The Bear Hotel, Crickhowell in Powys

Lovely cosy pub. Great food and friendly staff. Very Christmassy! 🎄

Dec 2024. Only 6 eating and 4 staying the night this year. Again the food was very good and the staff and service excellent. We had a larger room (21) this year in the other building.. Dec 2023. Another fantastic Christmas meal for 8 of us. The food was excellent. The staff are so friendly. Everything was perfect. 4 of us stayed the night. Again the rooms were cosy spotlessly clean and very comfortable. The breakfast was excellent. A great stay and meal in a lovely hotel. Dec 2022. A party of us had a Christmas evening meal here and some of us stayed the night. The meal was excellent and the staff attentive. The breakfast the next morning was again excellent with plenty of choice and the main items cooked to order. Our room was described as cosy but was of a good size with a large comfy bed and a good shower. Everything was clean and the room was warm on arrival. All the staff were friendly and we would recommend the hotel, food and bar.

We had a lovely stay. The staff were friendly, the food was fantastic and the rooms were clean and spacious. We couldn't have been happier. I'd thoroughly recommend and would definitely stay here again.

Had our annual Christmas family get together last Sunday. Private room upstairs for 30 people ranging from 3 months to 70 +. Food was delicious and served hot by He-man and his team. Very festive atmosphere in a beautiful old hotel.

Great old coaching pub. Food is really good and service with a smile.

Great place for food even if a little expensive but the food was amazing so well justified .

Sunday bar lunch with friends. Overall very nice and an easy recommend from us.

Great place to eat great ambience

Lovely space, open fires, great food, good atmosphere. Our room was really clean, bed comfy. Definitely recommend

Can't get a better location with parking. Staff friendly and efficient. I enjoyed our group meet up for a meal. Impressed how a legion of staff came out with our food so we all had it together. No cold food here. My beef pie was really tasty and a big portion. I felt some items on the large menu were a little pricy, but hospitality is a very tough business to be in, especially now. The Bear remains a special place to go and smooze with friends.

Stayed for a weekend away in Wales. Not only dog friendly but dog welcoming! Very refreshing if like us your dog isn't just a pet but a member of your family. A bed and dog towel in the room, food and water bowl, welcome pack with a tennis ball and a treat. We had dinner in the bar with our dog. Food was outstanding! Good choice of drinks. Roaring fires. Perfect for a little autumn get away. Couldn't recommend this place more. All the staff were friendly, helpful and attentive from the cleaners to the bar men, the lady on reception. We had a brilliant stay and will be back. We booked last minute on a whim and we're really pleasantly surprised. Thanks to the whole team. Especially from Daisy 🐾.

Popped on for lunch drivimg through. Lovely atmosphere, food amd service Tip top

Beautiful lunch, fabulous place

Had a wonderful Sunday lunch at short notice. Excellent staff, decent cak ales, dog-friendly area where we could dine. Couldn't ask for better.

We called in here for food which was really nice. Dogs are welcome too, great selection of drinks including real ales much to my advantage 😁

We were part of a group of twenty celebrating a family birthday

We had Sunday lunch the roast potatoes weren't cooked enough but our server brought some more out which were really nice. We thought the deserts were vastly overpriced at £9 and £9.45 I don't think we go there again for Sunday lunch.

Beautiful location and building. Bar area is warm and cosy with a great open fire with super friendly staff.

Twice visited for food and a couple of drinks during our long weekend away... Staff were really lovely and welcoming.. Great atmosphere and food was lovely and very reasonably priced.

Cant comment on rooms as we only had a family meal there.

Always have amazing food and we visit a lot. Range is extensive and service quick and efficient. Great choice of fish, meat and really tasty vegan food too. It’s certainly an experience with old school touches. Just don’t try eating lunch after 2:30pm as they reduce the menu guessing while some chefs have their well deserved break.

Didn't stay at the Bear Hotel. Food lovely, staff were helpful.

The Bear Hotel has a cosy atmosphere, attentive staff, great food and a lovely location nestled in the center of Crickhowell. I would advise booking as tables fill up fast!

If I had to choose my last meal it would be the Sunday roast beef from the Bear. Cannot fault this place, perhaps other than setting unrealistic expectations for keeping your copper decorations shiny. And the flowers, how are they so abundant and beautiful? I’m obsessed

Plenty of character. Food good, not great.

Excellent food, professional service, and friendly atmosphere. Cannot recomend enough. A word of warning the car park is very tight!!

Didn't stay, just had lunch. Absolutely incredible food and service. So nice to be made feel welcome, when it was incredibly busy.

Such a shame because it’s a nice venue but everything was lacklustre. Staff were nice enough but food was very poor. £17 for a very small roast, two veg portions given between 9 people, beef was tough and cold. Just a shame because it’s a very pretty place.

Great food portions are massive

A warm welcome and a fabulous Sunday lunch - both the lamb and the beef were excellent. The waiter couldn’t have been more helpful. Crickhowell is a beautiful little village and the Bear offers great food.

