The Old Swan Hotel Swan Road, Harrogate HG1 2SR

"Pretty good classic English manor style hotel. Walking distance to the station and convention centre. Not many amenities immediately next to the convention centre but a few minutes you can get to some cafes and restaurants. The rooms are a good size, the bathroom sizes were okay and the shower was hot. My room was warm and the bed was comfy. Traditional continental breakfast with fry up options."

"Had a afternoon tea with champagne. Excellent service couldn't do enough for us. Well worth a visit some very interesting history about the hotel. Agatha Christie hid there for 2 weeks to get away from it all."

"Poor attitude by money grabbing receptionist The receptionist, on arrival expected, us to pay a £10.00 service charge, which we refused. He then again, quite robustly, requested the £10.00 service charge when we left. We again refused and he was not happy. His attitude spoilt our stay at this hotel. We were also annoyed that you have to pay £10.00 a night to park in the hotel's car park. After paying £134.00 a night you would expect the car park would be included. The whole hotel was dark and dreary. The decor in the room was old and in desperate need of refurbishment. The term 'shabby chick' was well past its best. It was shabby at best. I'd have preferred a night in a Travelodge or Premier Inn. The Breakfast dining room was soulless sitting in rows of dark wood melamine tables with no table cloths. The Breakfast choices were poor and the English buffet breakfast was warm at best. Not a pleasant place to stay."

"Booked to stay here one night which wasn’t cheap at £175 (no breakfast) in ‘executive room’ on Saturday night. When I arrived there was a wedding on which was perfectly acceptable as there always are with these hotels. Checked in on arrival which was fine and quick (£10 for parking not advertised). I grew up in Harrogate and must admit never stayed here but expected with the reputation of a quality long standing hotel someone may have offered to help with luggage but there wasn’t. Still not put off I make my way to the hotel in the ‘slow’ lift although it is old and characterful so that doesn’t put me off. The room itself was a decent size but lacking any character at all. It felt empty and cold. You could tell it hadn’t been updated in a long time with no air con, an old outdated TV and flagging furniture and decor. I’d have expected at least some paintings on the walls or historic photos given this buildings age and the town it is in. Again at this point not totally dismayed as only here one night. In the evening I went down to get a drink and the bar is tiny. There was only one girl behind the bar and some of the guests from the wedding ordering drinks. After 20 mins of waiting I decided to go into town for a drink instead. Walking out the main door there were staff standing and talking and not really doing anything. Upon return to the hotel later that evening the lift was broken with no sign advising that. In the morning on check out it was still broken. In Summary to this short stay the Hotel is in need of a complete makeover and is relying on its history and past reputation to still charge over the top prices. There is a distinct feeling wedding guests are looked after far more than their standard guests. No separate bar or area for paying guests to actually get a drink and enjoy the hotel as it’s all focused on wedding customers. If you do actually get to be served then get this…..and this is what really took me to write this review..they will automatically add a service charge to any food or drink you order to ‘in their words’ “Save you the hassle and time of finding loose change” !!! Sorry but it’s the customers choice as to whether your staff get a tip. Tips are given to staff for providing exceptional service levels. I will not recommend this hotel to anyone I know wanting to visit Harrogate or one of the conference shows I help to provide assistance with. I stayed in the George Hotel the prior 3 nights to this hotel and it was far superior in every way. Plus I didn’t pay much more for the 3 nights in the George to the one night in the Swan. If anyone has any questions about my stay please ask."

"Old, tired, and neglected hotel - out of touch with today. A word of advice – do NOT use the website images of the hotel and its interior, or its food, as they are not, from our experience, any form of a realistic guide as to what you are going to get. We paid almost £900 for a 5 night “b and b” stay, incl. £10/day parking. On arrival, the outside and the grounds look lovely. However, that’s where it ends. Reception was deserted. The ground floor looked very open and large but with no atmosphere. A man eventually appeared (smelling of alcohol) and booked us in - no porterage available. We were on 3rd. floor in a so-called “executive suite”. I had requested a room with a garden view, which was confirmed in an email from the hotel, which I still have. The room was very poorly decorated with old, dark furniture and size-wise , was little more than a rabbit hutch with no view at all – room 353. We complained and were moved to room 366 – a so-called “feature room”. It did overlook the garden, but the only features were wallpaper hanging off the ceiling and cracks in the magnolia painted walls, which were also quite dirty. The window frames were rotting and this “feature suite” was simply old, dull and extremely tired. It was supposed to cost £50 more/night than 363 – crazy! We requested a table for dinner, but when we arrived at the restaurant, we were told that we had not booked, so couldn’t eat in the dining room. However, we were told that we could eat in the bar from either the bar menu or the restaurant menu. So I chose steak and my wife chose fish and chips, both from the restaurant menu. The chips were like almost raw railway sleepers and the fish was like a piece of tasteless cod bought in a really cheap shop. The steak was acceptable. It is odd, as the food still had to be cooked and then brought from the kitchen to the bar, which was a long way from the kitchen, so why couldn’t we eat in the restaurant, which is right next to the kitchen?! However, we had travelled from Wiltshire and were tired, so we just went to bed. Fortunately, the bed was very comfortable. All the upstairs corridors are big, old, tired and bland – not really looked that clean either. Now to breakfast – one day it would be cooked to order and served – next day it would be a buffet, with the dried out “hot breakfast” items sitting on hot water containers with under-heaters. It appears that it all depends on the number of guests. By the way, we didn’t have dinner again in the hotel (for obvious reasons), which turned out to be a blessing, as we found some really superb restaurants in Harrogate – a beautiful town indeed. All these good restaurants are within easy walking distance of the hotel and fairly priced. Going into the hotel’s bar was yet another experience - the bar floor was dirty, there was always a lack of ice, or lemon slices, or something. I had to ask for the table to be cleaned every time we had a drink in the bar – not good. The hotel staff were for the most part friendly. But they were scruffy and really looked as though they had nothing better to do, so just had to work somewhere. My wife ended up with insect bites. Obviously, we can’t prove it was the hotel, but we stayed in another four quality hotels throughout the North in the following two weeks and she was not bitten again. When we left, we asked to speak to the manager, but of course, he/she was not available as he/she was in meetings!! I can see why the hotel does well where events are concerned, as it is all on the ground floor, which does look much better than upstairs – by a country mile – but to stay there – never again. This hotel needs a complete make-over from top to bottom and in the meantime, should be re-named as the “Dying Duck” rather than the Old Swan. It does not warrant four stars by any measure. One would be better off staying in a Premier Inn, as you know exactly what you are going to get."