The Dolphin Hotel, Swindon

Steve of N21 left this review about The Dolphin Hotel

Some 10 years ago on orders from her who should be listened to, the family was dragged to the nearby Outlet Centre on a Saturday on the way home from a holiday in Wales. Very inconvenient for me and the lad as Spurs were the live early kick off game on Sky, but a bit of negotiation with the good lady left her and the daughter in the Outlet centre and me and the lad went off to find a pub that had sky sports and I remember we went in here due to the primary fact that it is the nearest pub and had a massive Sky Sports Banner hung outside.
I remember it being a bit of a rough and ready place and on a Saturday lunchtime it resembled more of a Chav’s canteen with several families in and kids running about. But the three available Arkell’s beers were Ok and there were plenty of tele’s so we could hide away with our pints and watch the match, which Spurs won, making it a pleasant interlude from the shopping.
Well back to present day and making our way home from Cheltenham, the good lady decided she wanted to reacquaint herself with the Outlet Centre, so a detour was had and I left her to it and reacquainted myself with The Dolphin.
It’s just as I remembered it, except for the addition of a large featureless external marquee bolted onto the near end of the pub taking up a section of the car park. Internally one extended internal space which was probably two rooms back in the day but now around the central bar. Still two sets of three handpumps on either side of the bar, but only 3B available on this visit. Still got plenty of TVs dotted about for the football. This visit was on a Monday lunchtime, so no families in this time, just those for who drinking early on a Monday is a profession, not a lifestyle choice. If anything, this pub was more rough and ready than I remember it and my pint of 3B was fairly tired, much like the Dolphin itself.

On 16^th May 2023 - rating: 4
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