Bear Crickhowell

Bear Crickhowell descritpion

In Crickhowell, in the Brecon Beacons, The Bear dates back to 1432. Expect a welcoming atmosphere, old world charm and good food. Awarded Inn of the Year 2010 by the Good Pub Guide.
The Bear has original features, such as a cobbled forecourt, with an old archway leading to an inner courtyard.
Rooms also have an historic feel, but with modern facilities like free Wi-Fi and satellite TV.
The restaurant menu often changes to suit the local ingredients available. The award-winning food is served in cozy surroundings, with open log fires or fine fresh spring flowers. The restaurant is popular, so reservations are recommended.
The popular bar at The Bear has a low-beamed ceiling, with a winter log fire and many antiques. It has twice won the 'Best Pub in Britain' award. A number of real ales are served, along with vintage wines.

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Facilities of Bear Crickhowell

Pets ：Free!Pets are allowed. No extra charges.

Activities ：Golf Course (within 2 miles) | Hiking

Food & Drink ：Bar | Restaurant with Dining Menu

Internet ：Free!WiFi is available in all areas and is free of charge.

Parking ：Free!Free public parking is available on site (reservation is not needed).

General ：Newspapers | Non-smoking Rooms | Heating

Languages Spoken ：Romanian | Spanish | English

Reviews for Bear Crickhowell

Review 1：The friendly, efficient and professional staff. Excellent restaurant, great house keeping, dog friendly. After 15 years of visiting we have never been disappointed.

Review 2：I booked a room at the hotel, when we got there they had updated us to one of the Court room bedrooms, brilliant, always wanted to know what these rooms were like and Sunday 27 December 2015 we were given the chance, excellent.

Review 3：Bill not itemized although im sure it was correct.

Review 4：Friendly staff . very pleasant in dining room. Room was very modern and well appointed. We were in the courtyard annex. very quiet.

Review 5：It is a little expensive to stay the night so only for a treat.

Review 6：Great location. Very friendly and efficient staff. Room very comfortable and clean. Breakfast excellent.

Review 7：The bedroom furniture especially the wardrobe.It was very noisy in the room from the kitchen staff.

Review 8：I liked the food! Also the open fire and Xmas decorations.

Review 9：Well not much really except our table at dinner could have been in a better location. Very near to a hot radiator. So the room we were in for dinner was quite stuffy.

Review 10：Friendly staff. Very good food. Nice comfortable room.

Review 11：The staff were helpful and friendly. We enjoyed the varied choice on the menu. The Bear is ideally sited at the top of the town with ample free parking.

Review 12：Accommodation was 'tired'. Needed refreshing. Room had to be changed. Very disappointing in comparison with online info. Couldn't find the ensuite, it was in what appeared to be a cupboard. Small details eg. Breakfast - when asked if wanted white, brown or mixture, brown came even though you'd asked for mixture. In some places Sellotape was sticking the wallpaper together.

Review 13：The marmalade.

Review 14：Wasn't able to book a table for dinner as it was already fully booked- a minor thing but the food looked excellent!

Review 15：Very comfortable, excellent atmosphere. Friendly staff. Excellent breakfast

Review 16：We had a family above us which my partner said they sounded like a herd of elephants, but this will not stop us from staying there because we are back again on the 27th December :)

Review 17：I liked everything at The Bear, the room was perfect, the bed was lovely and warm and comfortable, lovely shower and toilet, very clean and tidy.

Review 18：We were allocated a room outside the hotel , across the court yard , lots of slippery steps , up and down , and it was raining .

Review 19：Lovely traditional inn

Review 20：Unsupervised children in garden Kitchen noise across court yard rather loud

Review 21：Town centre access to surrounding area Staff helpfulness Guest room space very good

Review 22：The non-refurbished rooms (I had 33) were much older and lower quality. Very small bathroom with a carpet floor and disappointing electric shower.

Review 23：Beautiful hotel, great location for walking in the Black Mountains. The refurbished rooms are very good with a very large bed. Lovely cosy bar too with an open fire.

