Old Swan Hotel , Harrogate

Swan Rd, Harrogate, HG1 2SR
4 star

Harrogate's most famous hotel, The Old Swan is the premier choice in the town. Classically presented bar & restaurants with 136 contemporary bedrooms and stylis...

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£ Rooms from $153* per night
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7/10 Overall rating

Category Average Rating
8/10 Check-in process
6/10 Your room
7/10 Working order of facilities / equipment
8/10 Order and cleanliness of the hotel
6/10 Performance of staff
7/10 Overall experience
7/10 Overall value for money
  • 9/10 Peter (Young couple) 

    from Peterborough , GB on  February 27, 2008

    Very comfortable, room very clean and as we expected.

    Unable to control the heating, room was like a sauna and the window only opened an inch which just caused a draught. Would have prefered to control the temperature ourselves.

    2 of 2 people found this review helpful:

  • 3/10 Kieran (Solo business traveller) 

    from Epsom , GB on  July 31, 2007

    "The Old Swan looked very nice on their website and is a loveley old building. However my first impression upon entering the hotel was that is looked quite shabby and was in need of some major rennovation. I though the lift was going to break going up to the second floor. The room itself was OK and I could see it had been rennovated farly recently but the old style TV in the corner and the damp stain in the ceiling above the bed made me wonder why I was paying £107 for just one night compaired to a more modern hotel that costs less. To put things in to context I had stayed at a SAS/Radisson hotel teh night before and was very impressed by it. That hotel was £87 a night. Also the Old Swan should put in free WiFi access as this will attact more business visitors. 4/10" (97369667)

    Location

    Hotel looks tired and is in need of major updating. Having to pay for WiFi access.

    2 of 2 people found this review helpful:

  • 8/10 Anonymous (Family with older children) 

    on  December 24, 2006

    "We have stayed at the hotel before and have always been satisfied." (99489999)

    Bedroom and bathroom fine. Dinner and breakfast excellent.

    The view from our room. Water was not very hot at 7.00am.

    2 of 2 people found this review helpful:

  • 9/10 Anonymous (Solo leisure traveller) 

    on  January 19, 2007

    very good for an old hotel. room rfurbished to a high satndard

    Hard bed

    1 of 1 people found this review helpful:

  • 7/10 Anonymous (Solo business traveller) 

    on  July 20, 2008

    "A little above average, but then better than many county hotels in Britain." (97386678)

    well located good size room but I did pay for a superior double

    poor lighting in room. overpriced room, really poor value for money and no breakfast included - P14.95 far too much for a poor breakfast on top of already expensive rate. Staff also tried to up the rate for my booking through you but luckily I have learnt to check my account

  • 9/10 Stephen (Young couple) 

    from Huddersfield , GB on  March 27, 2008

    "the hotel was easy to find and the check in process was good, rooms were nice and clean, breakfast was nice and the staff were all very accomodating.Good location near the town centre so you can easily walk into town for all local ammenaties.Only draw back is the cost of drinks." (97050997)

    good location, near the town centre, friedly staff

    cost of drinks very expensive

  • 9/10 Anonymous (Mature couple) 

    on  March 25, 2008

    "We have stayed at this particulat hotel many many times , therefore we knew what to expect" (97334698)

    Friendly staff. Good location. Parking facilities. Wonderful dinners and breakfasts.

    Nothing

  • 9/10 Martin (Mature couple) 

    from Melton mowbray , United Kingdom;GB on  December 3, 2006

    Comfortable and spacious room and en suite, delightful lounge and bar area, generous breakfast provision and very friendly and helpful staff.

    1 of 1 people found this review helpful:

  • 5/10 Anonymous (Solo leisure traveller) 

    on  December 6, 2007

    Very comfortable bed.

    Tiny room with dusty furniture. Remote control for TV did not work.

  • 8/10 David (Solo business traveller) 

    from Croydon , GB on  November 2, 2007

    Clean, very good service nice ambience about the hotel.

    Room needed more light, constant smell of cooking from restaurant, parking difficult, totally full car park.

  • 9/10 Paul (Mature couple) 

    from Hull , GB on  July 25, 2007

    The quality of the room, service and friendliness of the staff.

