Name: The Black Swan
Address: 26 Narrowgate, Alnwick, Alnwick, Alnwick, NE66 1JG, United Kingdom
Rating: 8

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Meals

Location

At the guest house

Bailiffgate Museum

Lilidorei at The Alnwick Garden

Willowburn Sports and Leisure Centre

Newcastle International Airport

The Black Swan

Alnwick

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

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king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

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not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

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. 

Upgrade needed.

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. 

Different Pub Menu

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.

Slightly odd

Not a bad spot to settle down for a meal
 Dog friendly
Home cooked pizzas and steak fritte! Decent bottle of Shiraz.
Nothing spectacular but friendly enough.
Don't accept cash, however. Pretty sure that shops and restaurants are legally obliged to do so
Some cock n bull story about all the benefits. But don't much like being dictated to. If no other options available, would go again

Decent food and vibe

Just checked into the small double room at the Black Swan. We stayed a couple of years ago before covid and the bar area has had a lovely refurb! Upstairs hasn’t changed too much but is clean and has all the amenities you’d expect for the price! Last time we stayed in a room looking over the front of the pub but this time we are at the back which has stunning views of the castle. We forgot our dogs bed but staff had already placed one in our room for arriving which is a lovely touch! We have been advised that they don’t serve breakfast but the welcome pack says that their sister Venue (The Pig in Muck) serves brunch so will be giving that a try in the morning!

Lovely stay, much improved

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.

Don't bother

Stayed for one night. Made to feel very welcome by all staff. Room was cosy, but basic, and what I would expect for the price. Shower good. Hairdryer in drawer, tea, coffee, kettle etc. Breakfast was amazing and great choice to cater for all. Also, great choice of drinks in bar, and again, prices very reasonable. As the owner has said previously, no food available at the moment (apart from breakfast) but there are lots of places nearby to eat. Parking; there is a large public car park nearby, maybe 5 mins walk,  but we found there to be lots of spaces near the pub, and it's free after 6pm on a Saturday, right through to Sunday. Otherwise, you'll probably need a parking disc. If you don't have one, there was a machine on the street where you could buy one for £1. We didn't need to ask, but I would imagine the pub might have some behind the bar. We would definitely stay again, especially for the location, right in the middle of everything! 

Excellent value for money

Had a meal here with the family. Good choice on menu. We all ordered food which was served quickly. The food was thoroughly enjoyed by all the group. There was plenty of it and tasted delicious. Just over £70 for 5 x meals & drinks made it very reasonable. Would recommend and would call again if in the area. 

Wonderful food

The Black Swan is in the centre of Alnwick within easy walking distance of the shops, pubs and restaurants and just around the corner from the  castle. There is no on site parking but there is a small free public car park around 2 minutes walk away. You can only park for 24 hours at a time and then have to leave for a minimum of 4 hours.

The rooms are on the second floor and there is no lift so would not be suitable for anyone with mobility difficulties. Our room was very small with no wardrobe and limited drawer space so I would not recommend for a long stay. The en-suite bathroom was tight but had everything that we needed. I found the bed really comfortable but struggled to sleep on the first night as it was very warm even with the window open - it had not been a hot day. 

There was limited noise from the bar area but this had quietened down by 11 ish so didn't cause any problems.

Breakfast has to be ordered the night before (I don't know if this is normal practice or COVID related) and there is a limited choice. On our first morning we both ordered the full english and it was excellent although we both struggled with the quantity of food served. The sausages were thick and tasty and the bacon was superb. I think half a tomato would have been better than a full one. The only downside was the mushroom was a little dry. On our second morning we scaled down to eggs on toast - both fried and poached were well cooked.

The breakfast tables were separated by perspex screens and the whole pub had good COVID measures in place to prevent overcrowding.

We were surprised that our room was not cleaned overnight with top ups for coffees etc just being left outside the door.

We paid £70 a room per night which we thought was decent value in the middle of the holiday season.

Great location, small room, good breakfast

we stayed for one night on a Saturday the room was small but no complaints as you don't spend much time in your room anyway the bar downstairs was good.only a couple of negatives a couple of the staff a blonde girl and dark haired girl with a mask took their duties of covid police a bit to far the blonde girl never smiled until a group of her friends arrived there was also confusion as the covid police said to me it was table service when I went to the bar we stood at the bar I ordered my drinks and paid her then she brought them to the table but then my wife went to the bar and got served when I mentioned this to miserable lady with blonde hair she just looked confused on a better note Kieran was a great help sorting out parking and being very helpful also the breakfast was amazing one of the best ive had so I will definitely be returning when everything gets back to normal.

The Black Swan

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