The Swan Hotel

The Swan Hotel

The Swan sits on Southwold's Market Place, a few steps from the sea, on a site where ale has been brewed since 1345. John Rous rebuilt the building after the Great Fire of 1659, Thomas Bokenham added the wing that is now the Still Room Restaurant in 1818, and Winston Churchill stayed here in June 1940 while inspecting coastal defences after Dunkirk. Adnams bought the hotel with its brewery in 1872 and still owns it, which explains why guests find a bottle of gin from the on-site distillery waiting in their room, a detail no other hotel in town can offer. The 2017 remodel by Project Orange kept the history intact while adding bright, contemporary furnishings across 35 rooms spread over three floors, sizes ranging from a 51 square metre Standard Room to a 129 square metre Classic Room with its own patio. There is a bar, a restaurant, a conference hall for meetings, free Wi-Fi, a garden, and electric car charging, along with wheelchair access to the restaurant and public spaces. Pets are welcome in designated rooms for a nightly fee, and an extra bed runs 40 GBP a night. Southwold Museum, St Edmund's Church and the pier are all walkable from the door. This suits travellers who want a proper sense of place, brewery history, market square life, sea air, rather than an anonymous chain box, though those chasing a swimming pool or minimalist design should look elsewhere. What lingers is that gin, brewed a few hundred yards away, sitting in your room before you have even unpacked. The Swan has stood on Southwold's Market Place since brewing began here in 1345, survived the Great Fire, hosted Churchill in 1940, and still sends every guest off with a bottle of Adnams gin. Thirty-five rooms, three floors, a short walk to the pier.