having read the reviews prior to arriving, i was extremely worried about my stay here. there was ample parking to begin with and check in was quick and efficient. true, there is a damp smell and the decor looks outdated but what it lacked there was made up for with good service. i stayed in a double ensuite room which had all your basic requirements such as tv/shower/wardrobe/towels/kettle. i used the restaurant in the evenings and was pleasantly surprised by the quality and quantity of the food and service provided. the bar itself is small but has comfy sofas, newspapers and sky tv. the hotel staff even have a chat with the guests which added a nice personal touch. the location is actually excellent considering you have a pub, petrol station/mini market, fish and chip shop, news agents, and restaurant within a minutes walk from the hotel. the traffic and parents dropping their kids off to the school across the road can be annoying but is minimal. breakfast in the mornings was impressive if you can have it past the busy period with good service again. overall good value for price and location. considering other hotels in the area cost double and more i would recommend it unless your a snob !

The Elmhurst Hotel in Reading is old and dated the rooms could do with a lick of paint.... that's the bad points the plus points are the staff are friendly and accomodating and the beds are really comfy. If you eat in the resturant which I would suggest as the food is excellent ask for the Lamb Curry as its superb. The old phrase is you get what you pay for and thats exactly what you get here. I could have lived in Travel Lodge for the year I was working in Bracknell but after a couple of nights here I was sold, the bar is open and very rarely closed if you get what I mean and the other guys staying during the week made new comers feel welcome (there's a strange but friendly mix of people). I have stayed in Hotels that charge more but are far worse. Even the flakey WIFI broadband was usefull.

I stayed here after doing a web search, it looked ok on the internet and from the outside, and a good location and parking......but thats the only plus points. The room smelt of smoke (pretty strong still after July ban!), I thought I had booked a non-smoking room. The bathroom had dirt and hair all over the floor, when I went to have a shower it part fell off the wall. As for the rest of the room, it didn't seem as dirty but its def not up to 3 star standard, although some of the decoration was missing or had fallen off. When I went down for breakfast in the morning the cutlery was in dirty draws (old black grimy jay cloths in the bottom), the whole place needs a re-furb, wished I had stayed in a premier travel inn instead, same price but a million times nicer

This place was the worst! They did not mention it on their website, but this is not a non-smoking establishment. If you have breathing problems or if you want to NOT get lung cancer from second-hand smoke, stay away! If you wish a place that is clean, stay away! The room we got was tiny. There was hardly room to move or for our suitcases, which we had to drag a long way up OLD, NARROW stairs. That's right: NO LIFTS as well. Everyone at breakfast was smoking so we skipped the free breakfast as we did not want to endanger our kids' lives. The shower was crap. Tiny shower with a shower head that didn't really flow. The toilet took several flushings before it worked. The place is falling apart. Only good thing about it is the spacious parking area ... but that's probably from not having many guests. It's not worth it. At £75, we felt it was WAY too expensive. Should've stuck with the Holiday Inn Express. The distance to Earley Gate, UoR is not worth the stay here. Stay somewhere else, use a cab!

After reading the previous reviews i was worried about my stay at the Elmhurst but I honestly believe the previous two reviews are rather harsh on this lovely hotel! Yes its not the Ritz, but its no youth hostel either! I found my room to be comfortable with all modern ammenities, the staff were friendly and were keen to ensure that I enjoyed my stay! The location was ideal for myself as it was a ten minute journey into the centre of reading. I found the food at the hotel to be a delight. The hotel could do with some refurbishment but to descrbe it as needing a complete ovehaul is nonsense. Would i go back again, yes i would. Did i enjoy my stay..i have no real complaints!