The Black Swan — Hotel in Great Britain

Horrible stay. My room was filthy. There was dust everywhere, dried blood on the wall next to the sink and blood in the shower. The shower had mould, and all the sealant was hanging off or had been picked off.

We paid for a double and got two singles pushed together, I didn't have a fitted sheet, just a bottom sheet thrown over the mattress. Only redeeming factors were a smart telly, basic amenities (ironing board and hair dryer, kettle with tea and coffee), and modern plug sockets.

When I arrived, I parked in the car park at the front. I was given a parking ticket as this is a North Yorkshire car park. I was not warned, and nothing was mentioned that this is not their car park. On the website, it shows a picture of their car park, and it's not at all. The staff were taking up all the spots available. The website says free parking.

When I brought all these issues up with the manager and staff, I was brushed off and given excuses. When I asked where to park. All I got was shrugged shoulders and told to figure it out.

Where the room was located, the staff would like to smoke and talk. It's really annoying when trying to sleep.

To get breakfast I had to wander around the breakfast area to find someone to take my order, apparently you get table service but no one was interested in taking our order, just people rushing about and polishing cutlery. The only person who seemed bothered was a young lady working there. She was taking orders, checking reservations, and making drinks. Talk about being understaffed. The breakfast that came free with the stay was okay. I'm glad I didn't pay extra as it was all just thrown on the plate with no real care, and the black pudding was way too overcooked. It was lukewarm but somehow overcooked and undercooked. My fried egg was perfect, and the rest of breakfast had a good spread.

Everything seemed ill managed and just rushed. No care was given to those who stayed or offered to book us into the restaurant. So we had to eat elsewhere. Couldn't even have a drink at the bar. You have to order food there, no table service. It's just that everyone's packed in, and no staff are around. So...

A thoroughly disappointing experience throughout! The external appearance of the black Swan is still very attractive and inviting, but as soon as you step inside, it is a faded, jaded place lacking love, care and any attention to detail. Reception is unkempt and uninviting; the lengthy corridors are dark and dreary, with the feel of a disused army barracks rather than a cosy hotel.

The superior room we booked, was possibly only superior in size to other rooms, but it was characterless and bland. The room was clean and bed comfortable ( although the bathroom would have been better without the squashed spider and mouldy grouting.)

Food: a basic pub grub menu, didn’t excite. The cheese & spinach soufflé starter was tasty, but the potato skins snd fish n chips on offer were totally awful, barely edible. ! We mentioned how disappointed we were with the fish n chips, and they did offer us free desserts, which we declined.

Check out: We were handed the bill for the meal, and drinks, (as we had already paid for the accommodation) , being told that the potato skins from the previous evening hadn’t been charged. Only to find that we had been charged for them and we’d also been charged for someone else’s drinks in addition to our own! No apologies were given, and we paid what we did owe. Shocking hospitality from start to finish! Unkempt staff with no social skills and a hotel that has seen far better days.

The Black Swan was once a Fabulous hotel in a beautiful market town, now it is no more than a shoddy, dingy unwelcoming stop...

We came in for a quick lunch on a weekday after visiting a nearby spa. I’ve never been to Helmsley which is a gorgeous little town and from what I understand, popular with tourists.

This is quite a nice pub-hotel which is a bit of a tardis once you enter. Very traditional decor and a very pretty beer garden at the back. One of the very few beer gardens that actually IS a garden, too. It’s really very well taken care of and very pretty indeed.

We both fancied a no frills pub lunch and that’s what you get here. Husband had the game burger and I ordered scampi and chips, and we had onion rings on the side. His burger was quite tasty, but my scampi was a bit disappointing. It was £18.95 for my portion which, while there was nothing abjectly wrong with it, was a complete rip-off. I suppose that’s the tourist premium!

I also felt I had a rather meagre portion of chips which were exceptionally average and not crispy or fluffy really. More just like chunks of cooked(ish) potato than proper chips. The portion of tartar sauce was very mean considering I paid nearly £20 for the meal, too. We did ask for more sauce but none arrived and there wasn’t a lot of waiting staff circulation. Oh, and the mushy peas were vile, couldn’t eat them.

The onion rings were nice, they leaked a lot of oil though which was a bit off putting.

I’ve been to nicer pubs for lunch, but then I’ve also been to much worse.

(Note we just dined at the pub and didn’t stay at the hotel so my “room rating” is simply in line with the...