Swinton Hotel

Safe and clean. Friendly staff.

My wife and I stayed at the Swinton for two nights in September 2024. We had returned from a trip to York and just needed somewhere close to Kings Cross. I really want to give The Swinton a good review, because the staff tried very hard to make our stay enjoyable and their effort should not go unrewarded. But the truth is as hard as the staff worked, the hotel is just not that great. It’s okay. It served our needs. It is close enough, just, to Kings Cross but with suitcases to schlap through the inner London streets it is at the limit of what I would call convenient. Without luggage its a different story. We came and went easily. There’s a lovely bakery coffee shop between the hotel and the station I highly recommend. The street is quiet and seemed pretty safe when we arrived late at night. The room we had, which the desk staff said was one of their bigger rooms, on the ground floor was pretty small and tight. It must have been a disabled access room as there were some weird ramps in the entry and bathroom. The TV was mounted practically on the ceiling. The view from the window was not of the garden (as we had hoped) but of the trash cans. The pillows were flat and unmatched, just random. The room and bedding were clean, it wasn’t dirty at all, just some odd decor choices. Its like they were really trying to make it ‘nice’ on a budget, but didn’t really have any idea how to do that. In the mornings we were able to sit in the garden and it was indeed quite nice. Second floor rooms have steps dow to the garden and I assume a much nicer view of it. There is a kitchen where breakfast is served but we did not use it. The menu was not terribly inspiring, and besides we had found the Aux Pains du Papy coffee shop and loved that place. Like I said the staff were super friendly and helpful, so I’ll give an extra star for them, but truthfully this is a 3-star hotel at best. Adequate for a short stay.