This, again is a late review so my apologies.

We have stayed at Swinton Park on four occasions. The first was in 2003 and we were absolutely blown away - the service was amazing, the food impeccable. the room lovely (and this was one of the very basic rooms). There was also practically no-one in the hotel (a dark midweek evening in November) which made it feel even more exclusive.

Since then we have stayed there in 2004, 2005 and 2007. Since then we have stayed in progressively higher categories of room. The Turret room is very fairytale with an amazing bathroom and I cannot say that we noticed it being dirty. The others we have stayed in have also been of excellent quality and the staff have been very helpful if there have been any problems with the rooms (such as our bugbear of being given twin beds pushed together rather than a double bed.)

The problem with Swinton Park is that as it has become more successful the prices have risen considerably - for some rooms they have doubled in the last 5 years. As the prices have gone up, they have now reached the level of a luxury hotel and unfortunately certain parks of Swinton Park have not been upgraded to the standard of a luxury hotel. For example:

1. Most importantly the billing system - the last time we went the billing system was still based on a chaotic paper billing system backed up in some way by a computer. This led to random billing and us being charged for someone's dinner as well as our own.

2. The Spa - you expect the spa in a luxury hotel to be comprehensive and of a high quality. Swinton park try and fit a full range of spa treatments into a very small area. This means that it is hard to get bookings and no flexibility if (in our case) problems occur with bookings. We were told the wrong time for our spa treatments and when we turned up at the allotted time (sent to us by email - paper copy in hand) we were told the only treatments we could then have were the hour before we were due to leave the hotel for a 5 hour drive home - not ideal.

3. The food - when we first went it was of incredibly good value and quality. Now it is just good quality.

Despite what others have said this is still a great hotel. However the owners need to invest more money in the hotel to put it in the bracket for which they are now charging. It would be a great shame for people to think that Swinton Park was a rip off.

I can't say a bad word about this hotel, as it was were I got engaged to my fantastic fiance. He booked it as surprise for my birthday last year and I had no idea where we were going - wonderful surprise driving through their wrought iron gates. Our room was huge and had two massive windows with views over the deer park and gardens. All the staff were polite but still friendly. There were flowers and chocolates in our room as well as small decanters of whisky and gin, which were complimentary - a very nice touch. The bed was turned down each night and classical music was left on quietly playing in the room for when you returned. More Moulton Brown than you could possibly use in the bathroom - which was an impressive size as well. We ate in the restuarant once and the other night in a pub in the village. The food at the hotel was delicious and what could be caught from the land was used. I think I had pheasant and he had venison. We used the spa facilities once which you have all to yourselves and I had a massage as well. Definately worth going to if you want a romantic weekend away, and even in January it was lovely. Once he had proposed it started snowing - very romantic, and we sat on a bench overlooking a lily pond. We will absolutely be going back.

We weren't really sure what to expect of Swinton Park as we couldn't find much info about it when we booked it after seeing it in 'The Guest List' hotel book. The drive up to Masham was very picturesque and the hotel itself is beautiful. I think I am correct in saying that it's an independent hotel (not part of a bigger chain) and this makes it so much more personable and friendly. I had forgotten that customer service could be so good!

Our room had lovely views over the grounds and was nice and peaceful.

If you're lucky enough to stay at Swinton Park, make sure you go for a walk around the grounds as they're just gorgeous.

We have stayed at this hotel 3 times now, going back to the week it first opened.
The hotel is magnificent - when you turn into the drive it makes you feel like royalty! The service is friendly but not over the top.
It is small enough to be personable, and the waiters cant do enough for you. A welcome sherry and gin is provided with fruit in your room on arrival with a welcome note from the owners, and the toiletries are molton brown - luverly!
When the weather was lovely on our visit to April, because they didnt have the garden furniture out yet, they took the sofa's out of the lounge into the garden for us! The new beauty salon is open now which I tried out and is lovely. The only room left to 'do up' was the games room which was very grubby - I was assured this would be done by our next visit. You dont need to take wellies, etc for walks as all these are provided in the games room. Our friends went out on the hotel landrover for the morning round the estate which they found very enjoyable, and I went horseriding at the stables next door.
The hotel also allows dogs, which is lovely if you like dogs!
The food is also very good, with alot of it grown in the grounds (including the venison!). We chose the 'taster menu' which was excellent. You may also see Rosemary Shrager, the TV chef, wandering around, who is very friendly to talk to, along with the owners.
Overall I would say this is one of the best hotel we have ever stayed in on holidayand I am extremely fussy! The hotel is so relaxing we rarely left it to look at the lovely local villages and countryside. Recommended to those hard working folk who require a completely relaxing weekend of indulgence!