The Swan Hotel

Just went for lunch. Pleasant garden and ambiance. On arrival asked a barman where lunch was being served and he just waved to another are without a word of a smile. Chose the garden and ordered drinks which took a very long time to arrive (it was a Monday so far from busy) Had to ask for menus which eventually appeared. Our orders were taken and 15 minutes later one side dish arrived. Was stone cold before the first meal arrived. The other two arrived at 7/8 minute intervals! We then had to ask for cutlery which took a further 5 minutes! Whilst the food was OK but unexceptional the dismal service became joke! Plenty of waiting staff about and generally polite but totally ineffective and clearly untrained. Like many other similar establishments it seems the Swan is trading on its reputation and become complacent. Very sad….

The location of The Swan is perfect for visiting Lavenham. Parking is available with easy access. We stayed in a garden room and although the room was comfortable, a partition wall was very thin and a resident could be heard snoring in the next room. The service from the team was welcoming and friendly but not particularly efficient when ordering food and drinks. The Swan is a higher priced hotel in Suffolk and we came away feeling a little let down on what we had hoped to be a special stay in a historic venue.

Super friendly staff very welcoming , food’s absolutely delicious, it was a beautiful atmosphere. Kaz was super helpful and great with recommendations. We can’t wait to come back and have lunch again. Will definitely recommend to all friends and family

Most amazing nibbles and drinks in the garden all staff friendly and the garden menu was 10/10 highly recommended the chicken wings they are amazing, as was the pork crackling and the olives were some of the nicest I’ve had in a long time. Well done to all team everyone we saw went above and beyond and were all very welcoming of our 9 week old as well

Attended a wine tasting evening and stayed for the weekend. Hotel itself is beautiful, very impressive 16th century building with cozy seating areas and very comfy, well specced rooms. Lavenham itself is a very picturesque ancient market town, with many old interesting wooden framed building to explore, perfect for a relaxing few days and a place from which to go for walks and drives locally.

We visited The Swan for lunch, it was the hottest day of the year so far so decided to sit in the garden as they had Parasols for shade. We must have sat there a good fifteen minutes before I decided to get up and find someone who could serve us with drinks! A waiter walked back to the table with me to ask what we would like then went away and it took another 15 minutes or so to get two of the three drinks ordered! Finally a further ten minutes later the third drink arrived, by a different waiter. On neither occasion were we offered the Lunch menu, so again I had to go in search for the menu which was bought to us by a third member of staff. Quite frankly we wouldn’t return to The Swan, the Service was incredibly slow, one waiter turned up to take our order without a pad and pen, but led us to believe he could remember our order. Five minutes later another waiter arrived to take the same order, we pointed out we had already ordered with his colleague, at which point he told us he couldn’t remember what we had said!! The food was very good, however our experience was not good. We were already Hot and Bothered when we arrived, we were even more Hot and Bothered by the time we left! Never again.

Stayed here for a wine testing event. The was great food, wines and service from the staff. The wine ambassador, Maria, from Chile was also very knowledgeable and friendly. The Hotel itself is an old Tudor building keeping the old features and character. Mind your head on the low beams!!

My partner and I went to an ABBA NIGHT/Mamma Mia night it was very nice food great GREEK Staff were polite helpful nothing to much trouble we would like to thank Sally and the team for there fantastic service we well be back. Many thanks Ian and Daph Barlow,

Very friendly and professional. Comfortable hotel.

The hotel is absolutely beautiful & was amazing ! .myself and my husband have food allergies I am a coeliac &!my husband is egg & diary intolerant! The hotel staff especially sorin and the chef Becky went out of there way to make sure the food was not contaminated the hotel was very clean & we cannot wait to come back