The Bear Hotel, Crickhowell Reviews Summary

Food Quality

Pros:

• "Food was lovely."
• "Great ales and stunning food."
• "Fantastic food and atmosphere in The Bear. It was incredibly busy but service was brilliant, friendly, attentive and all orders were correct."
• "We both had the Sunday lunch and chose the slow cooked Welsh lamb which was to die for and very generous and worth the money."
• "The stone bass fillet with potatoes, samphire and a mussel and crayfish sauce was an absolute pleasure."
• "The beef just melted in your mouth."
• "Exceptional food, served in good time."

Cons:

• "Standard quite poor and such a shame they didn't match up to the evening meal."
• "Salmon Bon bons were crunchy but not very tasty."
• "Over priced as well."
• "Having 4 dogs come in which I don't like animals around while I eat I think it's very unhygienic plus the barking ruined my experience."
• "However, the main with risotto was a bit bland in flavour & the rice wasn't cooked thoroughly."
• "The Caribbean jerk flank of beef, which was completely underwhelming."
• "Food typical bar food nothing special."

Service

Pros:

• "It was incredibly busy but service was brilliant, friendly, attentive and all orders were correct."
• "The staff were incredibly friendly and attentive."
• "The service was excellent, very friendly."
• "Service was very good everybody was polite and friendly."
• "The waiting staff were attentive and friendly."
• "The staff were extremely helpful and friendly which made the stay even better."
• "Friendly and helpful service from arrival through the meal."

Cons:

• "Staff weren't particularly interested in listening to me either."
• "Was disappointed with the attitude of the staff, clearly wasn't welcome in the pub."
• "The staff, while very accommodating, seemed very stressed out and a little 'put out' by our being there."
• "Only downside was the random service, had about 6 different waiters/waitresses serving us and none managed to bring water for the table."
• "Our food and other peoples food in the garden was forgotten."
• "The service my dad received was so poor, he didn't want to stop there."
• "Had to chase up three times as did other guests and staff very indifferent."

Ambience & Location

Pros:

• "Nice olde worlde pub in the centre of Crickhowell."
• "Lovely country pub, the setting in the town of Crickhowell is beautiful."
• "The Bear is a beautiful and atmospheric place to visit; even if you just pop in for a drink."
• "Christmas time here is simply wonderful, the hotel decorate the bar & dining rooms so impressively."
• "In the summer sitting in the beer garden is nice and relaxing."
• "Lovely country feel to the pub."
• "A lovely rambling old coaching house."

Cons:

• "Parking was hit and miss due to restaurant being very popular."
• "There is a car park as well though can be tricky to get out of as quite narrow in places."
• "The car park gets full quickly but there is a pay car park in Crickhowell just two minutes walk away."
• "Paper thin walls."
• "I could hear people speaking next door and snoring."
• "Didn't feel comfortable with overcrowding."
• "Also the restaurant was full to capacity so we left once we finished our food as we didn't feel comfortable packed in like that during this pandemic."

Accommodation

Pros:

• "We stayed in a Courtyard Room, which was a good size and looked good."
• "The room was very clean and comfortable."
• "The hotel is very nice, lovely rooms a nice bathroom."
• "Our room was very comfortable."
• "The room was clean and newly decorated."
• "Rooms exceptionally clean and well presented."
• "Our room was incredible!"

Cons:

• "Although 4 stars, I’d probably look for somewhere else to stay next time that’s not quite so hectic."
• "I’m on a walking trip and just came from a stellar hotel to The Bear—which is, sadly, lacking in some areas. No AC tops the list."
• "Uncomfortable bed."
• "Some items are quite expensive, including drinks."
• "Flat pillows."
• "The hotel offers a variety of pretty different rooms. If you are lucky enough to book one of the newer ones it is great value - else the rooms are rather okay and a little old-fashioned with really soft mattresses."
• "Pokey small double room."