  • 8/10 Anonymous (Solo business traveller) 

    on  March 24, 2007

    Close to facilities. Lovely building.

    Cost of a large glass of wine (£7.50)and sandwiches (£8.00)were excessive but perhaps this is the norm in Harrogate.

  • 10/10 Laura (Young couple) 

    from Glossop , United Kingdom;GB on  March 19, 2007

    "Fine hotel re-furbished to a high standard, excellent location, staff very pleasant and efficiant breakfast very good. Our only concern would be that the hotel as a whole was too hot." (99618818)

    Great Room clean and spacious

    It was a little to hot in the hotel and that was in March I would be worried about staying there in summer.

  • 9/10 Michael (Mature couple) 

    from Rossendale , United Kingdom;GB on  February 20, 2007

    "Have stayed at the Old Swan before, since rennovation and in its previous 'incarnation', so knew exactly what we were going to find. We enjoyed our stay and felt refreshed when leaving. Room was rather hot during the night, though (a problem with ost hotels) and the windows need a better opening system!" (99173155)

    Staff were very friendly and helpful, bed was very comofrtable, facilities excellent.

    The rooms, although very comfortable, are a bit clinical, and the Swan's original rooms had much more character.

  • 10/10 Sarah (Young couple) 

    from Newcastle-upon-tyne , United Kingdom;GB on  February 5, 2007

    "The staff were very friendly and helpful throughout our stay, the accomodation was spacious with nice amenities and furnishings and the room was really easy to find with just a few stairs to contend with after using the lift. Situated in the middle of Harrogate and offers a wide variety of shops and restaurants within walking distance. Would recommend to anyone." (99396430)

    Spacious, clean, good value for money and impressive decor.

    Slightly confusing access to the room via 2 differently numbered doors.

  • 5/10 Anonymous (Solo business traveller) 

    on  December 14, 2006

    "I said:I couldnt sleep last night because of the party upstairs. Managers reply: ah sure it's christmas! Need I say more" (3305455432)

    the situation

    Surly, uncaring staff.

  • 5/10 Keith (Mature couple) 

    from Cricklade , United Kingdom;GB on  December 4, 2006

    "I asked for a room with a nice view - this was totally ignored even though the Hotel was obviously not full. The choice of meals in the restaurant was very poor and very expensive for the fairly simple fare on offer - we ate out in Harrogate in the end. As stated above the Hotel was too hot and we had the worst room (Room 149). Will not consider staying here again and will certainly advise friends and business colleagues to avoid." (99890612)

    Nice looking Period Hotel from the outside

    Room too hot and unable to open windows to cool down due to there being noisy boiler room underneath - This must have been the worst room in the Hotel.

  • 10/10 Steve (Solo leisure traveller) 

    from Perugia , Italy;IT on  November 28, 2006

    "An excellent hotel in every respect. The staff seem to be perfectly trained. I have only minor criticisms which are intended as constructive. I have already mentioned the lack of light and the temperature of the room. Only other thing...the coffee is vile! What on earth do they make it with?" (99530613)

    Clean, comfortable, very welcoming. Great bed!

    Room was rather dark and also a bit hot for my liking even with the window open!

  • 9/10 Anonymous (Group of work colleagues) 

    on  November 28, 2006

    Very clean and staff were nice. Very nice breakfast as well.

    Had a leakage in the room. Woke up at 07am with the noise of dripping water coming from the ceiling straight down on my personal belongings! Not nice... Although staff were helpful at the time, I am still waiting for a reply to my complaint...

  • 9/10 Anonymous (Other) 

    on  October 27, 2006

    "general ambiance superb" (3305347892)

    refurbished, freindly

  • 10/10 Angela (Young couple) 

    from Tamworth , United Kingdom;GB on  October 25, 2006

    "Excellent hotel and we really enjoyed our stay. Would definitely recommend." (3305439873)

    Was centrally located, close to Harrogate

    Bedrooms were too hot at night

  • 9/10 Linda (Group of adult friends) 

    from Torquay , United Kingdom;GB on  October 19, 2006

    "The friendliest staff, in all departments, that I have encountered in a hotel in a very long time. Newly refurbished and centrally, but quietly, located. A most enjoyable stay." (3305312636)

    As a female traveller, I particularly appreciated the iron and ironing board. The hairdryer was the best I've ever been provided with in a hotel (a truly narrow nozzle that exactly directs the flow of air).

