The White Swan Hotel

Enjoyable Stay

We were greeted by friendly and helpful staff. However, as there are no lifts in the hotel, it would have been a courtesy for the gentleman behind the reception desk to ask if we needed a hand with taking out bags upstairs. The Olympic restaurant was as expected, very atmospheric. The evening meal was very enjoyable and of good quality, as was the breakfast. The staff, once again, were all very friendly and helpful. The only slight downside was our room. We booked an Executive double, but it was just a very dull double, the brown furniture was very dated and slightly tatty. The pictures on the website are somewhat misleading. However, the bed was clean and comfortable, as was the bathroom. The room was too hot during the night and we were unable to open a window to let any air in. Not sure what made the room "Executive", maybe a picture or two on the walls would have at least brightened it up a bit. We also had a bottle of sparking wine in the room, which was very welcome. However, it was not chilled and there was no fridge to put it in so we didn't drink it but did bring it home to enjoy once it had been chilled. The main bar area was a bright and modern place to have an after-dinner drink. Overall the hotel is a very nicely placed in Alnwick and has some good features, but does need some money spending on updating its rooms, so we would think twice before booking again.

Titanic copycat

Lovely old hotel ! Welcoming reception staff and gorgeous suite up lovely old Titanic like stairs the whole atmosphere is a perfect reflection of the great but tragic ship since the wooden interior are actually from her sister ship the Olympic very impressive!The rooms are very clean but also very tired looking and the beds were so uncomfortable way past their sell by date ! The restaurant is absolutely gorgeous but of course it is the interior of a luxury old liner . Oh but the food !! Absolutely dreadful!! Poor quality! Poorly presented and completely unappealing and unappetising! The food budget must be mouse size ! If we d known how bad the food was we d have eaten elsewhere! The staff however are absolutely wonderful! So kind and helpful and professional! We had a medical emergency and the night porter Shaun was wonderful!! The dining staff too were so lovely, shout out to Reese our sweet little waitress! George on the bar ( and everywhere else in the hotel ) was just so wonderful! So , I think this hotel trades heavily on its Olympic dining room and nothing else . Such a shame because with just a little investment in the catering it would be five star !!

A present from staff on my retirement

As an 80 year old with arthritic knees a second floor room with no lift facility was not ideal
The bedroom was austere and tired. Far below what I expected for the price paid
A grand dining hall where the service was excellent but menu was restricted and unimaginative
Overall a disappointing experience
Dv