The Swan at Forest Row

8.4

Excellent

93 Guest reviews

8.4

Excellent

93 Verified Reviews

Read all reviews

Cleanliness9.0/10

Service9.2/10

Comfort8.8/10

Condition8.6/10

Amenities8.6/10

Old English Pub and Inn, clean and well kept. The food was great and the rooms clean. We stayed the week and found the staff to be friendly and accommodating. Just what you'd imagine a village Pub should be! So happy to have found The Swan, we'll be back to stay again!

Our bed was very comfortable. Once I turned the radiator on it the room warmed up. We had a frosty welcome. We would have appreciated an offer of help with our luggage. We are elderly and my husband struggled with the case on the stairs. The young man who was working in the morning was delightful

Quick getaway

Amazing stay, extremely comfortable room, friendly staff, very polite and helpful. Beautiful food.

Forest Row

Room was compact but comfortable. Windows only single glazed, so a but cold and misted up. Had to keep blinds shut as the view was right onto the High Street, with no net curtain. So lack of privacy 😒

Ear plugs supplied next to the bed for a reason.

Beautiful room, with a comfortable bed and very clean. The food was great and service very good. However, fundamental to staying in a hotel is getting a good night's sleep. I appreciate it's a 16th century building and probably heavily controlled in terms of building / planning regulations but my colleague in the next room and I were both kept awake most of the night by the street noise, and church bell opposite. Every hour on the hour. Every conversation you could hear from outside, every moped buzzing around and even normal conversations from passers by. We stayed at similarly aged hotels on our business trip who all had internal double glazing (not changing the exterior frames etc. If you wonder why there are two jars of ear plugs next to the bed...that's why. Shame as a lovely property and great food. Just don't expect to get alot of sleep

Nice pub, friendly staff, comfy room

The welcome was warm and I was shown to my room - a large well appointed room with an immaculate bathroom. All good so far. Unfortunately, it wasn't until I went to bed I realised the constant noise of traffic on the A22 that carried on until the early hours of the morning. This coupled with the Town Hall clock that chimed every hour resulted in a night of poor sleep. I should have realised that the noise would be excessive as the Swan had provided ear plugs by the bed. In the morning, I came down for breakfast and was quickly greeted with 'breakfast is extra'. This wasn't a problem but the price of £18.98 was excessive and I felt that being charged extra for coffee was unreasonable. The breakfast itself was fairly average and certainly didn't warrant the cost. In places the Swan is a bit tatty and, I would suggest that the tired single glazed windows could do with being replaced to counter the noise.

Overnight stay

Clean and comfortable room. We had a meal in the pub and the food was very good. Church bell was chiming through the night, hotel had thoughtfully supplied earplugs!

Forest Row

Really nice little pub/hotel which provides great services, food, beer and the room was perfectly formed. Loved the stay and would definitetly stay again.

Dreadful

Awful place. Avoid

Very dirty and noisy!

Very dirty and noisy. The accommodation rooms are located by the busy kitchen entrance door and all i could smell was the kitchen and cooking all of the time (not ideal) My room was at the front of the pub/ hotel and could hear the busy road and roundabout throughout the night.

Exactly what you want from a nice pub with rooms. Clean, comfortable and a large bed. Nice toiletries provided, nice bedding and fluffy towels. Easy to go downstairs for breakfast or dinner or go out to the walkable options. We stayed here to enjoy 100 acre wood which is a short drive or walk away. Friendly staff at the hotel.

Great pub.

Very friendly pub, great food. Room clean and comfy. Only down was the church clock chiming on the the hour every hour throughout the night.

Great room, but service not so good

Very nice, spacious room, and bathroom. A bit disturbing at first was the kitchen fan outside the door, but one got used to the humming, and it was off after the kitchen had closed. During our 2 night stay there was no room cleaning or replenishing of tea/coffee etc. Dinner in the restaurant was excellent but pricey. They would not let us book breakfast with the room on arrival, so make sure if you want it to book with the room. Otherwise breakfast menu is more expensive. But there are lovely places in the village to have breakfast.

A nice dog friendly pub

We stayed in a double room with an extra bed for our adult daughter, plus our dog, which was amply big enough. It was clean and comfortable, although there were signs of wear in the decor. We had dinner which was OK but nothing particularly special. We ate in the bar because we had our dog with us so it was good they allowed dogs in the bar area. We marked it as 4 star because when we came to pay, it wasn't pointed out to us that they had already added a service charge so we automatically added another 10% and only noticed after we'd paid. Technically, our fault for not checking but it was obvious that we hadn't noticed so it would have been better if they'd said something.

