Hostels in Berkshire, United Kingdom

As soon I stepped into the hotel, I knew I was in for a unique and memorable experience because it used to be a pub many years ago. The hotel itself exudes charm and character, setting it apart from the typical chain hotels. The historical charm of the Reading 1843 Hotel was complemented by tasteful modern touches, creating a perfect blend of old-world elegance and contemporary comfort. The interior design was thoughtfully curated, making every corner a feast for the eyes. When we met the restaurant manager, he gave us the restaurant's menu and offered a delightful array of dishes, each with a creative twist. The food was amazing – fresh, spicy and beautifully presented. It looks like the team at Reading 1843 Hotel takes pride in their work and genuinely cares about their guests' experience very seriously. The result of my experience at Reading 1843 Hotel exceeded all expectations. It's a destination that leaves a lasting impression.

We had a 24 hour layover in London and instead of picking a boring hotel near the airport, we found this place. If you like history, something different, but still want a very comfortable stay- hands down pick here! The staff here are phenomenal- everyone was SO nice! It was such a cozy place to eat, drink and sleep for the night. I can't say enough good things about all of the staff we met (and the ones we didn't, only spoke by email) but they are all so nice!!!! :) They helped us out any chance they had, which is so appreciated. My family had a wonderful and restful layover before going back over the pond- it's a nice place to stay, that is for sure.

Friendly welcome from Chris on check-in, ground floor room opens from a courtyard, noted overflowing ashtray of roll-ups on table outside room door. Room looked OK, warm, clean, and the beds were comfortable. However the bathroom was just plain grubby - shower screen needs some limescale spray and a deep clean round the base, long black hairs (not mine!) in shower tray, splashed and dusty chrome towel rail. Very sensitive shower control took 5+ minutes of constant running before some lukewarm water appeared, although plenty of hot water in basin tap. One decent real ale at bar, average menu and food, fair bar prices. Breakfast, (described as ”continental” on the phone when I booked) took some finding as the pub was locked up and deserted. When we eventually found it (none of this had been explained to us on check-in) it turned out to be a small dresser of help-yourself items in a lobby at the foot of a stair, comprising of a clingfilmed basket of croissants, a bread bin, pots of jam, mini-packs of cereals, milk in a fridge below and - randomly - a toilet roll. I washed a croissant down with a cup of instant coffee made in my room, and left.

Could and should be nice. Great location…….comfortable bed with good linen. However, the scruffy and untidy front and rear means most people would walk past, just an unattractive proposition. The scruffy paintwork outside, and in the room, may be considered a little heavy duty maintenance but the very rusty toilet roll dispenser, 3 mismatched hangars in the wardrobe and delaminating shelf (the only one in the room!) are all low cost, easy items that should have been picked up some time ago. We didn’t stay for breakfast as the kitchen is open to view from the bottom of the stairs and it didn’t fill us with confidence or comfort. No drawer or shelf storage…….so those 3 random hangars were more significant. Shame………

Stayed here for a night after two days at Legoland, you enter through the bar and there is a kind of reception beyond it. They tell you that there are no breakfast facilities and how to get into the hotel if you are going to be out late, but not how to get out in the morning, more on that later. They showed us to the family room, through a rabbit warren of passageways where the roof is so low that there is foam fitted to stop you bumping your head, now they do say it is a 300-year-old inn. The first impressions of the room were good, large and on different levels, with plenty tea and coffee. They tell you at time of booking that the family room does overlook the beer garden and can be quite noisy, there is a form of double glazing, but this was one of the hottest nights of the year, however, there was a fan in the room and a pint of ice from the bar turned this into our air conditioning system. Now for the problems, when we plugged in our phone chargers all the lamps started to flicker, this really needs checked. Then my partner said the carpet outside the shower room was damp, now this could have been due to the extremely loose hot tap in the wash hand basin, it was so lose you had to hold it with one hand and turn it on with the other, the water was scalding so when you held it to turn it off it burnt you, not good when you are trying to encourage your 7 year old grandson to always wash his hand. Also, there was no plug so you couldn’t mix the hot water with cold to cool it down. In the morning the more likely reason for the damp carpet was found, when you turned on the shower water went everywhere as the shower rose was old and broken, then the water didn't drain away quick enough, and the shower tray overflowed. I would have mentioned these problems to the staff in the morning if there had been anyone there, but there wasn't. The door to the bar was locked and there was a key box on the wall to leave the keys then you exited the property through an emergency exit, which led to a narrow passageway that contained the bins, delightful, then into the beer garden. The main door back into the bar was also locked and you had to work out that there was a gate that you could get out, but you wouldn't have been able to get back in if you had forgotten anything. One other thing, we put our grandson to bed early and I got a couple of drinks from the bar to take to the room, over £22 for a large G&T and a Whisky & Ginger Ale, now that is even more expensive than Legoland and I thought that would have been hard to beat!