Review 24：Breakfast let down an otherwise great visit - way too greasy! Eggs like they'd been sitting for hours, and fried bread dropping in oil. Non fried options were an average selection of cereal or fruit salad (which was fine)

Review 25：Lovely rooms, beautiful hotel - huge effort with the flowers!

Review 26：Being picky it was a little tricky getting into the car park on Sunday afternoon with so many people leaving. Three times I had to reverse out onto the main road with the blind bends because other customers were leaving and refused to reverse.

Review 27：Everything - the location, the building, the staff, food and beer quality, cleanliness and the comfort of the bed.

Review 28：There is not a nice place to sit inside when the weather is not good. The food in the pub at dinner is not very good. The staff is not very personal. They do not really know you.

Review 29：It is an old characteristic building. The rooms are a bit dark but nice enough. Breakfast is ok. Most of the staff are nice.

Review 30：The place thinks its better than it is. Bedroom ok but not special. lots of road noise as lorries came very close to window. Hot room, could not leave the window open because of the road noise. It wouldn't stay open anyway, had to wedge it open with some of our belongings to get some fresh air. Poor provision of toiletries particularly as the advert mentions them. Only available from pump on the wall. the shower controls had been bodged together. There were hairs in the shower. The bedroom door fitted poorly and rattled every time someone walked by, it sounded as if they were opening the door. We wedged the door shut with some cardboard. We did report this to reception and they seemed surprised but I'm sure we cant be the first to mention it. Maybe booking.com get the worst rooms allocated. Very minor, but no bottled water. Overall would not go again and could not recommend.

Review 31：Food in the evening and breakfast were good. Waiting staff were generally friendly although the people on the reception desk could do with a couple of refreshers in customer service. We chose dinner from the menu and then told our selections weren't available. Perhaps they could have told us earlier.

Review 32：Squeaky floorboards. Person above was walking around at 4.00 in the morning! Black pudding slice was too thin. Some furnishings are a bit grubby.

Review 33：Comfortable bed. Slept like a baby. Atmosphere of the hotel.

Review 34：No bad experiences but the hotel has a lived in feel which is not a negative comment

Review 35：Excellent food and drink, reasonable prices and all the staff appeared to be happy in their work.

Review 36：We stayed for two nights over the bank holiday weekend. We had a delicious meal on the Friday evening and breakfast was great in particular the smoked Braddock.

Review 37：Nothing to not like

Review 38：Newly renovated room was clean, comfortable and spacious. Hotel well located in the centre of attractive town, convenient for walk in the countryside.

Review 39：The bedrom cold and not very inviting,with very dismal lighting.There was no toiletries other than hand wash.The shower and hairdryer where very dated!!.

Review 40：Just like home, ( the arguments, the aggro), only joking, it was brilliant,and the hospitality was as much as you could wish for. Would recommend The Bear to anyone and everyone. Many thanks.

Review 41：Slightly noisy from road and walls quite thin in annexe so could hear conversations.

Review 42：Excellent service; good food in bar; lovely area; small but comfortable rooms.

Review 43：We felt so relaxed. We enjoyed our newly refurbished room and bath, lover the pub and atmosphere. The friendly staff Inc the cleaning staff. The walking and scenery was fab and The food was excellent too. Perfect!

Review 44：Rooms28 29were too hot. Very dated bathroom! Service in the bar was very slow. TREVOR STOOD CHATTING TO FRIENDS WHILST CUSTOMERS WAITED Had much better value at other hotels and we travel a lot.usually if i dont want 2 items on full breakfast they give more of items chosen but not at the bear.

Review 45：Garden was pretty. Evening meal was good.

Review 46：The price of drinks at the bar

Review 47：The bottle of wine we ordered with our meal was lovely & a reasonable price. The waitress at dinner was very friendly and attentive. Our room was gorgeous.

Review 48：Called on Saturday morning to book a table for the evening of our stay and were told the restaurant was full but we could just come down to the bar and get seated. Ended up waiting for nearly an hour. Food was run off the mill pub grub and disappointing. The atmosphere in the dining area was terrible. Decor in our room was old fashioned and tired. This place does not deserve the acclaim. Would never stay again.

Review 49：Central location.

