Many thanks to everyone who came to the hotel on Sunday to see Santa in his grotto. The hotel is looking very festive – a sleigh and reindeer are at the front of the hotel and more reindeer and a snow scene can be found in our Walled Garden at the rear. If you get a chance do pop in!

The Green Tourism Business Scheme is the national sustainable tourism certification scheme for the UK. Businesses opting to join Green Tourism are assessed by a qualified grading advisor against a rigorous set of criteria, covering a range of areas, like energy and water efficiency, waste management, biodiversity and more. Following a recent assessment the hotel has retained its Silver award!

We are looking forward to welcoming 120 guests to our Macmillan charity lunch at noon today. This sell out event will raise much needed funds for this fantastic charity. Thanks to everyone who bought a ticket and is supporting this event.

Over £130 raised for Breakthrough Cancer Day

Thanks to everyone who came into the hotel on Saturday and helped us to raise funds for Breakthrough Cancer Day. All our staff dressed in pink and we sold pink cakes and pink drinks, raising over £130 for this very worthwhile cause.

To win a night in our stunning Cathedral Suite, (recently voted Most Impressive Guest Room in the Best Western Fan Awards) visit http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DFF6N83 answer 9 quick questions and complete your contact details. Surveys need to completed by 25 Oct. Good luck!

Her Majesty is coming home !

Congratulations to everyone involved in the auction of the Swans of Wells on Saturday night. All 60 swans were sold, raising a staggering £111,500. A winning bid of £1,700 by hotel owner Kevin Newton ensures that our swan, Majesty, will have a permanent home at the BEST WESTERN PLUS Swan hotel. Look out for Majesty in future festive displays

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Most Impressive Guest Room

The Cathedral Suite has been voted "Most Impressive Guest Room" in the prestigious Best Western Fan Awards. Thank you to all who voted for us.

Thanks to everyone who has already voted for the hotel in the prestigious Best Western Fan awards. Voting closes in just 3 days. Please help us to secure the most historic hotel and most impressive guest room awards. Visit http://www.facebook.com/BestWestern/app_274067066027658 to vote. You can vote every 24 hours - thank you for your support.

Thanks to all of you who have already voted for the hotel in the Best Western Fan Awards. We are one of only four British hotels to make it through to the final stage of these prestigious awards, featuring in the Most Historic Hotel and Most Impressive Guest Room categories. If you have a Facebook account please vote for us before 16 September. You can vote every 24 hours! Visit

http://www.facebook.com/BestWestern/app_274067066027658

We are delighted to be one of only four British hotels to make it through to the final stage of the prestigious Best Western Fan Awards. We feature in two categories; Most Historic Hotel and Most Impressive Guest Room, where we are up against hotels based in America, China, France, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Winners will be determined by votes cast by the general public and this is where we need your support. Anyone with a Facebook account can vote, just visit facebook.com/BestWestern/app_274067066027658 and vote for the hotel under Most Historic Hotel and Most Impressive Guest Room. Voting closes on 16 September 2012 & votes can be placed every 24 hours. Many thanks for your support!

Many congratulations to Mark Tobin, our Operations Manager, who has been selected as one of 3 finalists in the Community Project category of the Heart of Somerset Community Awards run by the Mid Somerset Series of papers and the Somerset Standard and Guardian. Mark will find out if he is the winner at an awards lunch on 26 September!

A biannual survey by Hogg Robinson Group has revealed that Moscow’s hotel room rates are by far the highest of any of the cities that they monitor. During the first 6 months of the year the average price of a room in Moscow was £258. In second place came Lagos (£217), which continues to attract business travellers involved in the Nigerian oil industry. Closer to home rates in London rose by 5%, despite some weakness before the Olympic Games. As for the rate of increase in room rates (in local currency terms), Latin American countries secured some hefty rises. In Brazil rates rose by 23% in Sao Paulo and by 15% in Rio de Janeiro. However, the number 1 spot went to Mexico with a whopping 30% increase. At the other end of the scale Barcelona saw falls of 22%.

Inspired by the Olympics? Exercise in the great outdoors on one of our walking weekends; 9-11 Nov 2012 & 18-20 Jan 2013. For more info visit www.swanhotelwells.co.uk/walking-weekends or call 01749 836300

Written proof that the hotel was in existence in 1422 can be found in the library at

Wells & Mendip Museum in T.S. Holmes, 1908, Wells & Glastonbury.

