Novotel Reading Centre in Reading

The hotel is everything you would expect from a Novotel, the rooms are spacious and well equipped. On the other hand, we were very hot and as we were on the 8th floor, the window could only be ajar because of security. If you come by car, remember to reserve a parking space, their number is limited despite the £19 charged per night.

Well located hotel with all services. The room is spacious and clean. The atmosphere of the bar and breakfast area is very pleasant.

"Alexas," was friendly and helpful in the dining area. Spa facilities were clean and relaxing. Room was comfortable and clean, location central.

Lack of service and customer attention. Otherwise okay.

Noisy, could do better with cleaning, rude staff, disorganised management.

I didn't stay at the hotel but went there for a day course. It's in quite a busy area but when you drive into the extremely expensive car park it's shockingly bad. Graffiti, bins, dirt, very tight to get into, no reply to the gate buzzer for a while then parking spaces so tight unless you and everyone else in there have tiny cars you can't park. We couldn't! That was a huge let down. The inside of the hotel is nice enough and the staff we spoke to friendly, but very rushed. The food was nice. If it weren't for our first impression being so dreadful in the carpark I'd probably give it a higher rating but unfortunately the car park and entrance to it is dire!

Unfortunately, this time we were very disappointed with the hotel's service. Two out of three elevators were not working, so we had to wait 10-15 minutes or use the stairs, which is very inconvenient, especially since we booked a 4-star hotel to avoid such issues. The key card to our room was unreliable, sometimes opening the door and sometimes not. This forced us to go up and down to the reception without using the elevator, which took 30 minutes. When we reported this issue, we were told it might be because our card was next to a credit card. This was very frustrating since we've never encountered this problem at other hotels, and many other guests were experiencing the same issue. After housekeeping, we often had to request towels or tissues at the reception because the housekeepers would take the dirty towels and leave fewer clean ones. Additionally, during our 4-night stay, the bed linens were not changed once. To add to our disappointment, our room window faced a dirty hotel roof. We are very disappointed with the service, although we always stay at this hotel.

During my stay out of three elevators only one worked, not helpful when staying on the 13th floor. Usually on average 2-3 minutes to wait to get down to the ground floor. Pre-booked a month in advance for lunch and dinner for my work group, yet they failed to provide vegan food on a number of occasions. Staff don't seem to understand dietary requirements, getting confused between vegetarian and vegan. This is concerning from an allergy perspective. The food on average was below par. Overall I wouldn't stay here again.

The hotel has 13 floors and 2 basements. There are a total of 3 lifts, but 2 of them are broken and cannot be used. It looks like the lifts didn't just fail this Saturday. I find it extremely questionable for a house like this that lifts are simply not maintained properly. The service staff who served us seemed to be under pressure. There is a certain tension and excitement in the air. The rooms are OK. The bed is good.

I stayed in this hotel for more than 5 times with always good feelings and appreciation. However, there is definitely something weird now when we consider our stay last week. There is a significant difference in the mentality of the management (looks like there is a change in the management of this hotel). They ask for £5 for paper (yes paper) slippers, sink had problems, water pressure had problems and employees look unhappy. On the other hand thanks for the late check-out until 3 pm and the attention of the people at reception. Also, the breakfast was good with many veggie options along with the smiling lovely old lady (Russian accent) coordinating the breakfast. When I asked where I can put Nutella (as a small cup), she replied me I can put on bagel, I can put on wafel, Ican put on cookies with a real smile. Lovely 🙂

Under staffed. Waiting a very long time to be allowed in the car park. Then had to wait to be allowed in the building. Room was meant to have a sofa bed made up which also wasn’t done.

Very well located for accessing the city centre and the train station just few minutes walk from each. Comfortable, clean room with only downside being the aircon was very ineffective so room was very warm overnight Good buffet breakfast in the mornings

Excellent in every aspect. Great location. Clean & well priced

Would be 5 star but for hassle finding parking and tight small car park

We had an enjoyable stay at this hotel. Small issues you can expect and are not going to ruin your stay, like the blocked drains (bath, shower and sink). Pros: Friendly staff, spacious room, super quiet (we stayed on the 7th floor). Swimming pool, sauna, steam room and shower facilities, and a small gym. The breakfast was also excellent, with many options. The hotel is super central, close to the train station. Cons: The gym must have a cleaning station to keep equipment and mats clean. I went to the gym on our first day, and there was a guy shirtless using the mats and equipment without a towel at least. The main road in front of the hotel is for buses only, apparently. If you are staying there for the first time, it will be a surprise to see there is nowhere to park close to the hotel for the check-in. It should be informed prior for those arriving by car.

Friendly personnel, clean rooms, small welcome present.... it's every as coming home.

The hotel is right in the centre of Reading, but the noise insulation seemed to work really well. The £12 breakfast was OK, nothing special for slightly more than you'd pay at Premier Inn. The lifts were temperamental, sometimes we needed to scan our door card, sometimes not... sometimes the doors took a while to close... it was annoying. Limited parking in tight spaces is available for £19/day. We also had trouble with our room cards not working consistently. The staff were great though!

