Heverlee 0623
Heverlee 0623

About us

Best known for its Olympic Dining Room, you can enjoy dinner surrounded by the magnificent panelling, mirrors and stained glass windows from the Titanic’s sister ship. All our bedrooms are designed to an impeccable standard, and Hardy’s, our contemporary, informal Bistro, is open all day for coffee, light lunches and an excellent bistro menu.

The perfect stopover en route to Scotland and the Edinburgh Festival, we’re also your base for discovering the famous gardens at Alnwick Castle, and a tour of the very best of the North East with its unspoilt coastline and historic landmarks. Discover Holy Island and Lindisfarne, Northumberland National Park and the exciting cities of Durham and Newcastle. Then return to the hotel for a traditional afternoon tea.

The Titanic Connection

The Titanic’s sister ship, the RMS Olympic, was launched in 1911, a year before its sister’s tragic maiden voyage. Despite being converted to oil-fired engines in 1919-1920, it became uneconomical in comparison to the new and luxurious Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, and was finally retired in 1935 and scrapped in 1937. This provided valuable work for Scottish shipyards, which were suffering from the effects of the Depression.

Before it was dismantled completely, many of the fittings and artworks were auctioned. The then-owner of The White Swan bought the Olympic’s dining room and transported it to the hotel, reconstructing it in all its splendour.

The magnificent Olympic Suite, which can cater for up to 150 people theatre style and 120 diners, now shows off the original panelling, mirrors, ceiling and stained glass windows from a time when ships were truly magnificent. An eccentric idea perhaps, but one that has made The White Swan very special.

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Facilities

AccommodationDogs allowedFamily friendlyFoodFunction roomReal ale
Pub reviews

Reviews

3.9/5

Conrad Clayton

4 months ago

A society dinner, around 80 of us. The dining room has a faded glory, bar prices average, limited selection drinks, at expected prices. Nice selection scotch whiskies though. Plenty of waiting staff, so service reasonably speedy, and attentively polite. 3 courses: my belly pork, 2, 1 inch cubes of tough belly pork on a spoonful of withered rocket salad. Main (beef Wellington) 3/4 inch slice of beef nicely red, and tastey, but the pastry was not crisp, and had no flavour. A dried half a carrot, couple of overcooked Brussels sprouts, and two lifeless roast potatoes. Not at all satisfactory. Cheese and biscuits a small wedge of blue cheese, not Doddington's beautiful Darling Blue 😢 a piece of what I assume was Blagdon Cheese's nettle infused, still cold from the fridge, and therefore pretty bland, and a piece of rubbery white cheese. Coffee was a lukewarm light brown liquid. All in all had it not been for the company the evening would have been a total disaster.

Andy Garnett

4 months ago

Wow what a place. Had a meal in Olympic restaurant. Food wasn't messed around with and good portions. The potato skins were good and the chips with main were proper hand cut chips with crunchy outside and fluffy inside. Ambiance was really nice .

Gillian Leith

5 months ago

Absolutely beautiful place to stay. We didn't know the history of the dining room before we booked it, but what a wonderful surprise we had. Our room was so comfortable and the staff are super friendly.

Michelle Ham

5 months ago

Location is good. Food not so good. The chef must have spilled the cajan seasoning in the linguine dish, it was practically too hot, the Cajan seasoning had definitely been spilled on the edge of the bowl, and rather than wipe it off, the garlic bread was put on top to hide it. One of my dining companions ordered the cajan chicken burger, and due to a food allergy asked to swap the brioche bun for toasted bloomer. When the burger arrived it was between two slices of shop bought medium sliced white bread, and because the bread was barely toasted it became very soggy very quickly. Also there was no salad in the burger sandwich. Book a table at the Dirty Bottles.

Denise Dixon

5 months ago

The bedroom was very clean,however, the bathroom was tired and needed to be updated. The shower temperature kept fluctuating. The Olympic dining room is stunning. However, the breakfast wasn't very nice. The coffee was like flavoured water and not very hot. There was a choice of cereals, yoghurts, and fresh fruit salad. I did not have a coosked breakfast. Staff working breakfast are not as friendly as the staff on reception.

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Heverlee 0623
Heverlee 0623