    I booked a single and I got a single, so I suppose I shouldn't complain. But when the hotel isn't full, it would be a real bonus to be upgraded to a larger room. That said, my friend's single room was much larger than mine.

  • 7/10 Margaret (Young couple) 

    from Mansfield , United Kingdom;GB on  October 18, 2006

    "This is the second time that I have booked a hotel online, and on both occasions have been put in a side room with no view not only this but the room we were put in at The old Swan Harrogate was by far the most noisy room I have ever stopped in, we had what sounded like kitchen staff shouting and balling and extractor fans going on and off all the time even through the night they were really noisy. I will not be booking on line anymore, I have come to the conclusion that yes you do save money but you also get given the worst rooms in the hotel. Perhaps this should be pointed out when booking?!!!!" (3305425336)

    Both the hotel and the interior of the room were really lovely

  • 8/10 Anonymous (Group of work colleagues) 

    on  September 15, 2006

    "Good alround hotel with excellent food. Very clean." (3305276836)

    Clean, nice decor, good food

    Nothing

  • 9/10 Megan (Young couple) 

    from London , United Kingdom;GB on  September 4, 2006

    The room was excellent and the ambiance great.

    Wedding party taking place and the noise level meant no sleep until it finished!

  • 5/10 Anonymous (Group of work colleagues) 

    on  August 29, 2006

    "Had I known the size of the room that was allocated, I would not have stayed at this hotel. Overall I was very disapointed." (3305237097)

    not a lot

    extremly small room. as a gold card member I should have been upgraded and when i asked was told that it was not possible for the 2 nights only 1. I also asked about my entitlement of a bottle of wine and drinks voucher, needless to say I'm still waiting.

  • 9/10 Tracey (Solo business traveller) 

    from Witney , United Kingdom;GB on  August 25, 2006

    "The hotel was excellent, and I would definatly recommend it. This is the second place I have stayed in Harrogate and if I return I will book the same accomodation. The food in the evening was fantastic, although the breakfast choice was quite limited. For anyone travelling on business or leisure it is a great location for the town centre." (3305222759)

    It was clean, the food was excellent and the staff were friendly

    The TV did not work- which would normally be fine, but slightly annoying when travelling alone on Business

  • 9/10 Anonymous (Mature couple) 

    on  August 23, 2006

    "Hotel was excellent, good facilities, very helpful staff and good food." (3305153767)

    Well appointed room, with good facilities, Very quiet

  • 10/10 Graham (Mature couple) 

    from Chester , United Kingdom;GB on  August 14, 2006

    Very clean good sized room recently refurbished to a very high standard excellent breakfast and service by all the staff.

    Only one issue the waste water in the sink and bath took a while to drain away

  • 6/10 Anonymous (Young couple) 

    on  August 10, 2006

    "I would like to have a choice when reserving the room to up grade to a slightly larger room. I don't think I would have minded paying a bit more if the room was larger. The bathroom was the same size as the bedroom!" (3305097925)

    Good location

    Dirty towels in our bathroom. Bed very short and narrow for a couple, more like a 4ft bed.

  • 8/10 Anonymous (Family with older children) 

    on  August 10, 2006

    "Definitely needed a mirror in the bedroom as the only one was in the bathroom which made it impossible for my wife to use the hairdryer whilst in front of a mirror. Frosted glass in bathroom window would be preferable to always having to pull down the blind." (3305132684)

    Very clean

    Room was a bit small.

  • 10/10 Anonymous (Young couple) 

    on  August 2, 2006

    classy, luxurious, well maintained.

  • 10/10 Emma (Group of adult friends) 

    from Brockenhurst , United Kingdom;GB on  August 2, 2006

    "This is an excellent hotel; definitely one of the best I have stayed in, in the UK. From checking in to checking out there was nothing to complain about. Staff were polite, attentive, helpful and efficient. Our rooms were in good order and cleaner than most UK hotels. The only meal we ate (Breakfast) was superb. I would thoroughly recommend this hotel and I look forward to further visits." (3305057296)

    Check-in and Check-out were handled politely and efficiently; the rooms were clean and well presented and breakfast was excellent.

