The Old Black Lion

Very friendly staff and good food

The atmosphere was welcoming and friendly

Everything was fine

Fantastically friendly and welcoming staff. The food was delicious. Old world charm. Live jazz on Friday nights.

Be prepared for some steep steps up to the rooms but not too many.

Its location

The room was small, stuffy and hot in spite of window open all night. Noise from room upstairs. Meal - first night one good meal the other poor and was sent back. Very expensive at £100 for mains and dessert and two drinks.

During our stay we had breakfast and and evening meal, both were excellent.

Magnifique pub tout proche du centre-ville de Hay. Excellents petits déjeuners et dîners, personnel efficace. Chambre confortable et propre.

Il faut faire attention dans l'escalier. Quelques marches aussi pour descendre dans la salle de bain et il vaut mieux baisser la tête en y entrant!

Sometimes town pubs can be hit or miss! This pub was top notch. Easy walking distance of town which for me was a blessing as I am currently struggling with mobility and awaiting hip replacement. Handy car parking at the rear of the pub and an excellent menu. Good beer and a very reasonable wine list. Breakfast the next morning was also top notch.

Nothing to dislike!

Firstly it was a good price. A fair price for what you got. It was clean. The staff were lovely. We were happy that what we paid exceeded our expectations.

The bar closed around 9pm. When I booked this I thought it was more like a pub with rooms. It’s not. It’s more like a roadside cafe with rooms. It closes early. So my original plan of checking in then having a drink at the bar was not possible.

Gemütliche sehr schön eingerichtete Zimmer

Great little pub well positioned in Hay with off street parking. Limited (i.e. fresh) menu but excellent quality and great value for money. There was a jazz evening when we stayed which was great fun. Would thoroughly recomend.

Some low beams if you are 6ft+ !

Had a great few days in Hay using the pub as our base. Very warm welcome when we arrived early (sorry!) but our rooms were ready. That meant we were really able to enjoy our first afternoon in the town. Excellent breakfast and evening meal too. Very cute rooms, comfy beds, excellent showers.

Perfect location for exploring the town. Room was a great size. I had food in the restaurant on the Sunday and it was delicious. Very quiet area too.

I found the bed a bit hard but that’s personal preference.

Comfortable pub hotel. Rooms a bit dated and hot but all clean and comfortable. Easy to walk into town and the bookshops. Staff was great.

Room was fine and staff were very helpful. Great location for a stay at hay on wye Good Breakfast Good Beer Beer Garden

Breakfast not included with Booking.com but included with other methods apparently. This did add a fair bit to total overnight cost.

Breakfast and evening meals were first class. Great breakfast range to choice from - chose full breakfast first day then smoked salmon on scrambled eggs the second for breakfast and evening meals delicious steak (highly recommended) one night and lamb second night - both tasty and excellently cooked.

For the price we have no dislikes. Allocated a room in the annex but no complaints as it was clean and tidy and provided all that we needed.

The vegetarian breakfast was fantastic with glamorgan sausages and spinach as well as the usual egg, beans, mushrooms and tomato. Top marks to the chef! All the staff from the young girl on reception to the manager were very friendly and welcoming. The location was great, just a short stroll into the beautiful town. Free parking was a bonus too.

The only thing we didn't like and which was nobody's fault was the height of the ceilings in the bathroom but it's an old building so it's to be expected.

kippers for breakfast excellent best l've had this year

nothing to report

Great location, free parking, generally value for money

I had stayed at the hotel many years previously and the food menu was extensive, quality was still good but choice had become a bit more ‘pub’ where previously it really was a stand out restaurant

Lovely old traditional inn. The very high standard of dining and friendly, super helpful staff made the stay a real pleasure

The bedrooms are nice, traditional pub rooms. The bathrooms are unavoidably cramped. If you stay here and are taller that 5’2’’ then I recommend you ask for a bathroom with some head clearance.

Handy for visiting the book shops. Meal available on site in the evening

A really good hotel and an even better restaurant. Great location. Very happy with our stay.

Location

Could have been cleaner and bare minimum was provided in room.breakfast was very average and had to keep asking for our food and drinks. Generally over priced accommodation

Nice room, but awkward access.