Great pub, parking is a little restricted but other local parking available

Popped in for a spot of lunch without a reservation, thankfully got a table. The Sunday roast I enjoyed was probably the best I've had all year, service was friendly and prompt. The building is oldy worldy in a good way. Its a classic character pub. The only thing I would do differently in hindsight would be going up Table Mountain before lunch and not after, but that's on me not The Bear! Will be back for sure.

Really lovely hotel and restaurant, good prices and locally owned. Will certainly be back and would recommend.

It's a really nice place with nice food and beer and the staff are great

Lovely fish and chips, pub was empty when we got there after a long hike, but staff were nice and service was great.

Good food and quality wines available by the glass, not just by the bottle. The food is obviously pre-cooked as it can sometimes be on your table within 5 minutes of ordering! Update 3rd December 2021. We've just been for lunch and decided to both have the turkey with roast potatoes and vegetables. It was delicious. Perhaps one of the best Xmas meals we've ever had. The turkey was cooked perfectly, lovely and moist. My only criticism would be that they were a little mean with the delicious gravy but when I mentioned to this to the waitress I was quickly supplied with an extra, very generous jug full. Update 20th December 2022. We've been back again for the delicious Xmas turkey. It was just as nice as last year but this time it came with barely a tablespoon of gravy. I requested and was supplied with more but this time they added £1.50 to the bill for the extra gravy. On this visit I had to visit the bar 3 times to request menus, order food and order drinks. Each time I had to wait for the 3 staff members who were on duty to finish their conversation before I was served. It's a little annoying when it happens once, but 3 times in the same evening isn't acceptable. Still, we'll probably keep going back because the food and ambience is good.

We didn't stay but it's our favourite place for lunch when in Crickhowell. Staff are always lovely, food is excellent.

Absolutely LOVE this place, exceptional food, equally levelled customer service, and so friendly, even with our big friendly dog we were welcomed with such hospitality, by far one of my fondest memories from my first visit this part of South Wales, if you visit anywhere near this area you must come here, or hey travel here anyway... it's worth it, thankyou so much for the lovely memories

Great food and swift friendly service.

Good is delicious! Great location. Great service

Visited The Bear for Sunday lunch. Lovely old building with lots of separate rooms, very unusual layout - in a good way. Great lunch. Great staff. Car parking at the hotel or, if full, a public car park is 5 mins walk away.

We have visited the Bear several times over the years and it has always been very good with reasonably priced food of good quality. But unfortunately we visited a few months ago and the experience was very unsatisfactory. Firstly we tried to book a table by the fireplace but was told that had already been reserved. Therefore we were offered an alternative. On arrival we got a couple of drinks and was shown to our table. We chose are food and I went to the bar to order. The man behind the bar with a little beard and a very rude manner sharply said to me 3 times, table number. No please or thankyou. The manager intervened and was much more polite. The food came and was greasy and overpriced. Subsequently we have not visited since. The young man with the little beard needs to learn that the customer expects politeness and good service.He obviously has not had any training in these aspects of his role.

Comfortable and full of character! I loved my stay in The Garden Room at The Bear. I stayed in Crickhowell during the Hay Festival. The drive to the festival each day was stunning and I was glad to come back to a warm, cosy room. Thank you!

Easy to park, good food, very quick service, even when busy.

Only visited for a meal with relatives who were staying here, hence not 5⭐ Very nice historically old building. Food was delicious, service swift. Unfortunately, one of our party wanted 0% beer and only 1 type available. Brand was OK but should be served as an ice cold beer - he had to add ice to cook it as their fridge didn't chill it as it should be. Other than this, was a lovely place.

Still serving fab food and fine service on a busy bank holiday Monday. Thankyou.

Lovely place, nice rooms, lovely bar, good food and very dog friendly.

A great place to eat and drink right in the middle of town. Super friendly bar staff with good choice of beers.

We only had a meal here and it was delicious and reasonably priced.

Enjoyed a meal in the bar. Exceptional quality. Would recommend.

Great food and beer, the staff are all very friendly and helpful. The beer garden is very nice with open tables and areas under cover. Been again Sunday lunches are great 👍

Proper old fashioned pub. Brilliant real ale. Butty Bach....

Stayed here twice in one week for work, it is in an incredible location. It has incredible food available and good Welsh ale. Strongly recommended 👌.

Excellent pub in the centre of Crickhowell, we ate in the restaurant, food was amazing and service was first class!

One of the most relaxing, quality, and welcoming, public houses you could visit. The food is excellent, the beer grand. A short stay is always rewarded.

Food served until 9. In a central part of town. Charismatic front of house. Great food, on the fancy and pricier side but delicious and hearty food.

A practical pub / hotel in the middle of Crickhowell. you really can’t get more central than that . price for bed and breakfast was quite reasonable. reception personal were very kind and my room was ready by noon which was nice of them. the room itself which was the smallest one, was indeed not big, practical , almost utilitarian i would say, with a tiny shower . bed was very comfy and while this is an old creaking house and you can hear other guests in the hall and in their rooms, night was very quiet and conductive for a good night’s sleep. it is is a pub and food plays a major role. it seemed very popular with locals on a friday night but both dinner which i had there and breakfast were not more than OK, but that may just be my taste. All in all a nice place to stay.

Beautiful place, always love coming here.