The Swan At Hay

The location is ideal for 'bookshopping'. We have stayed here before.

Room far too hot even though a chilly day. Turned radiator off on arrival and opened window, but room overlooked so curtains had to remain closed. Cooked breakfast took a long time to arrive.

Very nice breakfast! Great room. Slightly bright and noisy as facing the road and no blackout curtains.

Candidly, what was less good were the hospitality staff were talking/gossiping very loudly in the adjacent room where the cereals were. This was 8am and incredibly quiet in the breakfast room (just 2 or 3 solo travellers in there). So it was quite jarring… Not what I’d expect in a 180£ a night hotel. Also, before I had checked out a cleaner waltzed into my room without knocking and then said “oh I was told you’d checked out”. Really need to knock, even if they had been wrongly told that.

It was beautifully presented and close to everything. The staff were extremely friendly and caring - something I really appreciated as a solo traveller.

N/a

It is right opposite the biggest bookshop in Hay, which was great for me. The breakfast was okay, though the plates were cold.

There is no atmosphere; the lighting is all wrong (and could be improved drastically for very little expense... perhaps some little USB rechargeable lights on each bar/restaurant table for example?) The lighting in the bedroom was very poor, with the tea/coffee tray and table in one darkish corner of the room without light, despite plug sockets immediately beneath the table. The feel of much of the furniture is that it's seen better days. We stayed at the Swan thirty years ago and it was a lovely place, It is now running on a kind of faded grandeur... I would guess the furniture in our bedroom and the bar areas hasn't changed since our last visit! Our room, billed as 'De-luxe' certainly did not fit that description. We arrived just for one night on our 55th wedding anniversary, having arranged to be able to leave the car in the car park from late morning. When we arrived to leave the car, the lady who greeted us in reception seemed lovely and told us our room was actually just being done and should be ready for us early, at around 1pm, and so we could check in then. Even so, to be on the safe side, we left our return till around 2pm and walked back (from the other end of town) to check in. We were now told (by another lady... the proprietor?) that our room was just being done (?!) and we couldn't check in till 3pm, and that the earlier lady had no right to tell us what she did. Clearly, someone wasn't being entirely truthful!. So we dutifully wandered off again (in the rain!) till 3pm.