The location is right on the A4 - so not much around and there has to be a reason to stay here. In our case it was for a wedding locally so it was perfect for us. Check in was extremely pleasant and helpful and super fast. They were kind enough to let us have an early check in so we could change before the wedding. The lobby and public areas are clean and welcoming. The rest of the hotel is a maze of rooms and you can walk for ages trying to find yours. The room itself had the basics but was actually quite average. It does annoy me when you have tea/coffee making facilities but they only give you 2 sachets of coffee so basically you can only have one cup each, before having to call for more. Anyway - that's not really important - just a niggle of mine. The bathroom was very clean but very "70's" in decor. And those horrible squeezee soap dispensers in the shower. Yuk! I hate them. But that might be a personal thing - I just keep thinking about who else has used it before me. No "bits" provided in the bathroom so make sure you bring your own shampoo etc. The room was very hot and we couldn't open the windows for ventilation so had to put the air conditioning on for the whole night. At least it worked! Bed was very firm and the pillows even more so - but we only had to stay there one night - and after a very long day and enjoyable wedding - we didn't really notice the lack of comfort until the morning. Breakfast was excellent with a good supply of fresh fruit - lovely bacon and sausages and scrambled eggs. At least they don't leave fried eggs, dripping in oil , on a tray for ages. They also have a good selection of cereals, cooked mushrooms and beans if you want it. It wasn't vast , but what was there was a nice choice. I cannot fault the staff and service. They all had a smile on their face, were very attentive and seemed to care. Which , for me, makes a well run hotel. All in all, it gave us what we wanted and was absolutely fine for a nights stay. Furthermore, for what we paid, it was excellent value for money. Don't expect 4 or 5 star, but you will get what you pay for - as long as it's at the right price.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
16 August 2011
Thank you very much for taking the time to post your review.
I am very pleased that the service you received from all the team was faultless and attentive, the team work very hard to try and make a difference and will appreciate you feeding this back.
We are not a 4 or 5 star hotel as you point out and we don't try to be. We know our market and try hard to understand and recognise the needs of our guests and deliver great service.
I was a little surprised that you found the bedrooms corridors a maze as we only have 50 bedrooms on two floors and each floor only has one corridor. The hotel is a '90s construction in a courtyard style. I will however review the signage and see if we can make directions clearer.
The hotel was built with sealed triple glazed windows due the location; you mention that we are just off the A4. This ensures a peaceful nights sleep without disruption from external noise and as you state in your feedback we do have a very effective air cooling system working in all our guest bedrooms.
We are more than happy to provide additional guest supplies during your stay. The Lux shampoo and Dove body wash we provide are a brand standard, however we do also have individual toiletry items available. These are provided to all our Platinum Priority Club Reward Guests and in our Executive bedrooms as standard but if you have a preference for these you only need to ask.
Your kind words regarding breakfast are very much appreciated and will be passed on to the team. I actually think we offer a very good selection of hot and cold food, including hot items cooked to order.
Thank you again for all your valuable feedback, it is important to us.
I do hope you will choose to stay at Holiday Inn Reading West again soon.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC