Upon arrival in the old part of Swindon, we were unsure if we’d be able to find inexpensive accommodation, and in fast, found that most hotels in the area were boarded up – either just randomly closed or shuttered for renovation. Just about to give up on finding something in the area, we noticed a sign near a Thai restaurant letting people know that parking was for the restaurant or The Bell Hotel. Looking up, we noticed rooms on top of the restaurant and approached the connected bar to find out if there was any availability.

For 40 pounds per night, the twin room with included wifi (but not reachable in our rooms) was exactly what we needed on short notice.

The bar itself was your typical English pub and we were concerned about the appearance of the rooms but we clearly shouldn’t have been. You could tell that the rooms were either recently renovated or were well-maintained and they were very comfortable. Although the hotel did not serve breakfast, they had... more