Black Swan Hotel Restaurant in Scottish Borders

With its dark wood furnishings, including a very large gantry, and most of the wall space covered in framed rugby strips, photos etc, the public bar in the Black Swan could almost be described as dark and old fashioned. It can also feel cramped at times as everyone tends to shun the other bar (and rightly so - ‘cos it’s horrible). The public bar is a place where you have a decent chance of meeting some wee, unintelligible drunk bloke (or two) in the corner, but it is also a place where it is easy to strike up conversation with locals at the bar. In many ways the Swan is like a pub from the past and is pretty unique in Kelso. Perhaps that’s why we always come in whenever we visit the town. It is an ordinary, no frills, traditional Scottish pub with good service and good lager and good banter. It suits us perfectly well.

Perfect overnight stay, to explore Kelso. Comfortable bed and a warm shower, in a characterful hotel, right in the heart of the city. A very warm welcome at check in, with great sightseeing tips by the hotel owners too. If you’re traveling by bus, this is the most convenient place to stay, as the bus drops you off near the front of the hotel entrance, and the bus depot is just behind the hotel. It was an enjoyable stay, with all the essentials for a brief visit to this beautiful town. Highly recommend this hotel.

There are lots of positives here, nice clean room, the Wi-Fi worked well, there was a good selection of teas and coffee in the room, the bathroom was small but well appointed and had a great shower, parking easily available in the square and plenty full (but it was Saturday into Sunday). On the negative side, the other guests were extremely noisy and were up until 3am in each other’s rooms talking loudly ana at one point tried to get into our room. The automatic door closers seem fierce and cause the doors to slam. They were also up at 7.00am banging on doors to wake up friends. This probably does not happen in the week.A real shame as the staff were really friendly and pleasant.

Having been in the White Swan and having had more than enough of the drunks therein, we came to the Black Swan, which has always been our favourite pub in Kelso. The difference was stellar, but I accept that opinions differ. From my perspective, whereas the White Swan (and some other bars in town) is furnished and decorated in the modern style, the Black Swan has all the dark wood and old tables that I associate with a good, traditional pub. The atmosphere was also perfect, with an obviously local customer base who were happy to chat and watch the sport on telly. And finally, and perhaps most importantly, the young man behind the bar poured an excellent pint of Tennents. Still our favourite pub in Kelso.

Old, a bit clicky and a bit dirty but…… it’s a decent boozer, a real pub in a world of wine bar gastro dumps! If your a ‘pub person’ this is the one for you, decent pint, polite bar staff and no pretentious w#nkers! I like this place and do recommend it for a pint when I’m Kelso.

Don’t be fooled by it’s exterior this is a lovely old fashioned pub, lots of friendly locals, sky sports and very very welcoming barmaids. It’s a bit rundown but we loved it

A very basic local in the heart of Kelso. I decided to call in again a year after my previous visit, but nothing had changed and it still needs a lot of work doing.

Popped in for lunch to this hotel. Food was excellent as was the service. Good selection beers, wines & spirits.

Good ol local boozer. I only down grade the review as it was closed by 9pm on a Friday night . Not cool , but I did find other places very quickly after.

Arguably, the Black Swan is the only real pub in Kelso. There are several other nice bars in town, but to my mind they tend to fall into the categories of being relatively sterile hotel bars, or bars that are simply add-ons to restaurants, so don’t have the cosy intimacy of a real, old fashioned pub. The only other place that is like an ordinary pub is Rutherfords Micropub across the square. I like good, traditional, non-pretentious pubs and we certainly liked the Black Swan and enjoyed the chat with the barmaid and assorted punters. And perhaps in line with my comments above, this was the only pub in town where this happened. Perhaps not as smart or trendy as everywhere else - but this was our favourite bar in town.

The black swan is a very friendly pub . The staff went out of their way to make us feel welcome enjoyed our visit

Although the place is in need of a drastic makeover,we still enjoyed drinks all served up by friendly staff.

Good old fashioned traditional style bar. Very atmospheric with a good range of beers and lagers at good prices. Has it's regulars and all the better for it because its these types of customers which breath life into such a place and add so much value.

Really friendly staff and very comfortable. Menu varied and drinks at a very reasonable price. No parking , but plenty of parking in the town itself

Great value, smashing clean room great hospitality. Was unsure about the black swan after we had read the reviews about the black swan. Total fabrication, all I can say is folk must have been looking for a palace. For £45 per night it is great value

no food at all even though it advertises that it serves lunch and evening meals but wouldn't eat anyway here

La comida estaba bien y las bebidas estaban bien para el precio bajo. Parece más orientado a la gente local como un bar de deportes que es bastante normal para un pub de este tipo. Un lugar para ir si te gustan los deportes y beber. Para entretenimiento romántico o familia no es tan adecuada que encontramos en más de una ocasión, dado que es justo en el centro de la parada de autobús público, aseos, etc. Más un pub para los amantes de los deportes posiblemente.

popped in for a quick beverage the bar was clean and welcoming and the staff were friendly. would recommend for a light beverage

utilizada para algunas comidas encantadoras aquí pero han dejado comida haciendo ahora. ¿Por qué yo no sé que

Nice small restaurant with very kind and helpfull staff. The food was OK. We were rather lucky to find a place like this in Kelso for a quick diner and a good pint.

Este es un pub muy agradable y alegre personal atento, y la comida estaba bien presentada y muy bien todo a un precio muy razonable.

Had lunch here on a Monday really good menu nice food and staff will definitely be back to try more of the menu as the club sandwich was lovely

Had the tastiest chicken and bacon club sandwich I have ever had! Great service, very well looked after. Food arrived in 5 minutes. Beer also very good! I will definately be coming back..............................