Hilton Reading

Came in here for a business meeting. The bar was clean and we ordered some food. A seafood wrap, chicken club with fries. Quite expensive but it was ok.

Well here’s something that I’ve never seen in a European hotel: an American style outlet. I don’t know why I think that’s so very cool, maybe it plays to my American jingoism (kidding), but I was seriously grooving on that outlet!
I only stayed at the Hilton Reading for one night but that was certainly enough time to draw a few conclusions. As my cab pulled into the hotel driveway I thought to myself that the hotel seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. That may afford enough space to build a nice new spacious hotel, but it also leaves the guests stranded — a theme I noticed throughout other reviews for this hotel.
After previously staying on this trip at the Hilton Paddington (see my review:
) and the Ramada Encore (see my review:
) it was really refreshing to check into a new (2009) and modern hotel. The lobby is huge with lots of marble and a giant chandelier. But, it’s pretty sterile — not the sort of place where you might hang out, read a book and people watch.
My hotel room while not overly spacious was more than adequate. There was plenty of room to work at the desk, the TV channels were clear (but limited) and the furniture comfortable. Have I mentioned that the hotel features American style outlets? (Well, one.) The wifi worked well. It should for £14.99 (nearly USD $ 23). Good grief. That may be the most I have ever paid for wifi at a hotel.
It’s really kind of an outrage!
After getting settled into the room I headed down to the lobby for a late dinner with a co-​worker at the hotel restaurant, The Larder. I had a beer, half grilled chicken and french fries. It was fine. Nothing special, but certainly not terrible either. For dessert I had the toffee pudding which I didn’t particularly enjoy. (My co-​worker picked up the tab, so I can’t tell you how much dinner ran.)
For a simple overnight stay, the Hilton Reading was perfectly adequate. But, if I were staying in Reading for a longer period of time, I would look for something in town, perhaps near the Oracle Shopping Centre.
For that matter, I’d be satisfied with a hotel near the Reading Costco.

The ups:
–The room is clean and comfortable
–The TV is about a 30 inch flat screen or so
–They’ve got an American socket available built into the desk
–They’ve got Boddington’s on tap in the bar
–I had free breakfast in my rate which was a perk
The downs:
–The biggest one by far, it is in the middle of nowhere, there’s nothing in walking distance
–To get to the train station or the downtown area is an 8 pound cab ride (plus 8 back)
–As Bruce stated back in 2009, the shower door/​wall thing is weird, it is hard to take a shower without water ending up all over the tile floor, which then turns super slippery
–The Wifi is very expensive, 15 pounds a day
–A 30 minute (and 15 pound) cab ride to Thames Valley Park each way and back
My room ran around 120 pounds a night on a corporate rate.
I was supposed to stay for two weeks but relocated to another hotel after a week because of the location.

Nice new hotel. Rooms are good restaurant is ok so if you love your food you may be stuck as there is nothing near by. Staff are friendly and helpful.

Not happy with this hotel at all!
Fly into Heathrow for a one day business conference. Hotel is located approx 40 minutes from the airport.
Check-​in was friendly but then things started to go way downhill. Monday night and the price was £130!!! I really do not like places that put up the prices when they know they will have a full house.
Had some food in the afternoon and our server Tom/​John with his blonde hair was just too chatty and trying to be our best funny mate. My skin crawled after chatting to him each time, I’m sure he is a nice guy but it was uncomfortable. Food was nice and a reasonable price.
Internet access seems to be way more expensive in Reading than other areas of the world. £5 per hour and £15 for 24 hours, guys seriously in this day and age Wifi and internet access is free for guests. Really gets on my goat to see hotels charge for this kind of thing.
Then that evening the bar staff must have been swapped for aliens who don;t have a bar on their world, and don’t even ask for a pint of Guinness as nobody in the place knows how to pull this type of drink. Also no cigarettes for sale anywhere in the hotel.
My friends Irish debt card was not acceptable even though she never has this problem anywhere else in the UK and there was a big scene made about this. Bar changed to room charge only and then was closed… They want to make money on one hand and not on the other? Go figure.
As it was raining that night the «drip drip» along the front of the hotel made my nights sleep one of my worst. It must be due to the design of the front façade of the hotel.
Breakfast was your standard affair but they must think orange juice is gold dust as they have a very close eye kept on it and only the maître d allowed to pour it for you!
Check out was another great experience as my company were paying for the stay but the hotel still wanted to charge my card.
Our conference was the next day and simple things like changing the glasses during lunch were overlook until pointed out to the staff. Lunch was slopped up to us and was not very appetising.
Good things about this hotel were I really liked their crockery and glassware and the bed was very comfortable.
To be honest I will never stay here again.

Excellent full service «American-​standard» hotel. The Hilton has an attached restaurant (The Larder, separately reviewed), a gym, business center, meeting rooms and bar. I stayed here for over a week for business.
Nice quality room, though I was upgraded as a result of my Hilton Gold status. I’m not sure what that upgrade entailed, having not seen any other rooms. This one includes a large flatscreen TV (with about 15 channels), a comfortable double bed with duvet, a large work area, closet and bathroom. Good electricity on the work desk, one outlet is «US» and the other two are «UK».
Decent mini-​bar, if the usual outrageously expensive. I never had anything from there, but they do supply a price menu. £3.85 for a can of beer or £3.75 for a chocolate bar. There’s also a coffee service and water heater, which I didn’t manage to find for the first days or two, as it’s in the cabinet. Instant coffee sachets, actual milk packets, tea, biscuits, the usual.
Internet is also the same outrageous prices. £15 for a day. Rather than do that, I went into town and bought an O2 WWAN dongle and I now pay £15 for a month! A much better deal, though O2’s coverage in this part of Reading isn’t very good.
I found the shower/​tub to be a bit odd. Instead of a regular curtain or glass door, there’s a piece of glass on a swivel. If you’re having a bath, you can move it out of the way. If you’re a shower person (as I am), it’s weird because it only goes halfway to the end of the tub, leaving half of the space for the cold air to come in. I was able to cobble together something that worked, using a towel hanging off the retractable drying line. Like I said, odd.
The hotel is a good ways from the town center. If you have a car (I don’t), this isn’t a problem. There’s a bus (⁴⁰⁄₄₁) that stops almost right outside that runs often and it’s £3.00 for a return. Last bus is ~19:00 and it only runs on Sunday during the Christmas season. Otherwise, a taxi is £8 each way.
Would I stay here again? Probably, but the distance to town and the price (yes, it’s expensive), mean that I’ll likely find something closer to Reading town centre next time.