Review 50：The room was a bit small. I am not sure about the carpet in the bathroom.

Review 51：Fantastic, rustic but elegant atmosphere. The building and the spaces are fantastic. Well positioned in the centre of Crickhowell, very good starting points for walks. They have a guest ale that regularly changes at the bar. (The one we had was very interesting.) We also had a meal at the restaurant of the hotel, which was very very good.

Review 52：Breakfast was delayed and unfortunately we had to leave the hotel by 8.45am which meant that we had to complain around 835am and then eat very quickly. We had reported to Reception the evening before that we had an early departure the following day and we had been assured that providing we were in the dining room by 8am ( which we were) there would not be a problem.

Review 53：The room and ambience

Review 54：Not many vegetarian options for food but dinner was lovely.Breakfast was appalling - bad staff and a long wait.Brought me eggs with salmon after I telling them I was vegetarian.They then 'remade it', but the eggs stank of fish as all they had done was remove the salmon so completely inedible and really bad service - ruined a good stay.

Review 55：Clean room , comfortable bed.

Review 56：Hard to think of anything significant, but I would prefer that cutlery was not placed directly on the bar tables; rather onto, or wrapped in, a serviette.

Review 57：Excellent breakfast & restaurant/bar food. All very professional. Parking on site.

Review 58：The room was in annexe outside hotel down some steps. It felt damp and cold. Very disappointed as we had booked a deluxe room at a cost of £123 and this room did not meet our expectations at all.

Review 59：Location and breakfast were excellent.

Review 60：The room was lovely. It was quiet away from the busy road. The bed was lovely and comfortable and the shower was great. Oh and the food was delicious.

Review 61：The only reservation was that our room was very hot. However, the electric fan helped. While appreciating that this is beyond the hotel's control, the water is very chlorinated.

Review 62：Friendly staff. Charming décor. High standard of food and the wine was not overpriced. Lovely garden full of attractive plants. Overall a thoroughly enjoyable break,

Review 63：The fact our booking was incorrect when we arrived and instead of being booked in for two nights we were only booked in for one night - the second night even though I hD booked it in March. We then had to change rooms to the annexe to a smaller less equipped room but pay the same price! Not good enough I'm afraid. Also the car park was a nightmare - very tight and some selfish parking - witnessed a prang just as we arrived.

Review 64：The politeness of the staff - particularly in the restaurant where the girls were very helpful. The food was very good - good choice on menu. The hotel was very nice with lots of history and interesting information. Situated well and looked very pretty with hanging baskets everywhere. Comfy beds and nicely furnished rooms.

Review 65：The facilities were good, all of the staff went out of their way to make your stay an enjoyable one. The food in all sections of the Bear were excellent. Loved all the flowers and hanging baskets.well p

Review 66：Parking difficult, fully booked, couldn't get into dinning room and they couldn't play some music in the pub (especially because Welsh singers are so good). Very noisey room garbage night and staff finishing up for night.

Review 67：Historic location, as you would expect 3 ft door ways and creaky floor boards.

Review 68：Nothing....

Review 69：Location; Style; Staff & Food were all excellent. The Bear is at the centre of Crickhowell, which we found to be a friendly and delightful village.

Review 70：Nothing bad to say about this hotel.

Review 71：Staff were extremely helpful. Didn't like the room I was allocated and they upgraded my room free of charge. The food in the bar was out of this world. We are still talking about it now over 5 days on from our visit.

Review 72：Flowers every where. High standards, exceptional attention to detail. Lovely staff. I was staying on my own but the staff seemed to go out of their way to be helpul.

Review 73：Nothing to report!

Review 74：Food was excellent and staff were very efficient and friendly. Rooms were spacious and had loads of character. Can't see why this is only a three star hotel; it deserves more

Review 75：On the main road so can be noisy if you have a room overlooking the road

Review 76：Great hotel with lots of character, and friendly staff. perfectly located for the Breacon Beacons

Review 77：Excellent service. We love Crickhowell. Have visited for many years. Decided to stay in The Bear. Very pretty hotel garden and patio area. Enjoyed meal in restaurant. Pleasant room but situated over the kitchen. So room was very warm. Ok in the winter but not on a warm evening in June.