Food in the dining room was disappointing. I had skate wing and it had a very odd taste.

Location

Cleanliness There was a ring around the bath and pubic hair from previous occupants

Very welcoming, easy access and parking. Very central to town. Staff very pleasant. Room clean and comfortable.

Unfortunately evening meal not so good but breakfast was satisfactory. The en suite bathroom needed a bit of attention but minor and reported it

La posizione, l’accoglienza, la bellezza dell’edificio antico, la comodità del parcheggio, la buona cena

Le numerosissime barriere architettoniche che impongono una attenzione eccessiva, la scomodità del letto. Per essere un 4 stelle, ci si aspetterebbe qualcosa in più

It was cosy and comfortable. All staff was so friendly.

Nothing

A short walk to the centre of the town. Friendly,helpful staff. An outside area to sit in the sun. A quiet room in an annexe to the main building.I particularly liked that the window in the room opened fully.

Restaurant excellent. Comfortable shaded area outside. Parking available.

Room very tired. Needed refurbishment. In separate building up steep stairs.

Great location food fantastic staff very friendly and helpful.

Nothing

Lovely building, gorgeous setting. Had a great coachhouse room

It is an unspoilt, cosy pub in the centre of Hay with good food, parking and lovely staff. Spotlessly clean and nice breakfast.

Nothing. It was charming

Just off center location. Open area to rear. Secure lock up for my bike. Pleasant, helpful staff. Good food and beer!

N/a

We had two rooms booked . The one in the older part was very good. The problem with the one in the newer building was it was west facing , unbearable heat and no Air conditioning. Our cousins from the USA found that very difficult , while appreciating that we are not used to temperatures in 30s which we experienced last week.

Too hot and lack of a/c as outlined above.

Beautiful spot in the town of books. Great location and the parking was good. We felt like we were in the action. Beautiful old hotel and the restaurant downstairs looked really nice.

Nothing but to note you can hear the restaurant downstairs from some rooms. They do close early though so it was not a problem

Food was terrific , top score

Great inn. Super friendly. Good food.

Lovely authentic inn. Perfect location to explore Hay Loved the commitment to local food and drink and breakfast and dinner options really good. Staff were just so helpful.

No complaints

Staff, Outside space, Location Evening meal Lovely bathroom Comfortable bed

Bedroom carpet needed a good clean Old crisps on carpet Shabby dressing table

Beautifully clean. Evening meal was excellent and the breakfast too

Nothing

Position in town and car park.

Nothing.

Everything, from the staff, food and location.

Good location for the town with parking allocated by the room which is always nice. A pleasant garden to drink in the sunshine.

A wonderful hotel - we really enjoyed our stay. The staff was very nice, the location was perfect and the food (we had both dinner and breakfast) was delicious. We would highly recommend a stay here if you visit Hay-on-Wye.

Nothing, everything was good :-)

Perfectly decent place to stay in a popular location on the Offa’s Dyke path. Comfortable and with a decent restaurant.

OK, Hay-on-Wye is a popular destination. But the room was the most expensive stop out of all 12 locations on a trek along Offa’s Dyke - yet the room was the smallest and, despite the price, was the only booking that did not include breakfast. For that extra cost we expected something a cut above the other places. It was not.

Location,jazz band, and evening meal

Paid for a double bed, we then got twin.Staff when arrived was not informative.Staff at evening meal was hit and miss.We arrived early good job we did as not many parking spaces.Room needed a little improvement.Breakfast disappointing for the price.

Brilliant location for exploring all Hay-on-Wye has to offer as you can easily walk around the town from here and also close to connecting roadways for the wider area. There is a small car park where you can leave your car through your stay. We did eat a breakfast and an evening meal and both were excellent. They have won awards for their food and it shows. Menus change for evening meals. We noticed there is cycling storage which may be useful to some looking for accommodation. We stayed when temperatures were very high and staff came round to ask if fan was sufficient or if more needed. Please see that all rooms at this Inn are different. Our room had lovely outlook with country view (beyond small car park). Staff were very friendly.

