Lion & Swan Hotel

We booked in advance for Saturday dinner and I’m glad we did. The restaurant was busy but the service from Jamie was the right pace. The menu had changed since we last visited with a range of pizza, risotto, pasta, fish and meat dishes, Everything was fresh and good size portions. We wouldn’t hesitate to return - I reckon it’s the best restaurant in congleton!

Had a one night stay as we were having some disruptive work done to our house and needed somewhere else to stay. Had a nice room in the annex but the bed was small by modern standards. Only a standard double i think. Had a very nice meal in the restaurant which was made all the more memorable by the excellent service we received from our waitress, Izzy, I believe. She was excellent and very friendly. Excellent breakfast in the morning.

We had a wonderful meeting with family. It was extra special because we have all been through a difficult time recently, and it was a pleasure to spend quality time with them with the pressure having subsided. The staff were wonderful. I only have 2 complaints: 1) The conservatory wasn’t open for no apparent reason. We had booked for an Italian but there was little of that on the menu. 2) And this is a big one for me: I always check if the meat on the menu is halal. To me, this is a repugnant excuse for immense cruelty and I will not have anything to do with it. They were able to say for sure that the chicken they serve is definitely halal (this begs its own question: why??) however they could not guarantee that the rest of the meat was or wasn’t! What about tracing? Other establishments in Congleton have been able to assure me. It really isn’t good enough. I’m sure I’m not the only person who feels this way. I ended up with fish and chips, which was still excellent. The veggie options were not really very enticing. Having said that, we still enjoyed our visit. The surroundings are wonderful and our wait person (wish I could remember her name) was absolutely top notch and a credit to the establishment. (Owners: we were there Saturday 31 August at 1.30. Give the lady a pay rise!) Overall, a lovely visit. However I won’t be returning for a meal until either the meat traceability is sorted and/or your vegetarian options improve.

Having just had a great weekend involving staying in York, having a luxury train ride to Edinburgh courtesy of Northern Belle, we decided we needed a pit stop on the way back to Anglesey. We had been past the Lion and Swan a number of times and thought it looked interesting. We were so right. Our room was comfortable and well appointed. Despite there being a Blues festival going on in the town we were not disturbed at all. Dinner in the restaurant was excellent. We sat outside. The entertainment (Blues festival) was good. The staff were brilliant, polite and helpful. Breakfast the next morning was very good too. All in all a great night's sleep, good food and great staff. Thank you. This may become a regular stopping off point when visiting family and friends in Derbyshire.

My goodness the music is so loud in the restaurant at the back that we had to ask to move. I don’t think I’ve ever heard music that loud in an Italian restaurant before. I love a night out by all means and music too but couldn’t hear ourselves think at dinner, it should be a nice atmosphere and it was like a club at kicking out time. I was so looking forward to visiting and I came from leeds and I don’t think I’ll go back but the staff were really lovely and very polite.

Brilliant Hotel. Stayed here solo for one night before going to a wedding the next day. Staff are so lovely and work so hard to make sure everyone is happy. My room was spotless and felt like a home away from home. Food at both dinner and breakfast spot on! I requested a late check out and it was no trouble. Would definitely recommend.

Lovely hotel, welcoming, helpful and friendly staff. Comfortable beds and a good good breakfast! I stayed for two nights and in the days worked from the hotel. WiFi was good and reliable enabling me to continue working as if l was in the office.

First impression was good, impressive décor, displays well carried out, wonderful artwork displayed around the hotel and bars. The room we had was, again, well decorated with lovely colours and furnishings; this part of the package cannot be faulted. Our room was lovely, but the bed was small but nice little touches to make our stay pleasant. We dined in the restaurant and found the the menu was well thought out and had lots of options. We ordered a starter, which I clearly stated as a starter, but this came out with the main meal, not a massive problem so let it go. When we went back to our room to get a good night's sleep, we were kept awake by two members of staff sitting in the outside bar area. They were somewhat loud, and this went on for some time, a little annoying as we had to keep the windows open as it was a hot night, and the room didn’t have air conditioning. We got woken up early by deliveries outside our room, reversing warnings going as they backed up to unload their goods. When we went for breakfast, we walked in and were told to sit anywhere you see clean cups. There was no formal greeting, there was orange juice, toaster, bread, pastries but no introduction as to what was on offer or what we could have. We sat at our table and chose from the menu card placed next to the cups and someone did take our order but again, nothing was said other than have you decided what you would like? I ordered toast with poached eggs and wild mushrooms as the picture on Tripadvisor looked absolutely enticing. When my breakfast came, I had one piece of toast, so small I initially couldn’t see it, the two poached eggs were more like hard boiled with the yolk part separated from the white completely, the picture advertised looked nothing like my offering, very disappointing.

Restaurant Leone for lunch, many previous happy visits especially with the Sunday set menu being excellent value for money. Despite still being advertised on the website, I was disappointed today to arrive to find main menu only at full price, no offers, according to the waitress this was on customer demand who wanted more choice? In today’s competitive market removing this set choice is a major surprise. We were not the only diners who had arrived and were surprised to find this. I cannot fault the quality of the food, however, if I had known in advance the set was no longer available I would not have booked. What should have been two £20 2 course meals turned into an £82 bill! I feel cheated by this underhand action by the management. After numerous previous Sunday visits we will not be booking again. Maybe we are not the type of clientele you wish to attract?