A sight to behold...

Our sponsored swan "Majesty" is proving very popular with locals and tourists. She is located at the front of the hotel on Swan Terrace but there are another 59 to discover in and around Wells. Pick up a trail map at reception for £1.00 to find your favourite. http://www.swansofwells.com/

Over 80 people have already booked a place on our forthcoming Olympic charity dinner on Monday 16 July. If you would like to snap up the last couple of places, here's a reminder of what the evening entails all for £29.50 per person). The evening commences at 7.30pm with a welcome drink, followed by a 3 course dinner with Olympic gold medal winners, Mary Bignal Rand and Danny Nightingale. The evening culminates in a charity auction with all profits from the evening being donated to local charities and good causes.

Join our charity fundraising dinner with Olympians Mary Bignal Rand & Danny Nightingale on Monday 16 July 2012. Tickets are £29.50 per person available on 01749 836319. The evening includes a charity auction with fantastic prizes. Profits will be donated to local charities and good causes.

60 beautifully decorated swans are now on display in and around Wells. The hotel has sponsored a swan, Majesty, who looks fantastic in Swan Terrace which adjoins the Cathedral Green. Sculpture trail maps are now available, you can find out more at http://www.swansofwells.com.

Diamond Jubilee Accommodation Offer. Come and be treated like royalty on a 2 night stay from just £60 per person per night. This offer includes breakfast AND dinner in our award-winning restaurant and is valid throughout July and August 2012 (subject to availability). For more information visit http://swanhotelwells.co.uk/offers.php

We are delighted to have been awarded a prestigious TripAdvisor 2012 Certificate of Excellence. Only the best in the business are awarded a Certificate of Excellence; it recognises that our customers consistently commend our hotel with the highest praise. Many thanks to all our guests for their positive and constructive feedback!

On Tuesday, thousands of people flocked to Wells to see the Olympic Torch. The torch was carried past the hotel’s front door and a special detour was made around the Cathedral Green, so many of our guests had a great view! If you want to keep in the Olympic spirit and raise money for Wells' charities and good causes be sure to book your place at our Olympic Charity Dinner with Olympic gold medal winners Mary Bignall Rand and Danny Nightingale. It takes place on Monday 16 July. Tickets are £29.50 and include a 3 course meal with coffee. A charity auction will be held; prizes include a holiday for 2 in St Lucia and a luxurious night in our Cathedral Suite. For further information, or to book a place, call Natasha on 01749 836319.

Enjoy English Wine

Many English vineyards are receiving favourable press coverage. According to http://www.english-wine.com/ there are now around 400 English vineyards producing around 2m bottles per year! We endeavour to support local suppliers, so from Friday 1 June the hotel will be stocking a white wine from the Sharpham Vineyard in Totnes, Devon.

With the peak in the wedding calendar fast approaching, it made good sense to take the opportunity to refresh the décor in our Oak Room (http://www.swanhotelwells.co.uk/wedding-breakfast.php), which accommodates wedding parties of upto 90. For the past two weeks, our decorating team has been applying Farrow & Ball paints and fabulous Osborne & Little wallpaper ready for our next event on 6 May.

Local artist Emma Rose is continuing to do a fantastic job decorating our Swan ‘Majesty.’ Emma is working hard to meet the deadline of 12th May when all 60 swans (that will spend the summer in and around Wells) will be unveiled. Emma has drawn inspiration for Majesty’s colour scheme from the rich purple and golds that feature in our stunning Cathedral Suite. You can find our more about this event at www.swansofwells.com

'Her Majesty' looks magnificent

Local artist Emma Rose has done an amazing job decorating, ‘Majesty’, the swan that we are sponsoring as part of a public art event to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the beautiful city of Wells.

Majesty is part of the flock of swans that will be displayed in public locations in and around Wells from June to September this year. Find out more at http://www.swansofwells.com. For more information on Emma visit http://www.emmaroseartworks.com/

Wedding Venue in Somerset

The BEST WESTERN Swan Hotel in Wells, is the perfect hotel wedding venue in Somerset for an intimate gathering, a wedding reception for up to 90 guests or the civil wedding ceremony itself. The BEST WESTERN Swan Hotel provides the complete hotel wedding package in Wells, Somerset.