I stayed in room No. 5, The Jack of Newbury for 2 nights in December. The night before and night of my wedding. The room is a studio with a gorgeous deep copper bath in the room. The hotel and restaurant/pub itself is stunning. It felt so clean, modern with a country/vintage style decor. It was beautiful. It definitely has been refurbished to a very high standard with a fantastic interior designer. The room felt very luxurious. However, there were a couple of items missing which impacted on my stay and may be why the hotel has not yet reached 5 stars, particularly as I was getting ready for my wedding. I mentioned at the time of booking and before my stay that this was a wedding booking, however there was no full length mirror in the room at all. Luckily the room next door was vacant and the door was open so I was able to pop in and out to check my wedding dress etc. but really, every single room in the hotel should have a full length mirror, that’s just basic really. I did ask reception if they could provide one or help in some way and they said they’d look into it but I never heard back. I was just thankful the room next door was empty otherwise I’d be turning up to my wedding without knowing what I looked like! I was also situated on the highest floor and getting down the very narrow and steep stairs in my dress was a scary challenge!! In the bathroom of my room, there was no towel radiator or toilet roll holder. The thermostat was also tricky to navigate and myself and neighbour on the first night both had to sleep with the windows open as the room was so hot but as I was on a main road the room was extremely loud so my sleep over all was not fantastic but in all fairness to the hotel my nerves and excitement also contributed to the lack of sleep. These are all things which hopefully can be easily rectified to improve stays in the future, The breakfast and dinner at the Hare & Hounds was delicious and all of the waiting staff were so friendly and helpful. Although, worth noting that I did request my breakfast to come without sausages but my plate came out with sausages- although this was not a massive issue to me so I decided not to make a comment on this on the day as not the end of the world but worth making a note of on here. Overall, a gorgeous hotel/pub/restaurant and if these issues were fixed/improved/made good, I would love to return again in the future. The missing details do let the refurbishment down I’m afraid and the mirror did play a big issue in me getting ready so it is only a 3/5 for me on this occasion! :(

As soon I stepped into the hotel, I knew I was in for a unique and memorable experience because it used to be a pub many years ago. The hotel itself exudes charm and character, setting it apart from the typical chain hotels. The historical charm of the Reading 1843 Hotel was complemented by tasteful modern touches, creating a perfect blend of old-world elegance and contemporary comfort. The interior design was thoughtfully curated, making every corner a feast for the eyes. When we met the restaurant manager, he gave us the restaurant's menu and offered a delightful array of dishes, each with a creative twist. The food was amazing – fresh, spicy and beautifully presented. It looks like the team at Reading 1843 Hotel takes pride in their work and genuinely cares about their guests' experience very seriously. The result of my experience at Reading 1843 Hotel exceeded all expectations. It's a destination that leaves a lasting impression.

Friendly welcome from Chris on check-in, ground floor room opens from a courtyard, noted overflowing ashtray of roll-ups on table outside room door. Room looked OK, warm, clean, and the beds were comfortable. However the bathroom was just plain grubby - shower screen needs some limescale spray and a deep clean round the base, long black hairs (not mine!) in shower tray, splashed and dusty chrome towel rail. Very sensitive shower control took 5+ minutes of constant running before some lukewarm water appeared, although plenty of hot water in basin tap. One decent real ale at bar, average menu and food, fair bar prices. Breakfast, (described as ”continental” on the phone when I booked) took some finding as the pub was locked up and deserted. When we eventually found it (none of this had been explained to us on check-in) it turned out to be a small dresser of help-yourself items in a lobby at the foot of a stair, comprising of a clingfilmed basket of croissants, a bread bin, pots of jam, mini-packs of cereals, milk in a fridge below and - randomly - a toilet roll. I washed a croissant down with a cup of instant coffee made in my room, and left.