Review 78：On main road, so could be noisy if you get a room at the front

Review 79：Comfortable room, excellent shower, parking on site, cosy pub atmosphere with rabbit warren of public rooms, old oak beams, central to village

Review 80：There was nothing I didn't like.

Review 81：This was our third visit to the Bear. We had a lovely deluxe room at the rear of the property, handy for the garden and the car park, and away from the buzz of the bar and restaurant. I particularly like the relaxed atmosphere in the bar area. You can pop in for coffee, read the paper, have a drink or enjoy some lovely food. The restaurant is more formal, although you get the same food and wine choices. The cooking is of a good standard, especially if you order from the daily specials menu. Crickhowell is ideally placed for access to the Breacon Beacons and the Bear is in the centre of the small town. A great spot and I'm sure it will not be long before we return.

Review 82：nothing

Review 83：Upgraded to a superior room in the courtyard which was quite large and nicely decorated.Scalding hot water in bathroom.Evening meal in bar was good and all the outside area full of beautiful flowers

Review 84：for this standard of hotel the breakfast was a great disappointment. the cold buffet was a travesty of what many lesser establishments offer, there was no fresh fruit and the only farinaceous offering was standard toasted square cut sliced cardboard with a very limited range of jam but no honey and the coffee was only just drinkable. one expected better.

Review 85：1) very comfortable bedroom with excellent en suite bathroom. 2) character laden public rooms. 3) superb dinner chef. 4) friendly helpful staff

Review 86：Room 38 was down at heel, the door was drooping on its hinges and would not close, hole in the wall. Decor and furniture very tired: not good enough for £96.

Review 87：Great location.

Review 88：Very poor WiFi reception in our room.

Review 89：Overall standard was very good. Food was fine and so was the beer. Friendly and helpful staff. Dogs welcome at no extra charge.

Review 90：The rooms were noisy- we were woken at ~3 am with someone vomiting outside. The breakfast was quite poor and the lady serving us was not very friendly at all.

Review 91：The restaurant had good food-though the prices were a little high. It would have been a much better experience had we not been sat next to a table of drunk/loud people.

Review 92：We book a "standard room" but were given and charged for a "small standard".This was even after my commenting on the very small size of our room. I obtained a rebate to correct price. There was no residents lounge available. All public areas were overcrowded.

Review 93：An hotel of character

Review 94：We had a three night stay with our black lab and the staff really made us all feel welcome. The food also was very good and the room was lovely. We will be going back!

Review 95：Thought 9.30 was a bit early for the final time for Sunday breakfast especially as the weekend we were there was when the clocks went ON !!

Review 96：Food was wonderful, as we had expected having had Sunday lunch here before. Room was beautifully decorated.

Review 97：we asked to move rooms as the first one was on a corner with the carpark and had a loud tv noise coming from next door. moved to a new room with a smile.

Review 98：bedroom was fab, bed was comfy staff were superb and food delicious

Review 99：An attractive quirky inn with steps and corridors everywhere. Comfortable, well furnished and individual bedroom making the most of the interesting architecture of The Bear. Excellent dinner which was followed by an equally superb breakfast.

Review 100：Wi-fi is a little bit hit and miss in the rooms.However it did'nt spoil our stay at all.

Review 101：Good service,rooms very clean,beds you could sleep in forever. Open log fire in the bar and full of old world charm.

Review 102：WiFi would have been handy as the signal around that area is terrible.

Review 103：Gorgeous rooms, with quite possibly the best shower ever. Beautiful old building, and very tastefully decorated. The food is fab and clearly popular as it was packed on Sat night. I highly recommend The Bear.

Review 104：There was a problem with the radiator;we could not turn it down on our first night. This was resolved without fuss the next morning.

Review 105：We arrived around 9.30 on a Fiday night and were able to order a nice bar meal which refreshed us.

Review 106：Stay was too short!

Review 107：Room 15 was absolutely superbly revamped with luxurious bed, carpet, lighting and ensuite. The flat screen TV was much larger and better than we are used to in hotels of this price. Pet dog was spoilt in the bar with a free bowl of chicken. Our food and beer was top quality too.

