Swan, Southwold

Bland hotel bar. Barman seemed to take an age before approaching us with a surly 'Yes?'. Sorry, but that is simply rude and not, I'm sure, how the management of this Adnams hotel would expect staff to greet customers. The guy (from SA I think) lightened up later but, in my mind, the damage had been done. Bizarrely, the courteous & very helpful barman from our previous stop (Crown Hotel) was buzzing around the area - his colleague could learn a thing or two. The beers were ok but I prefer to be in a pub anyway.

A prominent hotel in the heart of Woodbridge, the two large rooms at the front are very much geared up for dining with a much smaller bar at the rear for drinkers. The two dining rooms looked to be quite contemporary in appearance, although we didn’t study them as we weren’t eating. In contrast, the bar was much more traditional with limited seating and we ended up standing at the bar as there were no chairs available. Dark wood panelling lined the walls with the odd beam or two on the ceiling, and a few pictures of ships were dotted around the walls. Beers on tap were all from Adnams with their Ghost Ship, Broadside, Southwold and Juniper Saison. The solitary cider meanwhile was Aspall’s Suffolk, whilst Mrs B. was delighted to discover a couple of Adnams gins behind the bar.

The staff were very friendly in here and can't do any more for their customers. The lounge area was full at lunchtime, so they must be doing something right. I thought prices would be steep in here, but were no dearer than anywhere else. Three Adnams on handpump.

This is an upmarket hotel in the town centre, overlooking the small market place. The bar is at the rear of the property, and tends to be less busy than the pubs. It is elegantly decorated and a nice place to sit and have a quiet drink. It is also, surprisingly cheaper, with Adnams Bitter at £3.10, Broadside, Explorer and Ghost Ship on draught, and Spindrift on keg. We will be visiting again.