Great find at a great price

Lovely room underneath the pub. Really easy parking and check in. Room very spacious, large TV, good sized shower cubicle. Bed extremely comfortable. Tea/coffee available in room, more oat milk than cows milk sachets would be great but plentiful even for a couple.

Stayed at the Swan for one night as I was on a course nearby the following day. Great choice of venue, very welcoming, clean and comfortable and spacious room. All the staff were very friendly, no complaints!

Not deep cleaned

We understand the hotel is pet friendly but we were unable to stay in room due to allergies. Not a deep clean as stated by staff. Cobweb over shower head dust around skirting . Room also smelt damp and black mould on grouting in shower. We couldn't stay the night so choose to drive home. I had emailed hotel next day but had no response .

We were warmly welcomed by a lovely lady I didn't catch her name) The room I requested (with a bath) hadn't been allocated to us but after a call this was sorted and the room we stayed in was lovely. We ate in the pub, my husbands beef short rib was only luke warm, they said it would be replaced but would take 20 mins,we said just to warm properly would be ok, which was done although I did think that some money should have been taken off or complimentary drinks offered but they were not. The breakfast was lovely but no cereal, yoghurt, fresh fruit or croissants which are usually offered at most hotels and b&b's.

Fun little stay

Really friendly staff. Our room which we booked last minute for a little escape, was tiny! But it was comfortable. Booking above a pub we were worried about noise and it was a little noisy but mainly from the traffic as the room is really close to the road. The staff were really cool, the pub had a great vibe, the shower was amazing, the TV perfect and the breakfast was Top. good value.

Bolthole for Spartan day at Ashdown Forest!

Staff were extreemly helpful and friendly. I chose this hotel because of the excellent reviews but my personal experience of the stay was that the room we stayed in (cant remember the name of the room but its situated at the first level, the first door you come to). The bathroom was lovely and clean but the main room was quite dusty. The room was very basic. Our room was detailed as a Delux Double Room but I failed to see the 'Delux' part. We also found the parking a nightmare, the pub is obviously a popular busy pub but with limited parking, when we asked where we could park if the car park was full, we were told to park in the free town/village car park about 1/2 a mile away!...HUMMM... We liked the fact that the hotel/pub was dog friendly, so we brought our dog along but we found that we were 'locked in' overnight! So if our dog had wanted to go out to relieve herself overnight (which can happen from time to time) we couldn't exit the building unfortunately.

Real Life Fawlty Towers - AVOID AT ALL COSTS

We found the real life Fawlty Towers!!! What a night- we were shown to our room, walking out of the front of the pub, past the petrol forecourt, round the back near the bins, past a loud extractor fan spitting greasy air from the kitchen at you. To arrive at the 'Balfour Suite' - next problem, no electricity whatsoever and a serious damp issue in the room. After a few minutes, we were asked to wait at the bar and offered complimentary drinks. So we had to use the touches on our phones to get changed, headed back to the bar. All staff friendly, unfortunately, young and untrained. However Jack was excellent and we decided to eat in the pub section as there was only one other table in the restaurant. Every single dish was awful. Some of the worst food we've ever experiences. The bill came to almost £250 and £100 was removed. Cold starters, over cooked steak, it was a farce.....which turned out to be very funny and literally everything was awful. Then breakfast just about topped it off. After over 30 minutes, not one of us (4 people) ate the food. I tried to speak to the waiter, and he responded "well, where have you eaten before"- this waiter turned out to be the GM. After explaining everything that had happened, he shrugged she shoulders and said "thank you for your feedback". A real shame as for £180 for the room and £150 with not even a 'sorry' from the GM, not going to be recommending or visiting ever again.

Nice pub/hotel. Food was good Breakfast didn’t start until 8am which wasn’t ideal. Apart from that all ok. Would stay again.

Lovely hotel - thank you

Ideal boutique hotel/pub

Lovely staff, very friendly and welcoming, ideal for an overnight stop.

Overnight stop

Very pleasant welcome by member of staff on arrival. Nice spacious bedroom and quiet despite the proximity to the main road. Breakfast the next morning was good

Convenient free parking, very nice pub, great atmosphere, food is very good. Walk to village, convenient Tessco next door. Good value with breakfast included.

Lovely friendly staff, convenient parking, good service.

Lovely Stay.

