Novotel Reading Centre

The hotel has 179 guest bedrooms including 10 rooms for guests with reduced mobility, 155 rooms that can be configured as family rooms with 27 rooms with connecting doors for large families travelling together.

The rooms have a contemporary design with a modern minimalist decor and all rooms feature comfortable beds, work desks, free Wi-Fi wireless internet access, ironing facilities, tea and coffee making facilities, safe deposit boxes and en-suite bathrooms. Executive rooms also feature Nespresso pod coffee machines.

There is no air conditioning so this may be an issue if you’re planning on staying here during summer. The hotel advertises an air-cooling system, but it is not the same thing as air conditioning and it is dependent on the outdoor temperature so it won’t cool you down properly if it is already hot outside.

It is a popular hotel for business travellers and it features a self-service business centre, meeting facilities and a web corner near the reception where you can use a Mac. Copying and printing services are also available.

The hotel also has a fitness centre with a hammam and swimming pool and there is also a bar and restaurant on the ground floor.

The restaurant serves a range of international dishes and is open for lunch and dinner and the bar is open each evening and serves the usual range of beer, wine and cocktails. The bar and restaurant are somewhat sterile and lacking in character but that is not a big problem as the town centre location means that there are plenty of other places nearby to go out for a drink or a bite to eat.

This hotel has an excellent town centre location, right next door to the ibis hotel on Friar Street and only a three-minute walk to Reading railway station, Reading Museum and Broad Street, a five-minute walk to The Oracle shopping centre and six minutes to the River Kennet.