Whistling Swan Inn — Hotel in Town of Gibraltar

I would not recommend this to anyone. The only great thing about this place was the nice in keeper, Jim. I found out from other vacationers that the owner of the Inn is from out of the country(Israel) and only bought the place as a tax deduction. |Well, it shows. There is no effort to make this a potential 3 or even 4or5 star inn.||At check in, there was no one at the front desk. But our key was waiting for us in an envelope. There was a coffee maker in the lobby, but no water in the coffee maker and no access to water in the lobby. We passed the restaurant on the way up stairs to our room and it was closed. As soon as we opened the room door, we got hit with a blast of warm air. My husband turned around to look for the thermostat and found a hole on the wall that was covered in duct tape where a thermostat controller use to be. We looked for a fridge to place some cheese and chocolate that we had bought on a tour, and there was no fridge in the room. We walked out into the hall to find ice for the ice bucket as a temporary solution until we depart, but there was no place to get ice. | We went back downstairs and found the innkeeper who then welcomed us and stated that he is trying to fix the AC. The control for the entire inn was in the lobby. He finally did get it working. We asked hi m where can we get ice and he said nowhere but the restaurant which is clsed. He has access and went into the restaurant to get us some ice. This is the only way to get ice which is hit or miss since the in keeper is not available most of the time. There is no coffee maker in the room either. ||In addition to no fridge, no ability to get ice readily, or water for coffee( we had to bring it ourselves from our water bottles that we purchased), there were no hangers to hang clothes. There is only a shower. No soaker tub or bathtub as you would expect for an inn that is trying to go for an authentic period from the 1800s. |The windows in the hallways and in the rooms were quite filthy. They were filled with mosquitos and bugs. It looked liked they had not been cleaned since the inn was built. Our room was nice enough. It was clean. The furniture seemed like it was from a goodwill. I understand they were going for a distressed country decided, but it was more junky then anything. They do have a housekeeper because we ran into her on the second day and asked her for more ice. She was pleasant enough, but she did not clean or room once during our stay. ||The restaurant is not open on Mondays and is only open on weeknights. The menu is very expensive(which I do not mind). We did not eat there because locals told us that it was not worth the price. ||There is another inn down the block which is rated 4-5 stars, and that is where we will stay in the future. ||Like I said, the only great thing about the Whistling Swan Inn is the personable inn keeper when he is available. The owner being from out of the country shows no interest in making this place decent. If you do not mind dirty windows, no front desk person, no workable or controllable AC, no fridge, ice machines, hangers, bathtubs and no ability to make coffee in your room or in the common area, then this is the place for you. For me, not so much. |@delta.com should be ashamed for having this place on their list of...

I would not recommend this to anyone. The only great thing about this place was the nice in keeper, Jim. I found out from other vacationers that the owner of the Inn is from out of the country(Israel) and only bought the place as a tax deduction. Well, it shows. There is no effort to make this a potential 3 or even 4or5 star inn.

At check in, there was no one at the front desk. But our key was waiting for us in an envelope. There was a coffee maker in the lobby, but no water in the coffee maker and no access to water in the lobby. We passed the restaurant on the way up stairs to our room and it was closed. As soon as we opened the room door, we got hit with a blast of warm air. My husband turned around to look for the thermostat and found a hole on the wall that was covered in duct tape where a thermostat controller use to be. We looked for a fridge to place some cheese and chocolate that we had bought on a tour, and there was no fridge in the room. We walked out into the hall to find ice for the ice bucket as a temporary solution until we depart, but there was no place to get ice. We went back downstairs and found the innkeeper who then welcomed us and stated that he is trying to fix the AC. The control for the entire inn was in the lobby. He finally did get it working. We asked hi m where can we get ice and he said nowhere but the restaurant which is clsed. He has access and went into the restaurant to get us some ice. This is the only way to get ice which is hit or miss since the in keeper is not available most of the time. There is no coffee maker in the room either.

In addition to no fridge, no ability to get ice readily, or water for coffee( we had to bring it ourselves from our water bottles that we purchased), there were no hangers to hang clothes. There is only a shower. No soaker tub or bathtub as you would expect for an inn that is trying to go for an authentic period from the 1800s. The windows in the hallways and in the rooms were quite filthy. They were filled with mosquitos and bugs. It looked liked they had not been cleaned since the inn was built. Our room was nice enough. It was clean. The furniture seemed like it was from a goodwill. I understand they were going for a distressed country decided, but it was more junky then anything. They do have a housekeeper because we ran into her on the second day and asked her for more ice. She was pleasant enough, but she did not clean or room once during our stay.

The restaurant is not open on Mondays and is only open on weeknights. The menu is very expensive(which I do not mind). We did not eat there because locals told us that it was not worth the price.

There is another inn down the block which is rated 4-5 stars, and that is where we will stay in the future.

Like I said, the only great thing about the Whistling Swan Inn is the personable inn keeper when he is available. The owner being from out of the country shows no interest in making this place decent. If you do not mind dirty windows, no front desk person, no workable or controllable AC, no fridge, ice machines, hangers, bathtubs and no ability to make coffee in your room or in the common area, then this is the place for you. For me, not so much. @delta.com should be ashamed for having this place on their list of...

We ended up having dinner here very "last minute," as we got back from our afternoon activities later than planned and didn't realize how late it was. We tried a few places closer to where we were staying, but many were either closed for the season, closed for the evening or not taking any more guests due to the later time. My wife called and was told if we could be there soon that we would be able to have dinner.

I certainly wasn't expecting much, but the restaurant was very clean and definitely a bit more "upscale," than anywhere else we've eaten on our trip. We got a beautiful corner table and never felt rushed the entire time we were there, even though they were obviously finishing up for the evening. Our Server was very professional and went through the menu with us and made a few recommendations as well. For starters, we had a garden vegetable salad, which was rally nice - much better than I expected after eating around the area for the last week. We also had their interpretation of "Prosciutto & Melon," which was bette than any version I've had before, including the times I've had it in Italy. This version was served with fresh burrata cheese and was simply amazing. For entrées, one of my daughters had the vegetarian bucatini, which was awesome. I had the fish and chips, which was better than any I've had in quite a long time. My wife and one of my other daughters had the pork chop, which they both loved, and my youngest had a cheeseburger, which was really great as well. The presentation on everything was really great, down to the smallest details.

For desserts, we had a homemade black raspberry sorbet that was really refreshing, but the best dessert was the chocolate cake, served with a creamy homemade caramel ice cream. When my wife commented on how good the cake was, our Server told us that her aunt owns a local bakery and makes the cakes for the Restaurant, which definitely makes sense - I bake a lot where I work back home, but getting a cake this moist layered as evenly as theirs isn't something you can achieve in most Restaurant Kitchens.

As a professional chef of over twenty years, I was blown away, not only by the service and food, but also by how welcoming the entire staff was. From the moment we walked in to the second we left, everyone we interacted with was very friendly and extremely welcoming. Speaking from experience, I can tell you that late tables at the end of the night certainly aren't something that we look forward to in the Kitchen. Not once during my meal did any of us feel rushed in any way.

Next time we're back in Door County, we definitely plan on visiting this gem several times. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who appreciates fine locally-sourced cuisine. I would give six...