As we drove across the empty moors having been sent that way by a sat nav with a sense of humour we began to relax into the rural life. It was to be a welcome break from our increasingly frantic life in Newcastle-upon-TYne -the party city.
The market town of Pickering looked perfect as we drove in. The ducks and ducklings swimming down the gentle river, the flowers in full bloom, the Yorkshire stonebuilt houses resplendent in the summer sun.
As we were shown to our room in the main building we could hear the gentle voices of the local traders packing up for the night and vacating the market place upon which the hotel stands.
Our room was a little tatty, in need of a good lick of paint and the tightening of the odd screw to make the doors on the cabinet look level. We did reflect on the price of our superior room, consider it too expensive and worry about those who must be in the standard accommodation.
The rest of the hotel main building like our room would have been grateful for a revamp.
Still the beer was good, the staff friendly and the village appeared peaceful. All was well.
We ate dinner in a side room as the restaurant had been confiscated for a wedding. It was cramped but we overlooked that. The food whilst above average for a pub was nothing special. Indeed my langoustine looked painfully thin and the meat from the shell was hardly worth the effort. We overlooked that. We even overlooked the complete failure to actually bring a glass of sweet wine that I had ordered.
And so we retired to bed. The irritations in the service and quality of the room were nothing compared with the utterly appalling experience of having a room which overlooked Pickering Village at night. This town would make the centre of our home city centre look tame. The antics of the customers of the local licenced premises was disgraceful. Having been a criminal lawyer for nearly 20 years there is little that shocks me but the language used, largely by Yorkshire young ladies was the worst I have ever heard. Most of the requests made of the Yorkshire boys were illegal and certainly immoral. Other terminology used was that usually only heard in an anatomy lesson or witness box. Every public order offence I am aware of seemed to have been committed. Pickering is loud and violent. Revolting. Pickering town centre that night. A disgrace - nothing less.
After a really rather good breakfast we were glad to leave the White Swan.
So an ok pub with shabby but ok rooms and reasonable food (but very good breakfasts). We could have overlooked all the inadequacies if we could have been able to sleep. As it was we were glad to get back to our North East home.
If you want a rural town in James Herriott mode steer clear of PIckering on a Friday Night. And Pickering - if you want normal human beings to frequent your town - do something before it is too late.
It is a shame but we won't go back to the White Swan.

We had a lovely 3 day stay at this hotel. We stayed in the new rooms which are nicely furnished with an excellent shower and large tub. Can't complain about the rooms.

We had 2 evening meals in the restuarant and 3 breakfasts. The main issue was that the standard of catering was a bit inconsistent. Having ordered the same starter and dessert on 2 nights the presentation was different on both nights. The breakfasts were ok but don't order any eggs, they were always overcooked. One order of boiled eggs and soldiers turned into soldiers with an almost hard cooked egg! One morning, there was no milk for the coffee as the milkman had not turned up...this is not acceptable at the prices charged...and not an acceptable thing to do to a customer that relies on their morning coffee!

Overall the staff however were very friendly but you could tell the difference depending on which shift appeared to be on. Some staff were very efficient and professional but others seemed flustered and inexperienced. The hotel has great potential but needs to work on consistency in both their food service and the service of the staff.

My husband and I stayed at the white swan for three nights at the end of may.

We found the room in the main hotel to be substantial for our requirements, although there were two flights of stairs to climb (what else can be expected from a 16th century building??!!), it certainly gave us a good nights sleep.

Dinner in the restaurant was fantastic, they seem to be fully booked and busy ALL of the time so advance booking would be a good idea.

The staff were pleasant and very willing to help, we had a warm welcome and were shown around the room - something we have never experienced before! Breakfast was good although service was a little slow, we understood that it was busy.

I would reccommend this hotel to anyone (unless you have a problem with stairs!), we had a great time and cant wait to go back!

We recently spent three nights at The White Swan with our dog and had a great time.

We stayed in one of the new contemporary rooms which was very modern,
comfortable and nicely decorated. The extra touches like the dvd player, bathrobes and complimentary newspaper were great. The bathroom is fantastic - nice big tub and a brilliant shower. The room
and bathroom were extremely clean. Make sure you read through the Guest Information folder - it is very entertaining.

We ate breakfast in the restaurant every morning and the food was very tasty, with lots of choices. We also ate there for dinner one night and really enjoyed our meal.

One of the best things about The White Swan is the hospitality. All of the staff are very friendly and professional. We were always made to feel very welcome and the hotel is very dog-friendly - our dog's name was even included on the bill!

We had a really nice stay at The White Swan and would highly recommend it. We would definitely stay here again.