Black Swan

The room was less than adequate. Bed was metal / sort of put you up, with a thin mattress. Up some very steep flight of stairs. Grim pub / no atmosphere / empty of customers and was very cold. We only ate there once during our two night stay but it was very poor. Couldn’t wait to get out of the place.

We stayed in room no1 Friday night. The room was tired and needs a refresh. The young girl and male assistant who were on reception were very friendly and helpful and made our stay a pleasant one. Thanks.

We stumbled upon the pub while on a tour in Alnwick. Having been to a few pubs in Edinburgh already, the Black Swan has some different menu selections. The atmosphere is quaint. The soup of the day was curry vegetable and delicious. You order at the bar then the food is brought to your table. Our server was helpful and friendly. When we asked for directions to get back to where our bus was, he took us outside and pointed the way.

A friend and I booked two rooms. They were fine. Room 1 was small but had a great view of the castle; Room 3 was spacious, had an enormous jacuzzi bath and faced the street. Both had smallish double beds and were fine for singles but perhaps not for a couple. Both were clean (although the stair carpet was pretty grimy). There were tea/coffee making facilities. There was no breakfast but a note in the room suggested going to their sister establishment, Pig in Muck. This wasn't much use as it didn't open until 11am by which time we would like to have breakfasted and have started the day's sightseeing. Grannie's cafe a few doors away was perfect though; it opens at 9am. Beware! We arrived on a Sunday to find the kitchen closed at 4pm. There are few options for dinner in Alnwick on a Sunday night. We went to The Dirty Bottles. The odd part is that we were the only people in the pub during the night, until staff arrived just before 9am the next morning. Before leaving, the staff turn off all the lights! Apparently the lights were a mistake and there should have been one on the stairs but although a member of staff tried to fix it, it didn't happen. There was no natural light; it was pitch black. I had to use my phone light. I'm not sure how safe I'd feel about, say, my daughter staying there on her own with a stranger in one of the other rooms. It felt very quiet and isolated. My room was serviced the first of three nights but not thereafter so the bottled water wasn't replaced or the bed made/bin emptied. The staff we met were charming and friendly but overall it was an odd experience.

This accommodation is terrible !!! We stayed five years ago and it was lovely, how things have changed. The whole pub is very grubby with an odour of dog very present, and is in need of a good clean. The room itself can only be described as a broom cupboard !! No wardrobe at all only one coat hanger hung behind the room door. No drawers to put clothes in just four tiny dressing table ones approx 8 inch x 6 inch which were only suitable for socks and underwear. When I told them there was nowhere to put our clothes they said the room wasn't big enough to accommodate anything !!!!!!!!!!!! So we had to use our suitcase on the window ledge. The bathroom was filthy, with mould and grime around the shower, the sink had a crack in it and again there was no shelf or suitable cupboard to put things on. The small cabinet only held small items. The water did not get hot in the shower and you had to put shower gel, shampoo etc in the sink and keep opening the door to use. A strong smell of sewage and dog in the room. The room called 'Hufflepuff' is above the pubs ladies toilet and the noise permeating up was atrocious on the Saturday night (this might have been softened if the 'fire door' to the rooms staircase had been closed and not wedged open !! Also the handryer noise coming up was like a pneumatic drill !!? English breakfast was average and a bit bland however salmon bagel and French toast were good, The only nice touch was the owners left us two bottles of prosecco for our anniversary. If we hadn't paid in advance we would have left. Needless to say we would NOT recommend.