The place is a lovely old quaint pub just a couple of minutes walk from the town centre. The place is lovely an serves meals of a high standard. The staff are absolutely lovely and the bedroom was clean and comfy. The breakfast is extra and not part of your room fee but was very nice. There is parking but spaces are limited.

I had the misfortune of staying in a heatwave, so this being a centuries old pub they obviously didn't have A/C. a small fan was supplied but my suggestion is to bring your own as well. All in all, a lovely trip in a lovely pub with lovely staff,.

Nice room , clean & comfortable. Breakfast was included which was very nice & good nenu

We were happy with our stay

Where we wanted to be for the night

We stayed on an incredibly hot day in June, having just walked the offas. We were very glad to have a fan in the room. Room was clean and comfortable. Food was good.

Very nice dinner in the restaurant

The room was a little stale, the shower was very difficult not to get the floor very wet

We stayed here for one night due to filming in the area. We didn’t get to eat breakfast unfortunately. The accommodation was perfectly situated and the staff member very welcoming. The shower was great!

Nothing! The floors were uneven but that was to be expected with such an old property.

The room was Ok, but nothing special, and not particularly clean around the shower and toilet area. It was located in an annexe across the way from the pub.

I was locked out of the pub on the second morning, along with other guests from the annexe. We were let in by other guests staying in the main hotel/pub, but there were no staff present, and we were locked out of the pub/restaurant area and standing around in the corridor for 20 minutes or so wondering what the hell was going on. When a staff member did arrive, they said they were having issues, but didn't explain what. Breakfast was therefore very late and I was late for work, and I have never eaten 2 poached eggs on toast so quickly - and was then charged £12 for the pleasure! Because I was running late, I forgot to ask for a VAT receipt when I checked out and I called and left messages with staff several times in the three weeks after, asking them to send me a copy so I could claim back the cost of the stay from work. Despite promising to do so, they never did, and eventually my worked processed the claim without a VAT receipt, but they were not happy.

Rien de particulier Parking pratique

Chambre petite

The location was perfect for exploring Hay-on-Wye

The room in the annex was quite tired and the breakfast was not well cooked.

Convenient for Town Centre Parking ok

Difficult access to room Awful bathroom Charged extra £25 for booking through booking.com Bed linen had numerous black specks on It . Had we seen this before retiring would have asked for the bed linen to be replaced. Restaurant over described on web site. Just pub grub.

Great location on Offas dyke

Shower tray filled up and overflowed

Room small but clean and comfortable. Bathroom floor rather slippery. Breakfast was excellent.

Good parking, close to town

Beautiful pub and hotel in a beautiful part of the world. Lovely, friendly staff. Excellent room and facilities, right at the heart of the town. 10 out of 10 service all across the board. Highly recommend. We will be back soon.😁

Location, staff very helpful and friendly. Food excellent. It was loverly staying in an historic property ,so more atmospheric than a modern hotel. Fab!

We liked the stay…..nothing we didn’t like.

Beautiful spot with very accommodating staff

Not much. The black pudding on the breakfast could have done with a bit less cooking...

Great location, nice room, lovely food and staff

Shower door leaked so the floor got very wet

Historic pub sensitively updated to provide good comfort in a great location

It was all good considering the age

I had the nicest kipper I’ve ever had for breakfast. Also had dinner which was lovely and good value

Unfortunately one of the radiators in the bedroom couldn’t be switched off and the room was very hot

My room and bed were very comfortable Food was excellent

Great location for everything Hay on Wye and surrounding Had a good shower and hot towel drying rack Had off-road parking (which is difficult to find in this small town) (but note, it's a small car park)

Parking was difficult (campervan) The room wasn't what I expected for the price, media was limited, no password on wifi (security issue). Breakfast was very MOR again for the price. Maybe this area is just expensive in general.

Very convenient location. Lovely food and good service. All good.

Comfy room with warm decor and fantastic old 17th C building. Good ale. Nice food and good customer service

Sadly the old pub has been almost entirely converted into a restaurant, with no actual public bar. A shame as it must have been a great pub.

Plenty of character. Excellent food.

