Swinton Park

Both myself and my wife booked an overnight stay, evening meal and spa package. Driving through the hotel gates the view of the hotel and grounds was amazing, and the hotel certainly didn’t disappoint. The hotel was magnificent and was full of character and history. It was extremely well kept and clean. What was nice is that you’re welcome to explore the hotel grounds and nowhere seemed out of bounds. Lovely walks round parkland, lakes, and kitchen gardens with Birds of Prey to look at. We had the option of eating in the terrace or Samuel’s, we chose Samuel’s. The food was delicious, we both chose the Sirloin steak and this was cooked to perfection. We stayed in the Bedale room, for one of their cheaper rooms we were really pleased with how spacious it was. Overnight there had been a bad storm that knocked the hotels power out and caused damage to trees in the park grounds. Unfortunately this caused us to miss a cooked breakfast (although we did get a delicious cold breakfast) and we also had to miss our prearranged spa day. The staff dealt with this fantastically, and with a few emails had our spa day rearranged for another day. We returned a few weeks later for the spa day and thoroughly enjoyed it. The spa was one of the best we’ve been to for a while. What made our time at Swinton so special was how friendly and helpful the staff were. The hotel didn’t have a pretentious feel to it like some luxury hotels do, it had a more warm and friendly feel. We will definitely return.

The best hotel I've ever stayed in. Swinton Park Hotel, on the expansive, lush, Swinton Estate, is the epitome of English elegance. The facility is family-owned, with eccentric artwork and history in every room. The grounds, populated by deer, sheep, horses and an extensive aviary are right outside your window, a part of every day. The spa, again, the very best I've ever experienced. Great indoor pool, lots of soaking tubs, whirlpools, the works. The food, either in the historical dining room, or more casual outbuildings, is excellent. Our particular room had a wonderful bed, linens, pillows, towels. The staff are quietly efficient.

We booked a spa stay as an anniversary treat. The estate and castle are beautiful and we were warmly greeted and shown to our room with a little history along the way. The only part which let the stay down for us was that one of our massages had been moved due to staff sickness, which I understand can't be helped, but the first we were told of this was upon checking into the spa. This meant that both my husband and I would now be spending time on our own whilst the other received their treatment. Also some facilities were out of order/closed for maintenance which we were not previously made aware of, this included the salt steam room, the outdoor pool and the air tub/recliner in the thermal pool. All of which would have been nice to try during our stay. The spa however is also beautiful and kept super clean with robes etc provided. We ate in the Terrace restaurant and all of the food and cocktails were exquisite along with the service. Breakfast was also delicious, this time we were served in Samuel's restaurant where we had a choice of continental or cooked breakfast before checking out. I'd love to return but would check ahead regarding facilities etc to make the most of our time there.

Excellent stay booked on winter deal DBB made it more affordable. Service excellent. Highly recommended

The spa is fun and there are free additional activities each day. We especially enjoyed our tapas meal in the brasserie bar and the cocktail experience in the bar with barman Will.

Swinton Park manages to be both warmly welcoming and jaw-droppingly magnificent. Every person in the entire staff was friendly and cheerful and contributed to a marvellous luxury break on a cold January weekend. We went for the extra luxury of a view and weren't disappointed when we watched dawn rising over the deer park. It was a surprise that both restaurant options are equally excellent (rather than one reflecting a more informal approach) and we swapped a booking to make sure we got to have an evening meal at each one. Different and equally wonderful and great to go to both. You can tell it's a cookery school and the quality of the food is what sets Swinton apart from most other country hotel experiences. The spa facility is superb and again, sets the hotel in a league of its own. It's amazing to go for several courses of breakfast at Samuel's after the range of sauna, steam and swim first thing. We had snooker and darts players in our party so the clubroom was a great after-dinner extra. Plenty of places to sit around the hotel -- lovely fires for our winter visit. Various things to do if you're hanging around the hotel, including walks and laser clay-pigeon shooting which the local coach made enormous fun. Piano background for afternoon teas ... scenery and pretty villages to visit if you want to drive out -- including the breweries of two famous local ale producers. Not cheap but decent value given how excellent it is. You couldn't get a more pleasant and welcoming option in the north of England.