Best Western Plus Swan Hotel

Popped in for afternoon cream tea and it was perfect. We had the option of sitting outside looking across at the cathedral, but opted to stay indoors in the very elegant sitting room. The scones were freshly made and delicious. less

A 4* hotel acting like a 5*. My friend and I stayed 2 nights (wish we could have stayed longer). Check in staff were very efficient and helpful, our room was very spacious with nice furniture and comfy beds. Excellent bathroom and in room facilities - decent TV, kettle, tea, coffee, milk and biscuits, hairdryer in one of the drawers. Safe, iron, ironing board and a fan in the cupboard. We stayed during England's heat wave so to help keep the room cool we kept our curtains closed and put the fan on when we were in the room; you have to understand the hotel is a 15th centaury coach house, so no air conditioning or lift, however there are rooms which you do not have to use stairs. The hotel is very well laid out and a gorgeous building in it's own right, it's opposite the cathedral and has a lovely patio area which we made use of in the evenings to have a drink, relax and enjoy the view. Breakfast was a plentiful cold buffet with hot options cooked to order. I couldn't fault the staff who were all helpful and friendly (special thanks to Max who was over and above helpful to me at breakfast), nothing was too much trouble. Ooh and free WiFi with a good strong signal. I would definitely stay here again. less

The restaurant at the Swan produced extremely good food – beautifully tender lamb the night we arrived. It was difficult to choose my meal, as the menu was a good one, but I love lamb. Although I was hoping it was good, It was much better than I had expected. The bacon I had at breakfast was the best bacon I’ve ever had in a hotel (tender, not dry and tough!). The staff were very helpful too. I wished we had been staying longer!! less

Pleasant surroundings and helpful staff. Only downside was that my wife's and friend's trout salads were mostly greenery. Enough lettuce to feed about 6 rabbits and not a lot of fish. My ham egg and chips was good. Rating is somewhere between average and very good. less

Walking around Wells city centre we saw a sign pointing up an alley for The Walled Garden Cafe and Bar and being intrigued and in need of a coffee we decided to investigate. What we found was an excellent setting, bright, open, with very comfortable seating, tables and parasols. It is actually part of The Swan Hotel but is also open to non-residents. We had coffee and shortbread which was very good and reasonable priced. It also had a very reasonably priced snack/lunch menu but unfortunately we didn’t have time. While we were in the Walled Garden we were told about the other option of the Swan Terrace. This is at the front of the hotel directly across the road and has a direct view of the front view of Wells Cathedral. Again it is open to residents and non-residents and has the same menu as the Walled Garden. Later in our visit to Wells we had a very pleasant lunch. Of the two we preferred The Walled Garden in that it offered welcoming shade during the hottest parts of the day. This preference may change if we have a meal later in the day (cooler) on our next visit. less