    Nothing

  • 9/10 Roy (Mature couple) 

    from Oldham , United Kingdom;GB on  August 2, 2006

    "the hotel has just been restored to its former grandeur,although there is still external work in progress there is no nuisance to the guests.Our stay there was up to our expectations,if visiting Harrogate again would certainly like to stay there again." (3305087795)

    comfortable+relaxing

    nothing

  • 6/10 Anonymous (Mature couple) 

    on  July 22, 2006

    "The restaurant was not impressive at all. There were only a handful of choices on the menu, but the staff still didn't know what they were. Again the weather was so warm, there was no air condition nor opened window. A family with 2 children sat next to us, they were crying and screaming, I didn't understand why were they not sat somewhere else, since the restaurant had only three customers before they arrived, it was quite empty. For breakfast, horrible, our waitress is a trainee without the trainee badge. She did not understand anything at all." (3305050359)

    The hotel is well maintained and spacious. The room was very clean, neat and the bathroom is perfect apart from no ventilation.

    The room is too small and too warm. TV set is hopeless, couldn't watch because is fizzy and is set on the carpet level. Worst of all, the window could not be opened on our first room, then we had to change to a smaller room.

  • 9/10 Anonymous (Other) 

    on  July 21, 2006

    "The reception was excellent and even though the hotel was very busy due to the Home and Gift Trade Fair being held their were dealt with efficiently and were able to park out car okay. We had our evening meal in the hotel which was a very extra ordinary experience. The meal was good and the service was good but the back ground music was very Church like and depressing. I guess it went with the old fashionness of the hotel but if we had known before we may have gone out for a meal in more modern surroundings, but that is our choice. Visitors from America will love this hotel." (3304947137)

    The room we were allocated appeared to be just refurbished, it was excellent. Very clean very comfy bed and pillows. The bath and shower facilities were excellent.

    It was very warm perhaps due to the very hot weather, air conditioning would have been good.

  • 7/10 John (Mature couple) 

    from Market harborough , United Kingdom;GB on  July 21, 2006

    "Our overall feeling of the hotel was that it was adequate for the type of stay we rquired and was central to the exhibition halls that we had business in. All staff where helpful and polite (even on one of the hottest days of the year) The only thing to let down the hotel was the dining room at breakfast the service and tidiness was short of what we would expect in this type of hotel and there was a lack of organisation/management in the dining area" (3304958394)

    Our room was bright & clean and overlooked the front of the hotel

    there was a need to move appliances closer to plugs (trouser press for example)

  • 7/10 Peter (Solo business traveller) 

    from Ware , United Kingdom;GB on  July 20, 2006

    Nice setting, friendly staff,good room quality

    Over priced , poor organisation at breakfast ( I had to wait 15 mins for a table to be ready)

  • 9/10 Robert (Mature couple) 

    from Twynholm , United Kingdom;GB on  July 18, 2006

    "Excellant accomadation - food outstanding" (3304871864)

    every thing - except answer to next question

    too many doors and corridors to get to room

  • 8/10 Anonymous (Young couple) 

    on  July 11, 2006

    "Parking was available but difficult to find space, as the hotel was busy. It was disappointing that the bill on check-out had four errors in it and we had to even ask to see it before they swiped our card! Location and character of the hotel were great. It had a wide range of breakfast options." (3304972354)

    Location - close to town but in quiet setting. Breakfast dining room!

    Rooms got very warm - windows small and difficult to open. No AC, so felt stuffy. Very little outside bar/social space.

  • 8/10 Anonymous (Solo business traveller) 

    on  July 6, 2006

    "A comfortable interlude in a very busy schedule." (3304950199)

    Very clean and comfortable with a good desk to work at.

    nothing thanks

  • 6/10 Alistair (Young couple) 

    from Stockton-on-tees , United Kingdom;GB on  July 5, 2006

    "The hotel is excellent and in the best part of Harrogate, handy for the wine bars and shops and gardens. The car parking is not quite sufficient for the number of guests and you need a permit to park outside (disc parking). The rooms are clean and well equipped although we could have done with slightly more space. It would have been nice to have details of surrounding pubs and restaurants but we did not find this information at the hotel." (3304751245)

    Breakfasts were excellent! In lovely surroundings.

