The Carpenters Arms

Location: Old Vicarage Lane, Swindon, England, SN3 4ST, Swindon, GB

Star Rating: 3 Stars

Property Type: Inns

About this Property

Important Information

Policies

Check-in: 12:30 PM - 08:30 PM

Check-out: 10:00 AM

Amenities & Facilities

• Birdwatching nearby
• Free WiFi
• Mountain biking nearby
• Smoke-free property
• Free self parking
• Birdwatching nearby

Rooms Available

• Twin Room, Ensuite

  2 Twin Beds

  Layout - Bedroom

  Internet - Free WiFi

  Entertainment - Flat-screen TV with digital channels

  Food & Drink - Coffee/tea maker

  Need to Know - No housekeeping, towels not available, bed sheets not available

  Non-Smoking

  Max Occupancy: 2 (2 Adults)

  • Coffee/tea maker
  • Private bathroom
  • Free WiFi
  • No housekeeping
  • Towels not available
  • Bed sheets not available

• Single Room, Ensuite

  1 Twin Bed

  Layout - Bedroom

  Internet - Free WiFi

  Entertainment - Flat-screen TV with digital channels

  Food & Drink - Coffee/tea maker

  Need to Know - No housekeeping, towels not available, bed sheets not available

  Non-Smoking

  Max Occupancy: 1 (1 Adults)

  • Coffee/tea maker
  • Private bathroom
  • Free WiFi
  • No housekeeping
  • Towels not available
  • Bed sheets not available

