Great Expectations

Great Expectations is part of the Relax Innz chain and it has a variety of rooms including single, double and twin rooms plus a room with a four-poster bed. All rooms come with a television, tea and coffee making facilities and en-suite bathrooms. There is free Wi-Fi wireless internet access throughout the hotel.

Charles Dickens once visited this building when he was on the public speaking circuit and this has prompted the management to really go to town on the Dickens-themed bar, which is regarded as Reading’s top Charles Dickens-themed pub (Reading has another Dickens-themed pub, the Dickens Bar at the Mercure Hotel). The interior is decked out like the sort of recreated Georgian or Victorian period street scene that you sometimes find in regional museums. It sounds a bit tacky, but it does create lots of cosy corners. Drinks are reasonably priced but we’re told that the food won’t have you saying “please Sir, can I have some more”. How much you like the bar really depends on your tolerance for Dickens-themed kitsch.

One does get the impression that the bar is the main business here and the hotel is a side business that is given less attention.

The hotel is at the southern end of Reading town centre across the road from the Oracle shopping centre. It is around a 10-minute walk to the railway station.