Swan, Thatcham by Marston’s Inns, Thatcham

Convenient access to Highclere, easy to find. Helpful friendly staff Food excellent

Suited me for an overnight, close to my location the following day. There was no food provision so that was a disappointment.

The dust on the surfaces throughout the room was thick, and the table with the drinks facilities on was sticky. The shower screen on the bath is poorly fitted as there is a gap between the screen and the top of the bath, causing the floor to flood and become a slip hazard. Whilst we appreciate the building is old and of a specific shape, size etc, the design/layout is not sensitive to this as the shower head was on a level with my neck, and uncomfortable to bend forward and lean back to use to wash/rinse. The quality of the mattresses is basic, but we were able to sleep. When we stayed previously (over a year ago as it was so poor then we took a long time to return) the bed was a double, same quality, and we sank towards the middle). Breakfast was slow and with only one person doing everything there was a lack of attention to needs. We had to ask for another cup for a hot drink, then later request more hot water as it was empty. It also took 45 minutes to receive our breakfast, although this was hot and freshly cooked. The only other positive is that the staff were friendly and helpful.

The room were in good condition, clean and comfortable. It has everything you needed. It was slightly noisy as it faces directly to the station and pub car park but not a big issue. It was only 1 min walk away from Thatcham Station so very convenient.

Great stay good breakfast

A warm and friendly welcome by the staff the evening meal was nice the breakfast was freshly cooked and hot. There was a problem with the room Michelle sorted it out without any fuss. Overall a pleasant stay

We booked this venue as working in the area locally. The staff team were so helpful from the outset. The manager explained that no breakfasts were available due to the lack of chef and promised us a refund which was fine. On one of our nights there was no chef in the evening and he discounted us really well for the final night as an apology .....thank you! WiFi was good. Free parking was plentiful. Our room was basic however very clean and had everything we needed for a business stay. Overall what made our stay was the staff team there.

first off we have to say that the staff tried the hardest they could to sort out what would seem to be an area or above managerial problem. no manager, staff all on holiday together, the only chef off sick (surprise surprise), cover cover managers dropped in to this . To be honest the few people we saw all were working 2 grades above and putting the customer first. all I can say is that I retired just soon enough to miss this situation in my job. they were doing 16hr shifts 7 days a week, to cover a lack of staff, the parking situation is a bit of a shambles but put 2 nice big free pub carparks next to a commuter station and see what you get. we parked went straight in saw the cover cover manager and he entered our reg so we didn't need to pay. rooms are ok but to be brutal could do with bringing into this century. what the pub needs is stop refurb. Train and employ enough staff and build a team again. If it takes a few weeks closed it has to be better than trying to run with far to few staff and no tea leader or manager. for the carparks how about if you havent become a customer you have to pay? Marstons look after the people you have and get a reasonable team in place. and make what is a reasonable pub bloody great again

The Swan rates as one of the very worst hotels I've stayed at in recent decades - it is like taking a step back to the (worst of the) seventies, in terms of service, maintenance, feel of the place, etc. My wife and I stayed here with some friends. On arrival, the first thing that we noticed was that the kitchen was closed and would not open that evening... After protesting that we would not have booked had we known this, we were told that someone would cook for us, but it would be a 'limited menu' - one look at this limited menu convinced us to eat elsewhere. The room we stayed in was tiny, dingy and stank of drains - were it not for the fact that we were meeting our friends, my wife and I would have left at this point. The bed was, essentially, a cheap mattress on a box. After a very poor night's sleep, we went for breakfast at 0830 (it was meant to run from 0830 - 1000) with some trepidation. We arrived, to find that we couldn't get in - all of the doors were locked. Eventually, a member of staff arrived who went around the back to get in - it would appear that the person who was meant to open up and prepare breakfast was still asleep upstairs... Sigh... It was clear that breakfast was going to take a while (and would almost certainly be disappointing), so we left and went to a Costa. There must be better places to stay in Thatcham. As for its 4* rating... it beggars belief!

We stayed here as it was the closest we could get to Highclere for a concert. We felt that the room was over priced for what it was (small). The rooms open straight onto the car park and the lock on the door didn't feel at all secure. The room was very small, pleasant but claustrophobic on a hot day. The bed was really hard and we both work up with backache. The bathroom was a good size but we couldn't get any hot water out of the shower.