Guest Reviews

• Lisa (8/5): - Booked at short notice, really comfortable bed and helpful staff. Thank you
• Mark (4/5): - We arrived at about 3.00pm (check was supposed from 12.30pm) and the establishment was closed. There were messages on windows to say if closed to call a number , but the number did not work. The staff turned up at 6.00pm and when I went to pay they said I owed £180 (cost of stay) despite having confirmation both from Expedia and establishment via email that I had paid £90. No manager on site and took ages before they would accept I had paid deposit.
• Olga (6/5): - Remote location. Run-down feel about the grounds and paint work. Poor vegetation choice. Everything closed at 21.15 even though it’s a pub
• Charles (10/5): Great place to stay - Great room Nice and warm even on frosty nights Good bathroom great hot shower Easy parking in pub car park Good food on site
• Verified traveler (10/5): - A very nice, clean stay with welcoming staff
• Stacey (6/5): - Thank you
• Jill (8/5): - We like staying here because it’s dog and disabled friendly and the rooms are like chalet rooms around a courtyard with pub tables. Great food readily available. Stayed here annually for last four years. Sadly on this occasion we had dreadful noise coming from the next room late at night after the pub shut which only stopped after we knocked on the wall. Despite my asking for a disabled access room, we were given a standard room in which we managed, but I did struggle with the bathroom. Despite these incidents, I would still stay here again, it’s great value for money in the area.
• JOAN (6/5): - The room was basic but clean and on the ground floor next to a pub, sufficient for my needs but the walls are extremely thin and people next door to me woke me up both nights I stayed and I could basically hear their loud conversations
• alwyn (4/5): - The staff are friendly but the room let them down. The toilet bowl was loose from the floor. Room not prepared, now towel or coffee mugs. The paving stones outside are broken and loose. I tripped twice going and coming from the room
• Edward (8/5): - Stayed for a midweek break of 3 nights. Room was very nice and we like the fact we had our own front door onto the beer garden like a motel room. We ate in the restaurant each of the nights we were there. The staff were very accommodating to me in my choice of food as I have a very small appetite they agreed that I could have a lunch time meal as a dinner as they were smaller. The spaghetti bolognaise was especially good although I was unable to eat it all. The only downside for us was the nearby train tracks as the trains were very frequent and as the train approached the TV became pixilated and lost sound other than that no complaints and we would recommend the property to other visitors to the area. The beer garden could do with some TLC as some of the paving slabs were broken or not flat which could result in someone falling over if they'd had a few drinks. Also good value for money.
• David (10/5): Very good value for money. - Late arrival due to traffic holdups not a problem. Rooms fine for our purposes. Bathroom fittings somewhat dated but bathroom HUGE! Breakfast available in pub at extra cost but food excellent and reasonably priced. Would come here again if travelling this way.
• burak (6/5): - This is a cost-efficient/effective place but transportation is the problem. You need a car, otherwise you have to walk for long hours. Maybe, the road is forbidden for pedestrians, I don't know.
• Dennis (8/5): - Very helpful and friendly staff, good food , well worth a visit
• Aaron (8/5): - I booked this properly having returned from a holiday in Greece to stay for a 4 day course I was completing in Swindon. I arrived from Gatwick airport at 01.00 in the morning to find the property was closed and no means to check in, there was an out of office number to call on the side of the building but no one answered. This resulted in me having to find another property to stay in for the first night. Although this was an inconvenience and an extra expense, when I did check in the next day I was offered a refund. Going forwards better communication regarding check would be good or actually being able to check in during later hours. The staff in the pub were very friendly and provided excellent service and the food in the pub was outstanding, I was very impressed with the food and service and would most definitely return again for the food alone! The Room was cosy, the bed comfortable and a good shower and bath, the propellor style lampshade was quite dusty and the TV didn't work. The TV was not a bog deal to me but it was clearly a known problem that hadn't been resolved.
• Terence (6/5): Back to Basics - This is a back to basics accommodation, don't forget a towel and toiletries. Overall the stay wasn't bad, things require a refresh and the staff (and food) in the pub are very good.
• Claire (8/5): Would recommend - Only thing i think they need to do is update the bathroom. The shower was very poor and the toilet seat did not fit. It was clean and quiet and very good value for money. Food and service in the bar was excellent.
• Rosalia (8/5): - The place is perfect for a good rest after a long day. It's really quite small, just a few rooms looking onto the beer garden. Which I'm sure it's pretty great in the summer, but unfortunately the weather wasn't helping for a night out in the terrace. All the staff in the pub were really helpful. Overall, the place was perfect for what we needed it.
• mark (8/5): - Lovely clean room, could do with a clean up outside but otherwise excellent and would stay again
• Jill (8/5): - We’ve stayed here several times because we like it. It suits us because we take 2 of our dogs with us and the rooms and pub are dog friendly. Couple of minor grumbles but nothing that ruined our stay. The food in the restaurant Is excellent proven by just how busy the place was both Friday and Saturday night. Added bonus on Friday night was a 70th birthday party was being celebrated complete with live band in the courtyard outside which we thoroughly enjoyed.
• Melville (4/5): - room seems in a time warp with lots of problems that I would want to sort out with the establishment first off before any broadcasting here on the internet, too many negatives with the room apart from the walk in shower which was great if the water had drained away quicker. A real pity, the accompanying inn on the site is wonderful although I did wait over an hour for my main course with no explanations. I ve held back the photos. be prepared for signing the £100 key loss which was slipped in without explanation until I asked about this when checking in.
• James (10/5): - Ideal location for my business trip. Comfortable room and good value.
• SUZANNE (8/5): Great little place - The hotel the staff the food all fantastic x couldn't fault any of it xx only spoilt by one of the other guests but when complaining to manager Claire it was soon dealt with, she couldn't of been more helpful and the Boss was helpful in that matter too x overall a great stay x
• Narcis (6/5): - After middle of the night it was so cold in the room as outside, probably because the heating is stopping after 12 am.
• Gail (10/5): - The staff could not have done enough for us
• alison (10/5): Excellent pub, really good food. - Really lovely pub with restaurant. Really good food, good value, nice atmosphere. I'll definitely be back. Good location, especially for business travel.
• martin (8/5): - Near to an event which I was attending good food and good place to stay easy to get too
• Joan (8/5): - I really enjoyed my stay good food and considerate staff
• Richard (8/5): - Nice pub great food, room is a decent size but walls between rooms are thin but surprisingly slept well.
• Verified traveler (8/5): Cheap and very cheerful - Surprisingly pleasant and spacious accomodation for the low price, would definitely stay again
