The Swan Southwold – Mini Review!

I have to say it’s not often that my Jonny is terribly romantic but he pulled a blinder out of the bag for my 40th birthday and took me away for a really beautiful night at The Swan Hotel in Southwold. I’d popped in to use the loo a few week’s previously when we’d visited the seaside town for the day and said how lovely it seemed. He remembered, (like this is immense in itself) and really tried to make my big FOUR OH (NO) something special. By booking us this mini break sans kiddos he excelled himself and the hotel was divine!

Now, it wasn’t all plain sailing before we left because I did have a bit of a flippy wobble about leaving the baby but once I’d got over that (and Jonny had forgiven me for sounding so ungrateful) we really did have the most glorious time (look two posts back and you’ll be able to read more about my turning 40 and see some of the pictures – my family as a whole made the few days surrounding, and the actual date, something truly to remember)!

I can’t stop thinking about that little break in Southwold and how lovely it was and also how glorious the hotel is. If you go to Southwold for a night and have something special to celebrate then I wholeheartedly recommend The Swan!

Though I wasn’t planning on writing a review (I wasn’t planning on going away either), so I didn’t take the best photographs – which is a shame as now that I’m back I really want to write about this place – I decided that it was so glorious I simply had to create a post about it on the blog! Like I said, the pictures aren’t great, I got lost in the moment and my phone was all I had to hand, and they don’t do this hotel justice but I hope that my writing will!

If I go again I shall take my DSLR but for now you will have to take my word for it and accept my (rather crappy) phone pics!

So… Here’s a mini review from our whirlwind mini break at The Swan in Southwold!

We booked: (Jonny booked) An ‘Excellent’ room for a rate of £200 room only – this is the most basic of the 4 star hotel’s three grades of room. But were upgraded because… Just because! I’m suspecting because Jonny had phoned ahead to tell them it was my birthday and if there were any special stops they pulled out for this type of thing could they pull them. This is not like Jonny. This is like me – so I’m rather touched he did because he wouldn’t have been comfortable doing so and it would have been for my benefit. Plus… It also meant we had a roll top bath so… Winning! 

The room: Well it was gorgeous and the butler (I think that’s what they called him but porter would do) actually asked if we’d like a tour of it as he showed us in. While a tour might have been over egging it somewhat (I mean it wasn’t THAT vast) it was the biggest hotel room I’ve ever stayed in and it felt very grown up with a ‘Pretty Woman’ moment when I realised it was more of a suite than a room actually, with a seating area! I loved the complimentary Adnams gin from the brewery next door, what a nice touch and there was also a mini bar which was of a reasonable price. Tea and coffee (Nespresso, chilled fresh milk and tea pigs, not any old rubbish) along with biscuits were on the house and behind a clever chest was a vast television screen. The bed was sumptuous, large and oh so comfy with lots of pillows and cushions I would find unnecessary at home but welcomed in this decadent hotel room. Of course that bath with its roll top and large room for washing was also a massive plus! The decoration was tasteful with gorgeous lighting and inside the wardrobes were hair dryer, trouser press and a little box of shoe shiney bits and pieces as well as thread and needles – standard hotel stuff but presented very nicely and hair straighteners were available on request! We LOVED it!

Where to eat: Now we thought about eating in the hotel and I’d like to another time, I think I’d book a deal which includes dinner and breakfast for our next visit but this time we chose to eat out. There were no prices on the menu for breakfast at the hotel which put me off and so we found a little cafe on the beach offering bacon, sausage and egg baps with a mug of builders for a fiver (The Gun Hill Beach Kiosk). It’s just where the beach meets the area where dogs are allowed and unfortunately there were rather a lot of them, they aren’t my thing so I found that a little annoying. Food and vista on the other hand were faultless and very inexpensive for Southwold – I’d say this is a one off! We dined in the evening at Coasters which is a five minute walk from the hotel and it was lovely but pricey – I’m not sure it was actually worth the money if I’m going to be totally honest with you and the staff weren’t particularly friendly but the food was tasty and cooked well. Like I said, this is Southwold so to expect anything less than expensive is a bit of a stretch. Before we came home the next day we had a pizza tea at Enzos Pizzaria, a one man band restaurant with a limited menu but boy those pizzas are GOOD! And Enzo is very entertaining as he chats while serving and cooking. The place is a bit of a football shrine and fun to be inside so the little extra on the price here was worth it for the fun and believe me, it was a super good pizza! We didn’t have fish and chips this time as I knew Id be having it the next day for my actual birthday in Cromer but I can, from previous day visits, recommend The Little Fish and Chip Shop and by all accounts from my friends, Mrs T’s at the harbour is the place to be – next time!

Onto the drinks: Well, when in Southwold you HAVE to try the Adnams Brewery fodder and we did! Jonny drank a LOT of their brews while I dipped into Prosecco everywhere we stopped. The Lord Nelson in the town and The Sail Loft were my two best faves of the trip and not as expensive as you might think. On average a pint and a glass of fizz was coming out to just over a tenner!

Things to do: You can take a tour of the Adnams Brewery which is right next door to the hotel. We had a little look into the museum like foyer and it was very interesting but I didn’t fancy the actual tour on account of having to wear a hi vis vest that said ‘I’m on a tour’ on the back of it. It all felt a bit too school trip for me and actually we just wanted to wander around anyway. We walked along the beach (beautiful) to the harbour (noting all the gorgeous beach huts along the way) where most things were closed but it was interesting and a world away from the rest of Southwold. We then took the Walberswick Ferry over to Walberswick where we mooched (very pretty and the ferry is £1 each way) before back on our side enjoying the delights of the Southwold pier and its unusual hand made arcade games. We stopped and drank and wandered around the streets. We discovered a tiny little cinema (The Electric Picture Palace), curios shops and other treats. Southwold is a gem and I am by no means an expert yet so we will just have to go back for more of that I am sure – it’s fast becoming one of my favourite places to be beside the seaside (Cromer still has my crown, it always will)!

All in all: We just had a fab time in Southwold and thoroughly recommend it for a visit. Our stay was made amazing by the hotel which was beautiful with friendly staff and I’d go back in a heart beat. We had a bit of a grubby towel in our room but they came to bring us a bottle of Prosecco (Adnams of course) to apologise even before we’d said anything and it felt very relaxed despite its poshness.

What I’d change about the hotel: Honestly the hotel was great but as with anything nothing is perfect. I thought it was fab that they refill their delicious bottles of shower gel and the like (although it means no minis to take home) to be environmentally friendly (more important than having minis to take home) but things like the little pots of moisturiser left me a bit cold as I didn’t really want to use a moisturiser someone else had had a finger plunged into before me. Also, with a bath like the one in our room they surely should have, in my opinion, had a bottle of bubble bath on offer. But nope… We had to go and buy some which is small and insignificant but when you have three and a half dips in a tub in a less than 24 hour period it’s necessary and I would have expected there to be some in the room. I would also have liked prices on the breakfast menu as we were there staying for a treat and not people who can just afford to order without knowing the cost of things. We felt too embarrassed asking because we had already been looked at a bit funny by the hotel restaurant staff when asking to see the menu the night before. I think they might have thought we were odd for then not booking but without knowing the cost… I wasn’t in a position to do so. This was the only area that made me feel uncomfortable and out of my depth in an otherwise gorgeous stay!