The hotel wasn't cheap, but I didn't expect the following: Wallpaper peeling off the walls Extractor fan doesn't work Yellow water from the taps No shampoo or soap Only one power socket in the room out of site under the desk Dissapointing features: Breakfast is a joke, warm butter, very poor buffet No spy hole in the room door Small bar resembles a cupboard Security: No locks on sash windows in room and was adjacent to a flat roof that security check every night !!! Just walk into reception and ask for a key and you get it without any questions Hotel doors are locked at 23:00, but just ring the bell and anyone can come in, again no check on who you are! frankly this hotel is still stuck in the 1970's, the average travellodge is half the price and better!

Somehow I liked the hotel, even with its faults. It's your typical old english hotel building, squeaky floors, stairs, carpets, no elevators etc. I had a second floor room, nice and clean although little small. Things I liked: - Staff was friendly and helpful - excellent location - nice bathroom and good shower (real treat in UK) Things I didn't like: - thin walls - 8 pounds/day for Internet, again usual in UK - breakfast wasn't anything to write about At 98 pounds/night the hotel wasn't really that good value for money.

Stayed here 2 nights for work & booked by work. Just finding the place was not easy unless you know Reading well. Arrived and check in was fine, room was on the 2nd Floor and there is no lift, although I was offered help with my luggage. It is worth noting this hotel is not suitable for those with a disability/mobility issues, Stair cases start off gently and are wide, but soon become steep and very narrow in places. Room was nicely decorated, had a flat-screen TV on the wall, although bed was at an angle where you couldn't watch TV lying down. Bathroom an ok size, no bath and a small single shower cubicle. When raising blind for the first time the next morning, discovered large crack in the sash window, which had been "repaired" with 3 strips of duct tape. Not exactly the professional and luxurious impression the hotel would want to convey. Breakfast was nice, selection of cereals, fruit and pastries plus a cooked english which was better than average. Mentioned the window when checking out, got absolutely no response from the Receptionist. Hotel is well located for the city centre but would opt for the Novotel or Ibis if in Reading again

The booking was made through the company travel department for a single Sunday night in November. The hotel is on Duke St - just on the corner with King St. At 9pm, on a dark and rainy night, it's very easy to miss the unlit sign low on the wall. As Duke St is one-way, this meant a drive round Reading for a second attempt. There is a free car-park at the back down an alley - but no indication from the road that it's there. Check-in was no problem. The staff were really friendly and helpful. The lobby is well decorated and clean. After five hours on the road, I really warmed to the place at first and wanted to like it. First problem was food. The company had booked an evening meal - but the restaurant is only open from Monday to Thursday. As they'd accepted the meal booking, they offered a table at their sister hotel. On a balmy evening, this wouldn't have irked me - but it was cold, wet and I'd been driving for a long time. Why did they accept the booking if they couldn't deliver? And so to the room. I was given a double on the first floor - facing the road. This is the smallest double I've come across - and the small queen sized would have been a squeeze if I'd have been with my partner. I wondered if it was just a generous single bed - but two coffee cups suggest that they'd really offer this to a couple. The room had been recently rennovated - and ticked all the boxes as far as amenities go. (ironing board, hair dryer, kettle). However, the rennovation appeared to have been done by someone who had a list of things to put in a room - not by someone who considered the person who'd be sleeping in it. The flat screen TV was mounted high on the wall in the corner of the room. The ideal viewing position was when standing to the side of the bed. Because of the viewing angle of these TVs, it was not possible to see the picture when in bed, or sitting at the table. Who did that? Certainly not someone who has a clue about interior design. There was a small bottle of water provided - which appeared to be a nice touch. However, the cold tap in the bathroom never ran cold. The hot tap served quite hot water, the cold tap only slightly less so. Was the bottle of water provided because of that? I'll never know. And so to bed... There appeared to be three other couples in the hotel - and yet I'd been given a room on the first floor, facing the road. There are traffic lights outside the window - so buses pull up regularly. The noise is incredible - and without a stout pair of ear-plugs, it would have been impossible to sleep. The room was double-glazed after a fashion (extra glazing added to the existing window) - but it didn't do much to dull the noise. Was this really the fourth best room in the place? Breakfast was included - and followed the downward trend of my expectations. The dining room was cold and uncomfortable. The 'vegetarian breakfast' was a full English with the meat removed (e.g. Eggs, mushrooms and beans) but nothing added - which just made me smile and shake my head ironically. An order of decaf coffee never arrived. The staff, all foreign, are friendly and efficient - but the overall feel is that they aren't quite sure how to work as a team. I wanted to like this hotel. The first impressions suggest that it's a clean, upmarket place. They've clearly spent a great deal of money on the rennovation. But the focus their efforts seems to be to ensure that they get the requisite star rating for their efforts by ticking all the necessary boxes. They appear to have concentrated so much on the list of 'things to do' that they've forgotten who they are doing it for. What a shame.

Booked this on lastminute.com for £45 a night for a single room with "city view". Easy to find from Reading Station - only a 5 minutes walk. If you were only to look at the outside and the landings in the hotel, i'm not entirely sure where the 3 stars came from. The outside of the building looks tired and small, the guy at reception seemed nice (i was rather tired and just wanted the room therefore didnt ask much) The hotel is a little like a maze - corridors up and down, left and right, turned and turned (a little paranoid, but at one point i got worried about finding the fire exit in the case of a fire!) Corridors were decorated with a rather old style english red carpet with black patterns on. I felt like i walked into a cheap B&B rather than a 3 star hotel. The room was not bad as a whole - small, but clean and tidy, had everything you'd need. All the furnitures were very new, the ensuite toilet was small but also clean and tidy (probably where the 3 star had come from?). if only the walls were repainted, then it would have felt a lot better (but i am just being picky now). Apparently my room was with a "city view" but i saw the back of houses etc. - however, this meant the room was very quite at night! Free fast internet access too. Shower gel - it's one of those unknown mini plastic packets of shower gels and body wash. i didnt use those so i'm not sure of the quality. Also came with the room, a bottle of water, a chunky kitkat, and the standard tea + coffee etc. there was also tv, a fan and iron in the room. The only thing to be aware - I arrived on a sunday night hoping to be lazy and order room service. No, Sorry! Dinner is only served between monday to thursday. I would suggest calling to double check on what service they provide and when. Breakfast was included, but I had to leave before breakfast started (7am) so was no able to enjoy it. Overall, the price is very reasonable, and if you are not looking for a 4 star modern large room good service hotel, this is a very good pick. As i've said, though the outside looked a little old, the rooms were tidy and would be more than good for a short night stay.