Goddard Arms Swindon — Restaurant in England

I had high hopes for this place, but the lack of respect my friends and I received from the staff here makes me feel inclined to write this negative review.

We booked a table outside for my friend's birthday dinner and unfortunately, once our food arrived, it started to rain quite heavily. The outdoor seating had no shelter, so we took our food and stood under the roof in the smokers area to wait for the rain to clear up a bit. But a member of security told us we weren't allowed to stand there as the area was reserved for smokers only, even though there was plenty of room to shelter us temporarily. The problem was they didn't offer us any reasonable option and were adamant that we stay outside and eat our food in the rain. So, we did what they said and it was awful. We had our coats on our heads for the whole meal and the food could have been amazing, but I wouldn't know because my chicken was soggy and cold from the rain. :(

The staff could see us through the window shivering in the rain, but they didn't have the decency to just allow us to stand in smokers to eat our food, despite it being empty at this point! Even when we stopped for 2 minutes inside the pub just to say our goodbyes, they were quick to tell us to either go back outside or leave the pub. I understand that we were a group and they might have felt like we were putting other people inside at risk, but we were socially distanced and well away from any other customers. If the staff were truly concerned about the risk of spread, they should be wearing masks since a lot of establishments are currently doing this.

Overall, I am very upset about how the staff treated us and it really spoiled my friend's birthday, especially as we had followed everything that they told us to do. I understand that pubs/restaurants have seating restrictions due to Covid, but the lack of compassion shown by the staff was unacceptable and really upsetting. I know we chose outdoor seating, however, it should be the establishment’s responsibility to provide some form of shelter from unpredictable weather and there were spaces for umbrellas in the outdoor benches, which they ought to have.

Definitely will not be visiting this pub again.

UPDATE: Hi, thank you for the fast response. I totally understand that there need to be restrictions in place to ensure the safety of staff and guests. And we did make the mistake to sit outside. However, I think anyone would be upset if they had to eat their food in the rain and weren’t allowed to simply stand under any form of temporary shelter that was free at the time. I was also upset that none of the staff came to check up on us and just felt a lack of compassion and understanding on your part. I know it was an unfortunate situation, but I really think you should consider having umbrellas on the benches to prevent any future negative experiences like this...

"The Goddard Arms is first and foremost a pub. The good first: the staff is very friendly, quick and effective. The pub offers a wide selection of drinks and pleasantly good and varied food. The pub has a typical English flair with dark different seating, is air-conditioned, has a fireplace and an associated beer garden (even if this looks a long time ago no longer as well-kept as the pictures on the website promise). Nevertheless, you can definitely spend long summer evenings here. Now for the less pleasant: the pub also rents out rooms. Please never choose room 8!!! I don't know where the rooms pictured on the website are supposed to be, but room 8 and 7 certainly don't match those descriptions. We chose this location because the bus station is within walking distance. But as a hotel, "The Goddard Arms" is not recommended. We had the choice between a room that was right next to the busy street, or right above the equally busy beer garden where party-loving guests hang out. I know because we chose the other because of one evil. Neither is recommendable!!! The beer garden is open until 11pm, the bar until at least 0:00am. Irregular, loud humming (probably the beer tap), drones all night and even louder when finally at 0:30 the last guests have left. Unfortunately, there is no air conditioning in the rooms. Restful sleep is therefore impossible (in fact, in the first of three nights, we desperately searched for alternative options in other hotels, unfortunately unsuccessfully, because everything was fully booked because of the air show). The room - so small that even two pieces of hand luggage could not be put down. Creaking floors. A soft, spongy carpet (do I want to know what's underneath? NO!) A window - which can only be opened a crack and opened as closed offer the same, namely no sound insulation at all. 200 per night is definitely really outrageous here. The bathroom, on the other hand, scores in room 8 with a pleasantly well-functioning shower. What I personally appreciate very much. Unfortunately, no curtains there, and that at over 35 degrees to keep the scorching sun or heat outside. For the hotel room sorry-but not sorry, actually not even 1 star. But because of the shower and the pub (even if the guests robbed me of sleep) and because the porrigde for breakfast was really very tasty,...

Somehow there should be a separate name for this type of accommodation. Because "The Goddard Arms" is actually a pub ... where you can also stay overnight. You have the choice between rooms directly facing the main street or a room facing the beer garden, which is open until 11pm. A narrow, carpeted staircase leads to the rooms. The floor is strangely soft and creaks with every step, making you seriously wonder what is under the carpet. Our room was painted entirely grey, as were many walls throughout the pub. The room, without pictures, without colour, had a bit the charm of a prison cell, especially as it was quite small. Even the ceiling lamp fitted into this melancholic arrangement. But as we know, tastes are different. The bed was surprisingly soft, personally for me, to soft, the bathroom quite stylish and modern, except for the sink with 2 taps, one for cold and one for hot water. I was surprised that such a thing still existed. On the other hand, the temperature of the shower, which had a good water pressure, was pleasantly adjustable. In the mornings, the sun was beating down on the windows, there was no air-conditioning, no fan and only one window could be opened a little (maybe 10 cm). We were sweating like in a sauna. For dinner, you go to the pub and to order something you should install an app first, but ordering was surprisingly easy and served quickly. The choice on the menu was generous, the food was tasty, there is a lot of unhealthy stuff (the calorie count is everywhere) but not only. All the staff were really exceptionally friendly and helpful. We paid ~600€ for a double room, 3 nights, with breakfast. For that, there wasn't even a breakfast buffet. It was either a typical English breakfast, porridge or toast with egg. We found this a bit simple for so much money, but maybe it is so common in the UK and we can highly recommend the porridge. Note: In room 8, an intermittent, annoying humming noise of unknown origin prevented sleep. The staff thought it might be a water heater. We hardly slept a wink. All in all, the Staff and the Pub was great but I have other expectations of what a...