mr. Snarky was not happy that we had paid over £30 for a meal that was... well mediocre. Going back to the fact that there isn't much choice in the village, I guess they can get away with it. If we go back to Bibury, we'll probably have lunch at the other place or just have lunch before we get there.

Ok, we were warned that the food was going to take 45 minutes to arrive, fine. I ordered the fish and chips and it was really really greasy. Really greasy. My friends ordered the steak and ale pie and it came with skinny McDonald's style chips whereas the fish comes with normal, hand cut chips. The pie wasn't served with any veg at all. It certainly could have done with some peas or something else green to give a hint of the healthy. Food was quite pricey too for what you get. The Swan doesn't appear to have any competition in Bibury so they don't really have much incentive to get it right.

I have not tried the lunch/dinner as the previous reviewer , but have been twice for breakfast, and in my opinion one of the best breakfasts I have ever had. The continental brekkie is great, their marmalade made with Drambuie is fantastic! Freshly squeezed OJ and good coffee as well. The range of warm dishes for the breakfast are very good as well. All in, highly recommended!