This is not a four star hotel. The rooms are unbelievably hot, with no air con to speak of. The area around the hotel is not the best and very noisy at night. Especially on a Thursday when the bar across the road has very loud music until after 2am. The breakfast is average at best. Staff are very helpful, but can't do much about the facilities. Won't be staying there again, or any other Novotel. There are much better hotels out there.

It's 'air cooling' only! Not sure what all the positive reviews of this place are about. The hotel claims to be a 4 star but has no air-conditioning. They provide a drinks cooler/fridge that doesn't cool either!! Which means it's a total 'avoid' at its price in the summer as the air cooling us ineffective and window to noisy high street and a fan need to be employed to make the room bearable. All Premier Inns around town have air-conditioning and almost always cost less! Car access to the hotel's parking is also currently totally blocked off outside the hours of 11 am -4pm. The hotel is mainly suitable only for public transport and taxi users! Staff are polite though! Update: Raising 2 stars from original review as front office manager was responsive to my grievances at checkout and refunded 30% of the tariff paid.

Overall, it's a good hotel for the price in a prime location.

AC in the rooms were switched OFF by hotel. The guests were not allowed to turn it ON. Upon complaining to the front desk, they mentioned some "green" initiative because of which this was done. They also show inability to change this setting or allowed to turn ON the AC for guest rooms. Because of this the rooms has become HOT and stuffy and suffocating. I would not recommend to use this hotel.

Stayed here for the one night on coach excursion with evening meal and breakfast. Just had the evening meal. Awful to say the least and would not recommend it! Lamb cutlets overcooked, the vegetables under cooked. The parmentier potatoes are the only things that taste nice and properly cooked! The concoction of 'sauces' of that's what they are were not palatable! The fish - hake, yuck! The dessert was a dry chocolate cake with the 'chef' saying he/she had no pouring cream, which would have finished it off very nicely! The rooms are very clean. However, be prepared to spend ages trying to get into your room with the awful 'keycards' that do not work! The phone on the landing doesn't get answered! Had to go to reception to get my card activated again! The cleaner was lovely, let me in, and waited while I fetched my tea bag as tea and coffee is not available with your evening meal! Maybe it's just me. However, every hotel I have had a package deal with, gives you tea or coffee with your meal! I'm wondering if Just Go Holidays are aware of the appalling food! The waitress in the dining room was very accommodating and jolly which made the experience better. The barman, a lovely Spanish man from Tenerife, was wonderful too, happy and accommodating- thank you. The dining room itself has a nice feel, modern and clean with ambient lighting and comfortable seating. All Novotel needs to do is up its game in the food department, apart from that, not too bad a stay. I'll comment on the breakfast tomorrow morning, best with....

Decent hotel in heart of Reading. Clean, good breakfast and nice staff.

Visiting our company's office at Reading every now and then. Novotel was a really good experience. Good room, good breakfast with lovely service. Enjoyed the steam sauna and pool. I got into flu during the last day of the visit but thanks to hotel, that didn't feel so bad. Will come again.

Very clean hotel, helpful staff, nice facilities

Decent but rooms with not very clean bathrooms and lukewarm water for the shower

Great location, good breakfast & friendly staff.

Close to the train station, very good beds (twin), simple breakfast

I had always wanted to try the Novotel Reading because it is next to the IBIS I know quite well (very good too). I wanted a local getaway for my 50th and I was treated like a queen. I am very pleased with the overall experience.

Location is great. In the room the toilet is seperated and has no hand wash basin. The bathroom has a bath and a shower but the shower only worked on 2 settings: scold and boil. Room itself is a good size and clean. The fan did not work or not well enough. My room was boiling during the night despite me trying to adjusy fan speed and temp. Breakfast is rather diajointed. Hard to find many items. Had to ask staff 3 rimes to find milk, sugar and butter. Things should ne layed out properly. Breakast itself is nice. Can hear lots of noise from adjacent room.

Stayed for an overnight visit to Reading. The room was comfy and large. But it had a slightly strange layout. The bathroom had a bath, sink and shower. The toilet was in another part of the room separately and didn't have a sink. Not sure the logic behind that. The bed was comfy but the pillows weren't great, far too flat. The air conditioning wasn't working either, so it got quite stuffy and warm. The breakfast was varied but the cooked food was cold and had obviously been sitting for a while. In the city centre of Reading so easy to get to and from places around.

Very good central location only a few minutes walk from the railway station. Aircon works: yes Window can open: yes WiFi speed: 18Mbps down / 11Mbps up Iron in the room: yes Good set of tv channels: yes

I liked the executive room and I slept well. The restaurant was nice. The bathroom facilities are too small to give 5 stars. There was an issue with the pool so it was unavailable