Is The Swan Hotel Still Open? The Hotel Inspector Update (Harleston, UK)
Current status
As of October 2026, The Swan Hotel is open — confirmed via the restaurant's current website/social account, accessed March 9, 2026.
Last verified
What the source shows: A government food-hygiene record lists the Swan Hotel at 19 The Thoroughfare as inspected on 2026-03-09, and the hotel's own site names Robin Twigge as owner and offers booking.
- Season / episode Season 5, Episode 5
- Original air date
- Address 19 The Thoroughfare, Harleston IP20 9AS
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What happened after The Hotel Inspector?
The Swan Hotel in The Thoroughfare, Harleston, Norfolk, appeared in the fifth episode of series 5 of The Hotel Inspector (Channel 5), which aired on 2009-08-03. Wikipedia's episode list describes a Norfolk hotel with 15 empty bedrooms and a deserted restaurant and does not name the town.
The Diss Express reported on 2019-02-02 that owner Robin Twigge had been on the programme twice, first in 2009 and again in an episode broadcast in early February 2019. He told the paper he had received more than 70 emails and three bookings since the latest broadcast, that occupancy was up by over 10 percent compared with the earlier visits, and that the hotel had been renovated, had a revised menu, held a three-star accreditation and had added a piano bar. The Diss Express reported on 2019-09-18 that he had put the 15-bedroom hotel on the market at £800,000 as he approached retirement. On 2020-07-07 it reported that the hotel was using the lockdown and reopening period to reinvent itself, with its bar closed indefinitely.
The Food Standards Agency's ratings site lists the Swan Hotel, 19 The Thoroughfare, Harleston IP20 9AS, as a hotel, bed and breakfast or guest house last inspected on 2026-03-09, with each of its three inspected areas marked generally satisfactory. The hotel's own website, read on 2026-10-19, still names Robin Twigge as owner and links to online booking, though it shows no 2025 or 2026 dates. A Google Maps listing marks the hotel operational. The sources read do not report a completed sale.
Featured on The Hotel Inspector
- Show
- The Hotel Inspector
- Original air date
- Episode title
- The Swan
- What was featured
- Harleston coaching-inn hotel with 15 empty bedrooms and a deserted restaurant
- Role
- Featured restaurant
- Name on the broadcast
- The Swan Hotel
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Visit info
- Address
- 19 The Thoroughfare, Harleston IP20 9AS
- Venue type
- hotel
- Official website
- harlestonswanhotel.co.uk
- State hub
- TV restaurants in East of England
Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.
Sources
- Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Hotel_Inspector_episodes
- dissexpress.co.uk — https://www.dissexpress.co.uk/news/harleston-hotelier-amazed-after-latest-tv-appearance-9060859
- dissexpress.co.uk — https://www.dissexpress.co.uk/news/robin-twigge-to-sell-swan-hotel-in-harleston-9083210
- dissexpress.co.uk — https://www.dissexpress.co.uk/news/the-hotel-steeped-in-history-takes-a-giant-leap-into-the-unknown-9115399
- ratings.food.gov.uk — https://ratings.food.gov.uk/business/647885
- harlestonswanhotel.co.uk — https://www.harlestonswanhotel.co.uk/
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Record thi-027 · last verified .