• Christopher (8/5): Carpenters Arms Stay - As we were staying on the Saturday night we were surprised at the 10 check-out and the 10:00 breakfast start time. They did offer us an extra 1/2 hour after 10 but we wouldn't have had a leisurely breakfast if we had to get back to the room to check-out.
• D (6/5): Adequate. - The room was in an annex next to the pub, simple room layout - bed, chair, tea/coffee & TV with a wet room/toilet to the rear. Couldn't really allow natural light in as windows were to the front by the beer garden so easy for people to peer in. The pub is very near to a railway line & a busy road so a full nights sleep was a challenge. The pub also closes on a Sunday evening at 5pm so something to be aware of. Parking was great though if the pub is particularly busy finding a space can be difficult. For the price it was perfectly adequate for a couple of nights.
• Rosanna (6/5): Needs improvement - Visited the hotel many years ago and stayed in the same room. Nothing had improved.There was short black hair on pillowcase, bedsheet, duvet cover and on sink in bathroom! The couch was still grubby with cigarette burns. The bathroom flooring unchanged with gaps. The tv did not work. Plus point- good powerful shower and quiet.
• Verified traveler (2/5): Worse hotel experience ever. - Arrived at the hotel at 17:30 but there was nobody in. Phoned the contact number to be told the hotel is not occupied between 15:00 & 18:00 hours. Waited till 18:15 & still nobody showed. Tried calling the mobile contact number that was shown on the wall outside the hotel. The phone was switched off. Ended up searching around for another hotel. Do not use this hotel if you are going to Shrivenham.
• Steven (10/5): Well worth a visit - My stay at the carpenters arms was very good. The room was clean and tidy and well presented. All round it was very good
• kim (10/5): - Excellent place, hospitality and food. Highly recommended to friends. See you bext year !!
• Rex (8/5): - Beds uncomfortable Food good Felt like I didn’t belong with the dog No waste bins available
• Verified traveler (10/5): - Nice country pub, with good food and generous portions.
• Phil (4/5): Dirty Room! - Rooms look like they haven't changed in a long time, holes in wall and floors but I can put up with that. The room wasn't clean though, lots of cobwebs, ripped bedding and looked like it hadn't been cleaned in a while. I slept better than expected and the bath was nice but also the WiFi signal wasn't great and there is a railway and main road not far away which you can hear but I knew before I went. I thought you reviews seemed pretty good but a lot seemed for the restaurant and not the rooms. Just really disappointed with the cleanliness, I can understand everything else but it's doesn't take long just to clean s room unless they have a problem with spiders with it being outside but some of these spiders look like they had been there a while. It doesn't seem to be let me upload photos.
• Verified traveler (10/5): - this is the second time we have stayed here, the staff are always so polite, professional and helpful, the food in the pub is always very tasty and the full English is always something I look forward to. Great facilities for dogs with the dog friendly part of the pub with the doggie menu, and also the outside eating area is lovely to sit under the parasol, the only downside I would say is that we could not find any dog poo bins when out on our walk or at the carpenters arms,(we took it home with us). the rooms are lovely and big plenty big enough for the dog beds, the bathroom could do with an update as the toilet seat did not fit the toilet and the bath panel and skirting board could do with replacing as it has blown due to water from the shower, this could be avoided if the shower curtain was replaced with a glass door, the only other negative was the tea in the room was the worst tasting tea I think I have ever had. We will defiantly be going back again (but we will take some tea bags)
• Verified traveler (10/5): - Staff and service excellent good location for dog show we were in 😃room clean and had a bath normally just a shower
• Liz (8/5): - Only down side no hot water for morning shower
• Verified traveler (10/5): - We liked to pleasant attitude of all the staff. They coped very well on a busy night.
• John Alan (8/5): Suprize Vist - Freindly staff. Breakfast was lovely .Room a little tired. Good value for money.
• Robert (4/5): - The staff are friendly and helpful and the breakfast very good. However, the rooms are tired and in very poor repair and need a lot of attention. The quality of bedding, as well as fixtures and fittings, need urgent attention.
• eric (8/5): a good place to stay - very friendly and helpfull staff , have a good rest after a long journey,
• Verified traveler (10/5): - Good sized room and bathroom which were very clean. Great breakfast and the staff were very friendly and welcoming.
• joanne (10/5): Great place - Becoming a regular place for me. Very welcoming and friendly staff. Great food with a good choice. Room are spacious clean and comfortable.
• Jane (10/5): Quiet country pub with rooms - Great pub with rooms around a courtyard. It was very quiet and comfortable.
• YUDOTHIS (4/5): - Cobwebs in all 4 corners of the room, floor dirty needing hoovered, gaps in floor boards for no reason, walls excessively marked in need of a paint, not matching furniture, not matching tiles in the bathroom, shower head covered in limescale and fired water out sideways, wifi extremely temperamental in room.
• Lorraine (10/5): Frequent visitor who loves it here - I love the Carpenters Arms and frequently stay here when in the area, the rooms are spacious, clean & very comfortable, the staff are all amazing. Eating & drinking in the pub is lovely so welcoming. The very best bit is the are super dog friendly, my little Bella is made to feel as welcome as me. Will always stay here when I’m in the area.
• Marina (10/5): I loved the chalet and having a private courtyard. - We really enjoyed our stay, the staff were really friendly and helpful, the chalet was very nice with great storage and lovely large bedside cabinets plenty of room to put your phone a cup of tea a book and anything else you needed. the beds where nice and large and the sheets looked nice and clean, the bathroom was a nice size with plenty of space around the sink to put your washbag and toiletries.(It was a nice touch with the free little bottles of toiletries on the side) I really liked the lovely long dressing table with the T.V. on it again it had loads of room to put your belongs on so you could easily find what you was looking for (car keys/room keys/handbag/phone) The dog house which was the part of the pub that you could go into with your dog to have your breakfast dinner and drinks was really nice with a dog menu up on the board with things like sausage/ denta sticks and chicken twists it also had photos of dogs. Their was only a couple of disappointments which was the bathroom was tired looking the grout in the shower area looked like it needed bleach squirted on and given a good scrub with a scrubbing brush and the shower curtain could be replaced with a shower screen which would stop the water from the shower soaking the bath panel and skirting board which was defiantly a issue as you could see that that they where blown. And the only other issue is that it is dog friendly but we could not see any poo bins to put the dog poo in when we had walked our dog.
• Jane (6/5): Good restaurant, tired rooms - My room was well laid out. However, the flooring and furnishings require updating. Everything was very clean. The weather during my stay was very hot and the central room fan was surprisingly effective.
• Ruth (4/5): 1/7/18 - Stayed one night 2 rooms- family - both rooms had loose flooring & in one there was a lot of visible mould in the shower area.

Photos