Noisy floorboards but in a building that age its to be expected and adds to the character.

Very good food for both dinner x 2 and breakfast x 2.

Having to vacate my table for dinner early, but I appreciate it was a very busy evening for the restaurant.

Great rooms and food, ideal location

Car park is small so parking can be difficult but staff try fit everyone in

Excellent breakfast and so great to have a fabulous restaurant under the same roof. Everyone was so accommodating. Room was super comfortable and cozy.

A very traditional old world pub in a fantastic location. we were looked after very well indeed. Good food (slightly pricey) but allergies well catered for. Hay-on-wye was looking fabulous in the sunshine all the staff were v helpful.

I realise there is a limit to what they can do in such an old building (and you wouldn’t want to remove what makes it charming) but the bed being on such a slope caused us some difficulty and we became very well acquainted with the ‘mind your head’ sign in the bathroom entrance.

Location good. Friendly staff. Brilliant breakfast but not included in price.

Overpriced. Bit expensive for small plates. . Weren’t told that a band would be playing beneath our room .

Lovely old pub with loads of character. Popular for meals which were great.

I stayed on a Friday night which is live Jazz night. Great atmosphere in the bar but noisy in the bedrooms.

Great location in a really cool historic building. Live music on the weekends, food was good, staff were great. Shower was hot and bed was comfortable.

Sink didn’t really drain quickly, so ended up brushing my teeth in the shower. The quirks of an old building😉

Central location, parking and helpful staff.

Uncomfortable bed, understaffed restaurant.

Comfortable and good location. Very good food and friendly and helpful staff.

Nothing

Good food and friendly staff. James, the owner was lovely and welcoming.

Nothing.

The pub is a very old inn, which we knew when we booked. It has lots of original features, doors, windows, staircase and low beamed ceilings as you would expect for a property of this age. The floor in our room was on a slant which made us smile when we were laying on the bed as the table was on a definite angle! It is not a large property has a bar/restaurant area and one other room called the Lion's Den. It was quirky and had lots of original features so full of character. It had a small car park at the rear and a beer garden with a lovely view across a valley. The welcome we got from the Landlord James was great. The atmosphere in the pub is very homely and friendly. All the staff were great and couldn't do enough for you. We arrived early and so had lunch whilst our room was being prepared. Food was great - reasonably priced - and big hit for me it was hot when it was served! We didn't have breakfast although they do offer it. We didn't have Sunday lunch sadly but we were in the pub when it was being served and it looked amazing. My husband discovered Butty Bach beer which he loved and the wine was very good too. Tea and coffee facilities in the room. Bed was very comfy. If you are looking for a modern clinical hotel then this is not the place for you. (although the bathroom was lovely and very modern)

Nothing. But If you have trouble with stairs I would suggest you request a ground floor room (if they have any). The short run of stairs up to rooms were very steep. A nice easy chair in the room would have been a bonus for me as there is no lounge area at the pub but a very minor thing.

Hotel with wonderful ambience and great place to set off walking a section of Offa's Dyke Path

Full of character, old beams and low ceilings but with modern bathroom and a good shower. Staff were really friendly and welcoming. Food in the restaurant and at breakfast was great, as was the local beer! Centrally-located for the rest of Hay and the gateway to the Black Mountains for walking and cycling.

Nothing

Comfortable room in an extension building

Incredible staff - everyone was so wonderfully kind and helpful! Dinner at the hotel was delicious, the rooms were very comfortable and the location was perfect for walking to the centre of town. It was also very affordable for our family. We will absolutely be staying again when we visit in the future!

It is an old building with multiple steps to get to places, so keep that in mind if you have accessibility needs.

Lovely old pub and great staff! Amazing location.

Can be a little challenging for tall people but this was expected given the age of the building. Just remember to duck.

All meals excellent

Great location, fabulous service, great bar menu. Rooms were well appointed and very comfy.

It wasnt clear that breakfast was an additional cost - needs to be explained.

Easy check in. Staff very accommodating, found us a ground floor room as we have an infant. Bar area lovely for a drink or some food. Lovely clean room and bathroom, big bath and shower.

Nothing