Hay-on-Wye

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Swan at Hay (The)

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  • Church Street
     Hay-on-Wye HR3 5DQ
    +44 1497 821 188Website
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amillionmilestogo
First Reviewer
5 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
1
Review
6
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Editor Pick

Like Basil Meant Fawlty Towers To Be

Like Basil Meant Fawlty Towers To Be

This grand little hotel/B&B is an absolutely splendid base for your second-hand-book shopping trip to Hay-on-Wye. The food is superb (although the menu is limited). The service is highly personalized and detailed. The staff is quite small (I saw three people performing various duties in restaurant, bar, front desk, and rooms during my short visit), but they really do the job right.

There is a full-service, top-notch restaurant on site, as well as a small bar/pub and a larger, although not always open, lounge area with full bar service. Like most small English establishments, residents can obtain drinks any time of day or night, and a small menu of snacks/appetizers. On our first night, we didn't book in for supper because we thought we'd find someplace in town as we wandered and got ourselves oriented. Little did we know that Hay-on-Wye is the kind of place where the sidewalks roll up at sundown. By the time we abandoned our search for somewhere else to eat, the restaurant was fully booked and no more table service was available. However, we made a lovely meal of garlic toast, fresh mussels, and soup in the bar area. The mussels were so delicious, in fact, that I ate them twice more during our stay.

The building itself is about 300 years old, with accompanying uneven/creaky floors and draftiness, but delightful nonetheless. Our room was quite large, with modern en suite bathroom, and sweeping views in two directions. The windows are enormous, big to enough to climb through without stooping had we been on the ground floor. It was spring during our visit, and we never actually closed the windows from the moment we checked in. Hay-on-Wye is very pastoral and peaceful (except during the Festival I'm told), so noise wasn't an issue, nor were bugs. We were awakened at 5:00 a.m. on Market Day by the sound of sheep being herded in for sale, but the lowing wasn't obnoxious in the least -- in fact, for a mostly urban American, it actually enhanced the "country" ambience of the setting.

The semi-canopied bed was wonderfully comfortable, extra pillows and a fluffy duvet were in the wardrobe, and the antique dressing table, large bureau, night tables and side table, and wing chairs made us feel we were staying in someone's home instead of a hotel. The furnishings were all old, but very well kept. Hidden away in various drawers and nooks throughout the room were everything a guest might need, including hair dryer, tea/coffee service, and even a few books on the side table (as if we needed more of those! : )

A full-service, cooked-to-order breakfast is included in the room rate and the service is impeccable. All the rooms in the building have extraordinary high ceilings and lovely detail in the woodwork and decorations, but the restaurant is particularly gorgeous.

On the ground floor there is also a television/reading room and a conference/meeting room. A door in the hallway between the restaurant/TV room leads to a marvelous walled garden area with a few tables and some nice paths on which to stroll. Staff does periodically come around outside to take food/drink orders as time permits, or one can go inside and get a drink or snack and take it outside. Guests routinely take afternoon tea in the garden. This area also served as the social focal point of our visit, where we met several other couples during our stay and enjoyed some very congenial conversation. The peace and quiet of the setting seemed to lend itself to lazy times spent chatting and relaxing in the garden.

The hotel has wireless internet service throughout the grounds. I used it almost constantly during our stay and never had any problems. I phoned down once for extra towels during our stay and twice for ice; all were delivered within moments.

The hotel is located at the far end of the main area of town, about a five-minute walk from the center of town (and its three-dozen-some bookshops). The river Hay is a short walk in the other direction, as is the fascinating St. Mary's on Hay church and cemetery.

Since we visited solely for the books, we didn't take advantage of the sightseeing services offered, but the staff did point out to us that they could arrange a number of tours of the surrounding countryside had we wished. When it came time for us to depart, a taxi was summoned for us very quickly, with a very nice driver who made it a point to give us "the tour" as we drove the 45 minutes back to Hereford to catch our train back to London.

I can't imagine a better place to headquarter yourself during a visit to Hay-on-Wye. I hope I get to go back one day -- this time I hope I can stay longer than three days!

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