I stayed in room No. 5, The Jack of Newbury for 2 nights in December. The night before and night of my wedding. The room is a studio with a gorgeous deep copper bath in the room. The hotel and restaurant/pub itself is stunning. It felt so clean, modern with a country/vintage style decor. It was beautiful. It definitely has been refurbished to a very high standard with a fantastic interior designer. The room felt very luxurious. However, there were a couple of items missing which impacted on my stay and may be why the hotel has not yet reached 5 stars, particularly as I was getting ready for my wedding. I mentioned at the time of booking and before my stay that this was a wedding booking, however there was no full length mirror in the room at all. Luckily the room next door was vacant and the door was open so I was able to pop in and out to check my wedding dress etc. but really, every single room in the hotel should have a full length mirror, that’s just basic really. I did ask reception if they could provide one or help in some way and they said they’d look into it but I never heard back. I was just thankful the room next door was empty otherwise I’d be turning up to my wedding without knowing what I looked like! I was also situated on the highest floor and getting down the very narrow and steep stairs in my dress was a scary challenge!! In the bathroom of my room, there was no towel radiator or toilet roll holder. The thermostat was also tricky to navigate and myself and neighbour on the first night both had to sleep with the windows open as the room was so hot but as I was on a main road the room was extremely loud so my sleep over all was not fantastic but in all fairness to the hotel my nerves and excitement also contributed to the lack of sleep. These are all things which hopefully can be easily rectified to improve stays in the future, The breakfast and dinner at the Hare & Hounds was delicious and all of the waiting staff were so friendly and helpful. Although, worth noting that I did request my breakfast to come without sausages but my plate came out with sausages- although this was not a massive issue to me so I decided not to make a comment on this on the day as not the end of the world but worth making a note of on here. Overall, a gorgeous hotel/pub/restaurant and if these issues were fixed/improved/made good, I would love to return again in the future. The missing details do let the refurbishment down I’m afraid and the mirror did play a big issue in me getting ready so it is only a 3/5 for me on this occasion! :(

Could and should be nice. Great location…….comfortable bed with good linen. However, the scruffy and untidy front and rear means most people would walk past, just an unattractive proposition. The scruffy paintwork outside, and in the room, may be considered a little heavy duty maintenance but the very rusty toilet roll dispenser, 3 mismatched hangars in the wardrobe and delaminating shelf (the only one in the room!) are all low cost, easy items that should have been picked up some time ago. We didn’t stay for breakfast as the kitchen is open to view from the bottom of the stairs and it didn’t fill us with confidence or comfort. No drawer or shelf storage…….so those 3 random hangars were more significant. Shame………

Stayed here for a night after two days at Legoland, you enter through the bar and there is a kind of reception beyond it. They tell you that there are no breakfast facilities and how to get into the hotel if you are going to be out late, but not how to get out in the morning, more on that later. They showed us to the family room, through a rabbit warren of passageways where the roof is so low that there is foam fitted to stop you bumping your head, now they do say it is a 300-year-old inn. The first impressions of the room were good, large and on different levels, with plenty tea and coffee. They tell you at time of booking that the family room does overlook the beer garden and can be quite noisy, there is a form of double glazing, but this was one of the hottest nights of the year, however, there was a fan in the room and a pint of ice from the bar turned this into our air conditioning system. Now for the problems, when we plugged in our phone chargers all the lamps started to flicker, this really needs checked. Then my partner said the carpet outside the shower room was damp, now this could have been due to the extremely loose hot tap in the wash hand basin, it was so lose you had to hold it with one hand and turn it on with the other, the water was scalding so when you held it to turn it off it burnt you, not good when you are trying to encourage your 7 year old grandson to always wash his hand. Also, there was no plug so you couldn’t mix the hot water with cold to cool it down. In the morning the more likely reason for the damp carpet was found, when you turned on the shower water went everywhere as the shower rose was old and broken, then the water didn't drain away quick enough, and the shower tray overflowed. I would have mentioned these problems to the staff in the morning if there had been anyone there, but there wasn't. The door to the bar was locked and there was a key box on the wall to leave the keys then you exited the property through an emergency exit, which led to a narrow passageway that contained the bins, delightful, then into the beer garden. The main door back into the bar was also locked and you had to work out that there was a gate that you could get out, but you wouldn't have been able to get back in if you had forgotten anything. One other thing, we put our grandson to bed early and I got a couple of drinks from the bar to take to the room, over £22 for a large G&T and a Whisky & Ginger Ale, now that is even more expensive than Legoland and I thought that would have been hard to beat!

We arrived just as a Wake was gathering! Despite that, we were warmly greeted and shown to our room, which was as described, although looking in need of freshening up. We understand a refurb is planned later this year, which will certainly make the place more inviting. We did a lovely circular walk into Windsor, returning via the Long Walk with an exit just a few hundred yards from the Union Inn. As we neared the end we looked forward to showers, so were disappointed to find no hot water in our room. We reported the problem and staff investigated. After two hours we were told a plumber would be out after breakfast. Whilst this was a tad inconvenient, we were treated very well by the Landlady who personally cooked and served us breakfast; she introduced us to her delightful Kite feeding routine and for our inconvenience said there would be no charge for our stay. We offered to pay for breakfast, but she refused to accept. A situation that could’ve resulted in an overall bad experience ended with us booking to return again in September, when we’re promised the water will be hot!! Thanks for looking after us so well.