Review 108：As I found during my previous visit, the ordering of food at the bar can be slightly chaotic, particulary at busy times, which means you sometimes get served someting different to what you ordered or your main courses appears before the starter! However, to be fair, the staff are apologetic and have always rectified the problem. (though you may have to wait a little longer for your food).

Review 109：This was my second visit to The Bear. Accommodation is very good, staff are friendly and the food is excellent.

Review 110：Missing sme of the more modern facilities such as a pool or a green area outside

Review 111：The whole ambience of this old building. The log fires, mulled wine at the bar and the excellent food.

Review 112：Can't think of anything!

Review 113：The room was spectacular, comfortable, quirky and luxurious. Ideal for a romantic getaway. The food in the restaurant, whilst not cheap, was superb, as we're the menu choices. We booked this as a treat for our son's 21st birthday and we're not disappointed. We'll be back.

Review 114：Sometimes in the restaurant there was a long time between the staff attending the guests .Having said that it was very busy with a private Christmas Party .Not an issue that would put us of staying there again.

Review 115：We really enjoyed our stay at the Bear in Crickhowell .The staff were very friendly from check in to check out .The room was clean and very quiet .The bed was comfortable and the food in the restaurant was excellent .

Review 116：Nothing - all good

Review 117：The room was very nice although we did go for a superior room. The Hotel was homely with an excellent position and the whole experience was very pleasant indeed. We ate at the hotel - the food was very nice with a wide choice - would advise to pre-book a table in the restaurant.

Review 118：It was all good, great value.

Review 119：Well decorated for Christmas Good breakfast Good Wifi I arrive at 22:00 after a long drive, so i was not able to try the restaurant although the menu looked great. Both the bar man and the receptionist ask if I wanted a sandwich, i declined but it was a nice gesture.

Review 120：1.Breakfast was poor, undercooked bacon and sausages, quality of sausages poor. 2.Evening meal food was poor. 3.Bedroom needs refurbishment 4. ensuite bathroom needs updating

Review 121：Cosy log fire in bar area Great location Friendly staff Car park

Review 122：A first class venue , combining high quality accommodation with a relaxed country feel. The pub is perfect - a good selection of real ales, open log fires and a great atmosphere. Cant recommend it highly enough

Review 123：What was there not to like. The standard double room we occupied was perfect. Cosy, tastefully decorated with a comfortable bed. The food was superb and the location ideal for enjoying scenic walks. We will definitely be visiting again.

Review 124：Wifi was poor / virtually non existent in the bedroom. The mattress was not great quality so I woke with back ache both days.

Review 125：The inn has lots of old charm and the pub meals / atmosphere were fantastic. A great position for exploring the Brecon Beacons.b The staff were really friendly and we enjoyed our stay.

Review 126：The bed was a bit soft for us.

Review 127：Loved the atmosphere of this old coaching inn. The food was very good as where the ales, there were four to choose from when we were there. We also appreciated the standard of service which was both friendly and efficient, it was very busy on the Saturday night but we did not have to wait long for our food.

Review 128：Rooms too hot Mattress to soft A lot of flies/blue bottles in the corridor outside the room at night (in October!) Car parking very awkward

Review 129：Character and charm Staff helpful

Review 130：Had a large comfortable room which was spotlessly clean and very tastefully decorated. The food was excellent in the restaurant. Good breakfast. Will definitely visit again.

Review 131：Being on the main room through the town there was constant traffic noise.

Review 132：Classic old design of the building, cleanliness of hotel & Room good food

Review 133：Nothing to dislike

Review 134：The receptionist was very welcoming and professional, the perfect start to a great stay. Room in the courtyard was amazing, en suite was fantastic spotlessly clean. A really comfy bed and soft clean sheets led to an undisturbed nights sleep. All the staff were brilliant and very pleasant, made you feel welcome. FOOD was amazing and would defo stay here again when I'm in the area next time. A very well run establishment would highly recommend to other travellers.

The Fine Print

Guests who want to dine at the hotel's restaurant must reserve a table at the time of booking.