    Room slightly too small (no.291). Cold water was hot!

  • 9/10 Ron (Group of work colleagues) 

    from Salt lake city , United States;US on  July 2, 2006

    Excellent staff and location

    nothing

  • 7/10 Nigel (Mature couple) 

    from Sunbury-on-thames , United Kingdom;GB on  June 29, 2006

    "Although recently extensively renovated, the hotel still has an air of 'faded glory'. Some of the details and finishes betray an attempt to save on the cost. The particular room we were given - probably because of the online discount - was unimpressive. However the location was excellent and the food in the restaurant was of a very high standard indeed. Most of the staff were competent and friendly, apart from one individual in the dining room, who brought my drink about 15 minutes before my wife's!" (3304855674)

    Pretty clean, nice bathroom, although shower, not bath

    The room was quite small and had a terrible view of little other than the tapered roof of the dining hall. Because there was a wedding in the hotel that day and it was full wiith guests, it was quite noisy very late at night.

  • 7/10 Peter (Group of work colleagues) 

    from New malden , United Kingdom;GB on  June 23, 2006

    Decor and space

    Television did not work property

  • 9/10 Anonymous (Group of work colleagues) 

    on  June 14, 2006

    rooms were very hot. The window in one of the rooms we used did not open.

  • 10/10 Alison (Young couple) 

    from Belvedere , UNITED KINGDOM;GB on  June 9, 2006

    "Excellent stay nothing further to add, would like to visit again soon. Just what a hotel should be like!" (3304807140)

    Beautiful decor and excellent service. Lovely sized rooms and well appointed. Staff very friendly and efficient

    Double bed - have a super kingsize at home so on a very hot day a bit cosy but very comfortable and we both slept well.

  • 7/10 Anonymous (Mature couple) 

    on  June 7, 2006

    "Overall we enjoyed our stay and the atmosphere was friendly and very welcoming. The hotel is well located and set in a quiet residence, yet near enough to visit the local attractions and shopping. The web site gave good background information and presented a true picture of the hotel itself. It is a lovely setting and it was nice to see a hotel that has been able to mix contemporay and traditional decor to a high standard. It was just a pity that the heating problem in the room made it a little uncomfortable for us when staying in the room. I am not sure if this could have been raised before we booked, but I would expect a hotel of that standard to check those things out before allocating rooms beforehand." (3304787796)

    The room itself was well presented, very clean and decor was in good order.

    Our room had a problem with the heating system, in that it could not be switched off or repaired. The weather was very warm over that weekend, so the room was uncomfortably hot. The staff did provide us with a cooling unit, however it was noisy during the night.

  • 9/10 Jacqueline (Young couple) 

    from Hull , United Kingdom;GB on  June 7, 2006

    Well maintained, excellent staff beautiful food

    nothing really only thing is i did ask for champagne to be put in te room but this was not accomadated.

  • 3/10 Janet (Solo business traveller) 

    from Wallingford , United Kingdom;GB on  November 7, 2006

    "This is one of the worst hotels I have ever stayed in. Woken at 1.00 a.m. in the morning with loud music and roudy shouting. Complained and told that they would try and turn it down, then woken again at 2.00p.m. with more roudy shouting and guitars playing. Told it was because my room was right over the bar and the function room. Surely it would make sense not to place business travellers in these rooms but to allocate them to the participants in the function. The room service food was cold and bland and the club sandwich which I asked to have not chicken in came with cold chicken and it looked as though it had dies 3 days before. It was the most disgusting room service food ever. The breakfast was equally as bad with stodgy yellow stuff purporting to be scrmabled egg and cold bacon." (99713994)

    Nothing

    Small cramped old fashioned scruffy and not entirely clean room. Bathroom o.k.

    0 of 1 people found this review helpful:

The views expressed on this page are the personal opinions of guests and therefore do not necessarily represent the views of Active Hotels, Active Reservations or our distribution partners (About our hotel reviews).

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