The White Swan — Restaurant in Arun

A very bizarre visit! .....but in a good way. On arrival we were greeted with the most unusual welcome (maybe not so in the land of the french..... apologies if you weren't actually french mate but for the purpose of this tale, you were). A gentleman behind the bar asked if we had booked, we hadn't, unknowingly had done but for the wrong day, but then only to be told in no uncertain terms that we hadn't by our french waiter as though it was a formality & we must be on our way, that or we just completely disrupted his busy night of 3 tables to cover in what was quite a substantially large surrounding. The joke between us & the barman, pushed this awkward abruptness to one side, by having a joke about the fact that seating us wouldn't be a problem either way! On being seated, in what was quite a quaint, tidy & well lit atmosphere, I visited the bar to buy the first round of drinks to be told that they would be delivered to our table. Very nice. We were then approached by our friend who had now snapped out of his bolshie mood & turned out to actually have a personality that matched the beautiful character of the pub. As an avid IPA connoisseur the beers on offer matched the exquisite food. My wife and I, celebrating an anniversary, enjoyed the Rump Steak, that was literally melt in the mouth gorgeous & accompanied by two of the most delicious sauces that I've ever had the pleasure of drizzling over some meat. A nod to the chef on the accomplishment of making the mushroom the standout item on a plate full of showstoppers! Hugely memorable evening, from a shaky start, where I even contemplated leaving before we sat to a finish where I cannot wait for our next visit! Best meal, service & setting we've experienced in a long while. Truly...

We stopped here for dinner on our way taking our son back to Uni in London. Quite frankly, wish we hadn't bothered. We were seated at a horribly placed little table by a big pillar and our backs to a comfy sofa area - not to mention chairs for people with the tiniest bottoms. Not being prepared to endure an uncomfortable meal we asked to be moved and were - to comfy high back chairs. Notably, while we were there, 3 other parties were sat there by the Manager and all of them asked to be moved. Now to the food. My son's burger looked tasty and he loved it. My hubby ordered a lite bite of a fish finger sandwich (which he's had in the past and always liked) but this time he said the batter was greasy and the fish fingers were smaller than they used to be. I had mushroom and walnut ragou which was OK, but just OK. Now for the piece de resistence: my son ordered a small calamari platter........which arrived on a small wooden board with a small salad and........almost invisible calamari - I mean, it could not have escaped the waiter's notice that all 3 of us were staring hard at the board trying to spot the calamari!!! It was sliced and sautéed into such tiny pieces that if they were all linked together there would probably be no more than one small, thin ring of it! And it was way overpriced.... in fact the whole meal was. Such a shame as my husband and I used to go there regularly for lunch pre-COVID. Needless to say, we won't be...

A two night stay whilst visiting friends nearby. Phoned beforehand as we were going to be later arriving than anticipated but no-one on reception when we arrived. Helped by a young man from the bar area but left to find our own way to the room (flickering emergency light in corridor now fixed apparently). Room was very comfortable and clean with everything we needed although still do not understand why a second chair is not provided (apparently they have been removed following overcrowding comments by other guests - you cannot please everyone I guess). Breakfast excellent; very well cooked and well balanced portions - a wider choice of fruit salad/berries would be an improvement. Staff attentive and helpful. We did not have any evening meals.||We did have an issue over early morning noise in the delivery area outside our room although the hotel has subsequently investigated and has stated that it was nothing to do with their regular bin collection. However, it may be worth avoiding room 6 on the ground floor if you are a light sleeper as deliveries do start around 6.30am.||Location is good, being far enough away from Arundel not to be impacted by local traffic and noise, but close enough to be able to walk in, although plenty of free parking in town. Also good for access to Littlehampton, Bognor and the smaller locations on that stretch of coast.||All in all a pleasant enough stay although not sure it justified...