The Swan Hotel

The riverside setting is lovely, with a large patio, a view of the river and a walkable path alongside it. There’s also a huge supermarket and buses within a short walk. I stayed at The Swan with several colleagues, and everyone had good things to say. Staff at the onsite pub were friendly and eager to help, and several remembered my name and greeted me each morning, which made a real difference. Our rooms were clean and had what we needed, including complimentary water, tea, coffee and milk, all refreshed daily. The bed was comfortable and the shower had excellent pressure. We ate there for several meals: the continental breakfast had a great spread and lots of choice, and the hot breakfast cost extra but was fresh, hot and tasty. Well worth the price, and I’d happily recommend it to anyone staying in Staines.

We went for a meal over Christmas. The staff were friendly and the service was good, but the food was just OK. The festive menu felt like it was trying to be fancy without quite pulling it off. I’d have preferred more traditional choices.

Judy saved us from a booking mistake just before our wedding. We were meant to stay Thursday night before the Friday wedding, five minutes down the road in Egham, but I’d booked the wrong night. She noticed my note about the wedding and got in touch, then changed it to Thursday without any trouble. When my now husband and I arrived, Judy greeted us with a big smile. We were delighted with the hotel, which looked even nicer in person than in the photos, and got an upgraded room, a bottle of wine and two mini bottles of prosecco. The new room had a gorgeous river view and a small balcony. There was also a lovely man at reception, perhaps the owner, who showed us to the room. I don’t know his name, but he was medium height, with brown hair and glasses, and a smiley face. I can’t recommend the hotel enough. It was the best start to married life, and we’ll be back.

The food was underwhelming and overpriced for what we received, so the meal was poor value. More than that, the Christmas lunch for eight colleagues felt uncomfortable from the start. The duty manager’s manner seemed to create tension, and that carried into the service instead of setting a calm, professional and welcoming tone. The worst moment came when the manager said audibly to the server handling our bill, “Make sure you add service charge.” A discretionary charge shouldn’t be pushed that way, especially when the service doesn’t justify it. We came away feeling like an inconvenience rather than welcome guests. That approach feels outdated and damaging in such a competitive hospitality market. There are plenty of excellent places to eat locally, but I wouldn’t recommend this one for business or social dining.