The Bear Hotel

About The Bear Hotel

The Bear has stood on Crickhowell High Street since 1432 and has been a coaching inn for most of that time. It is Grade II* listed, still family run, and remains the centre of the town: the cobbled courtyard, the low-beamed front bar and the open fires are used by locals as much as by visitors. Crickhowell itself won Best High Street in Britain in 2018, and the independent shops, the bridge over the Usk and the walk up Table Mountain all start within a few minutes of the door.

Bedrooms are graded from Cosy through Good, Better and Best to Very Best, which is a fair description of how they differ. The cheapest are small and simple, in the old part of the building with sloping floors and beams. Move up and you get more space, better bathrooms, four-poster or antique beds, and in the top rooms a spa bath or a sitting area. Rooms are split between the main inn and the quieter courtyard buildings, and a number are dog friendly, which is one of the reasons walkers keep coming back.

Food is the other reason. The Bear has twice been named Best Pub in Britain, and the kitchen does proper bar meals as well as a more considered restaurant menu, with Welsh beef, lamb and game in season. The bar keeps local ales and a long list of whiskies. Breakfast is included and generous. There is no spa, no gym and no lift, and parking behind the hotel is limited but free.

This is the right choice if you want an old inn with genuine atmosphere, in a town rather than in isolation, with the Black Mountains and the Usk valley on the doorstep. Light sleepers should ask for a courtyard room, since the bar is busy in the evenings. Book early for weekends and for the Crickhowell Walking Festival.