Rooms facing the street were noisy. Rooms were also really cold (in February) and the heating did not help at all. Bathroom was nicely decorated but the shower was not good. You can see that the latest renovation has been done with the expence of quality.
Breakfast was not included to our room price and the cost of it was £15 which felt a bit expensive. Staff was friendly but not warm.

The negative reviews mostly date back to when this was a Marriott.
The franchise is now Penta and the quality is there to show it.
Staff is very Germanic - professional, well mannered but a tad ... cold.

Great location.

Very comfortable rooms, equipped with whatever you may need.
The hotel offers some amenities but as there are a truckload of good, accessible and not too expensive restaurants around going out for a meal is generally a good idea.
I spent 3 days there for a conference that was also held there.
I would return.

We came back again - this time with friends who had the room next to us. We trawled the hotel booking sites till we got the right price - £55 per room B&B for 2 people per room.
We stayed a couple of nights, the Friday and Saturday and had a great break. The hotel is as 'funky' as ever withb its cow-skin sofas and glitter ball. The rooms again were spotlessly clean with the oh so delightful rain shower to luxuriate under. The beds as noted before are massive. My friend said he needed binoculars to see his wife when in bed!
Breakfast was relaxed, high quality and plentiful.
The only downsides: The tea, coffee and milk in the room was in short supply, and as always the all pervading noise from the road down below crept in - even though they've attemted to reduce it with foam in the window spaces.

Just got back from this hotel. I booked it after reading reviews and it actually surpassed my expectations. The hotel is very modern with a stylish, fun, decor. The room was exceptional, very modern and clean. We had a "penta king" bed - its huge (as in, 4 people can probably sleep comfortably), with fresh clean sheets and plenty of pillows, with two duvet covers (1 would probably have been too small to cover this huge bed). Nice big flat screen television, which, when you turn it on, has a lovely fireplace channel. They took care of all the little details, from the cute and high quality toiletries, to a complementary bottle of mineral water on the night stand. The lighting is also exceptional, with spotlights and backlights, as well as the main lights, which can all be controlled from both sides of the bed.

When booking this hotel, definitely get the breakfast included. The breakfast here was some of the best breakfast I've ever seen at a hotel. Not only was there a wide variety of breakfast food options, including premium cheeses and branded cereals, as well as warm choices, but all the food was fresh and high quality, including brand names, not generic.

The service at the hotel is exceptional. They have free wifi that is good to use with a smart phone. Although, if you're there for business, it is probably best to purchase their high-speed connection. The receptionists were all very helpful, especially Anja, who went out of her way to help.

The location is perfect. Right in the centre, shops, restaurants, bars, all around the corner. Check lastminute.com, as they had the best price when we booked, cheaper by about £20 per night. Will definitely be stopping there every time we stay in Reading.