Hold your civil wedding ceremony in the delightful Garden Room which has large glass doors opening out onto the private courtyard garden. This light and airy room lends itself beautifully to civil wedding ceremonies and can be quickly turned around to become the perfect wedding breakfast venue for up to 40 guests.

After the Civil Wedding Ceremony, the wedding party and their guests can spill out into the secluded Walled Garden for reception drinks and photographs. Larger parties make their way to the Oak Room which is self-contained with its own bar area.

Top Tips for your Wedding

Getting married or planning a civil ceremony?

Get your copy of our free Wedding Tips booklet and host your wedding venue in Somerset at the Swan Hotel in Wells.

Another Hotel Improvement

The next area of the hotel to undergo a makeover is our Oak Room. This room can seat up to 90 guests and makes an ideal venue for wedding receptions.Work is scheduled to commence on 17 April and last for 3 weeks. We will post pictures of the results in May.

The arrival of Her Majesty!

Our 5ft fibreglass swan, which will be one of 60 displayed around Wells to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, now has a name, ‘Majesty’. During the coming weeks, talented local artist, Emma Rose, (www.emmaroseartworks.com) will be transforming Majesty into a stunning work of art. Majesty has already been sanded and a coat of primer applied! For more information on this event and others in the area visit http://www.swanhotelwells.co.uk/events.php

Swan Loyalty Card

We’ve got some fabulous offers lined up in April, May & June for holders of our Swan Loyalty Card. It’s free to join; just download an Application Form from our website http://www.swanhotelwells.co.uk/loyalty-card.php

A Rough Guide Pick

We are delighted to feature in The Rough Guide to BRISTOL, BATH & SOMERSET and even more pleased to have been chosen as an, ‘Author Pick’; a Rough Guide favourite! For more info on the hotel visit http://www.swanhotelwells.co.uk/

More Swans in Wells!

We are delighted to be sponsoring one of the 60 decorated swan sculptures that will be displayed in and around Wells from June to September. The aim is to surpass the success of similar public art initiatives that saw pigs and lions in Bath and gorillas in Bristol.



Over the coming weeks these 5 ft fibreglass swan sculptures will be transformed into stunning works of art by local artists and crafts people. Be sure to come and see them in the summer. Find out more by visiting www.swansofwells.com

Famous White Wedding

Actor Kris Marshall married long-term fiancée Hannah Dodkin at the hotel on Saturday. Snow fell while the happy couple posed for photographs on Swan Terrace! Many congratulations to them both. For pics visit http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2098198/Kris-Marshall-marries-girlfriend-Hannah-Dodkin-romantic-snow-filled-wedding-ceremony.html

Affordable Excellence

Mothers Day Lunch

Treat Mum to a fabulous Sunday Lunch on 18 March 2012 to celebrate Mother's Day. 3 courses for £25.00 in our award-winning restaurant 15c A.D. Booking essential. 01749 836300. http://www.swanhotelwells.co.uk/dining.php

We are one of 1000 places to see before you die!

Delighted that our hotel features in the new edition of, ‘1,000 places to see before you die.’ The book highlights the amazing views that the hotel offers of Wells Cathedral. These are especially good on Swan Terrace (open during the summer months for alfresco dining) and from our bar, which is open all year round. http://www.swanhotelwells.co.uk/dining.php

Best Western's Oldest Member

The hotel is now the oldest member of Best Western, having notched up an impressive 39 years! There are 290+ hotels in the UK that are Best Western members, each one is independently owned and run.

To remain a member of Best Western isn't easy. Every year the hotel has to pass a thorough inspection by the Best Western Quality Assessment team and it is also judged by The AA and VisitBritain. Find out more at http://www.swanhotelwells.co.uk/about-best-western.php

View our latest newsletter

We’re delighted that our revamped lounge has proved a hit with guests. A new fire has been installed, the sash windows have been renovated and the decor refreshed. You can see a picture of it and catch up on other news by viewing our latest newsletter http://www.swanhotelwells.co.uk/special-occasions.php