Lovely stay. Very comfortable rooms. Friendly staff. Great food. Thoroughly recommend

The room in the picture is not the room we had. They have 2 rooms which they call a Junior Suite. The one in the picture is a very large and prestigious looking room with wooden beam ceiling and a large fireplace. The room we had was just a simple room with none of the features of the one in the picture. I feel that the pictured room was worth the £178 a night but the room we had was a very poor relation to that room and in my opinion grossly over priced. I did mention to the hotel that I was disappointed with my room only to be told ‘sorry but you are in our other Junior Suite room. Breakfast was substantial but we had to wait half an hour from ordering until it arrived and the bacon was so over cooked and dry that it was not edible. On a positive note the room was clean, well appointed and the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in.

The staff were all amazing, great welcome and all round pleasant stay

Most is great , staffs & room &breakfast is good , but room above the bar and facing the Main Street , and after 10pm the main entrance is close , you need to take the back door ( exit door ) there is a steep stair is hard for elderly or a dogs if you want to walk the a bit .

The only way out at night was down very steep, slippery, and dark stairs. My dog could not go down the stairs for his nightly duties, so he had to hold it until morning.

March trip

Excellent location for what we wanted to do. Excellent value for money.

Neighboring church bells rang every hour on the hour, and housekeeping had not replaced towels, toilet paper and soap. Quickly remedied when told.

The property was a lovely pub, the room was spacious and lovely and clean. The staff were excellent and so friendly and it came with a delicious breakfast. I would have given this hotel a glowing review if it wasn't for the noise. The windows are only singled glazed and it's right next to a road and a church so there is noise all night from cars, bikes and church bells. You can't actually hear any noise from the pub but when people come outside you can hear every word they are saying which isn't really a problem as the pub isn't open late but unfortunately on my last evening there a load of yound adults used the pub car park as a hangout and we're very loud and revving engines ect. The pub was shut and I had no idea who to contact about it. I had a big exam the next day so it really put a downer on the trip. I did email the next day as I'd left my electric toothbrush in the room so I asked if I could come back and get it but it's been almost 2 weeks and I've not had a reply.

Comfy bed, fabulous breakfast.

Good but a couple of bits to be wary of.

Nice room, polite and friendly staff etc. all the standard good bits. But there is a church across the road that rung it’s bells every hour through the night and kept waking us up so our sleep was terrible. Also, the breakfast was served cold, and is served 9-11 on a weekend. Not 8-10 as stated on hotels.com and watch out if you are tall as there are lots of low ceilings/doorways/beams.

Highly recommended

Excellent hotel and amazing staff

Definitely recommend

Lovely warm welcome on arrival. Room was beautiful, clean and had everything we needed. Would recommend to anyone wanting to stay in the area

Lovely big comfy bed in large room, warm & clean, good breakfast and lovely staff. Very small cups in room for tea, used large plastic glasses instead.

Yet again a wonderful stay I find stuff absolutely fantastic the food fantastic service superb Comfort 10 out of 10 I cannot fault this I cannot for

Short break visiting family.

Very welcoming check in, easy parking. Spotless room. Very comfortable bed. Everything we needed. Even ear plugs as it is quite noisy until the pub shuts (which is a very reasonable time). Breakfast was lively both days. Evening meal was delicious.

A wonderful nights stay. Brilliant breakfast, great facilities and a super comfy bed and in an ideal location. Staff were lovely and very welcoming and attentive.

Really enjoyable stay.

Really enjoyable stay in a clean, well maintained hotel. The staff were friendly and the breakfast tasty. The only downside was that there was no remote for the tv.

pre holiday stopover

Family stay 2 rooms adjacent, good food dinner and breakfast 🍳. Excellent full English could have had some cereals, these were not offered that said we didn’t ask and the cooked meal was more than enough.

Comfy bed, decent size room. nice powerful shower and complimentary toiletries. friendly and welcoming staff

Very good stay

Arrived late afternoon and had difficulty in parking on site I suppose because it is a pub/hotel but our room was excellent, comfortable and very clean. Breakfast was freshly cooked and good size portions. But what stood out the most for our stay was the lovely atmosphere and the friendly and helpful staff who were always ready to help.

APL Swan

The room was of a high standard, really clean and comfortable. Room 1 is really ideal for solo traveller like myself. All staff helpful, food was great. Good stay.

Ola ..Aleksandra ? ..

Ola and the girls who ran around tirelessly were wonderful and refreshing. So too were the gentlemen involved whose names I didnt get , apologies.My wife and I had a wonderful stay and will be returning , thank you x