Great Expectations – RelaxInnz  

My husband and I are regular visitors to Reading and usually stay at the Holiday Inn Caversham Bridge, now Crowne Plaza. This our latest visit wasn't planned and was at very short notice, I just happened upon Great Expectations whilst searching for hotels near Reading Railway Station and am I glad I did. This hotel is only seven minutes walk from the railway station and is ideally situated for shopping, the Oracle Centre is just round the corner. Great Expectations, a former theatre has a relaxing air, the huge ground floor is the public house part and is set out as a Victorian shopping street, Charles Dickens is everywhere. The staff are very friendly, pub food good and very reasonable, the rooms although not fancy are clean and functional. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Great Expectations and will certainly be back in the near future, 3 days b&b for £152.00p in Reading is certainly great value for money.

Good value for money, comfy bed, nice beakfast and friendly pub downstairs.

Really need more attention to cleaning detail, hairs in bathroom, sanitary bin hadn't been emptied, dead insects on window sill, ( about 5! ), previous occupants bottle of shower gel on floor beside the bed, 3 remote controls but none operated the tv correctly, complained about out of date complimentary milk in room and told there was always fresh at the bar...not the right answer when you are on the 2nd floor!

Clean and tidy room with a four poster bed and an excellant breakfast for less than £50 a night. Great value at the Great Expectations.

No car parking.

easy to find and get in and out of ,,,locations to town centre and gneral value for money

information inadequate regarding where receptionw as and timings of breakfasts etc. Old washing bagged up in corridor evening and morning

Superior ** budget hotel in a listed Victorian-age building. Spacious-enough double with king size bed, enough closets for all your stuff. Clean bathroom with excellent shower facilities (enough water pressure, thank you!). Also, plenty of sockets (all English style, except the razor socket in the bathroom) for all your battery chargers. Mattress on bed was firm, bedsheets clean. Room was quiet. Solid breakfast (included in the room price) served at the fine "Great Expectations" pub on the ground floor, which is also the hotel reception, including full English (sausage, boiled egg, hash browns, bacon, mushy peas and toast), also marmalade and a large variety of corn flakes. Competent and friendly staff, room service efficient. Working WIFI in the room. Nice location on the northern edge of Reading city centre, about 5 minute walk to great shopping area (The Oracle), less than 10 minutes to Reading station. Good bang for the buck. ++++ Nettes ** Hotel in historischem viktorianischem Gebäude mit ausgedehntem Pub im Erdgeschoss, dessen Bar auch als Hotelrezeption dient. Sauberes, geräumiges Doppelzimmer mit großem Bett (feste Matratze, saubere Bettwäsche), genügend Stauraum (s. Photos), sauberes Badezimmer mit sehr guter Duschfunktion (endlich mal ordentlich Wasserdruck!). Genügend Steckdosen für all eure Ladegeräte (bis auf die im Bad für den Rasierer alle im englischen System!), Zimmer nicht zu hellhörig. Freundliches und hilfsbereites Personal. Solides englisches Frühstück (inklusive Würstchen, gekochtem Ei, gebratenem Speck, Bohnen, Rösti, halbe gekochte Tomate und Toast) plus Marmelade und jeder Menge unterschiedlicher Cornflakes. Gute Lage am nördlichen Rand der Innenstadt von Reading: nur 5 Minuten zur Einkaufsmeile mit The Oracle und Debenhams, knapp 10 Minuten bis zum Bahnhof. Funktionierendes WIFI im Zimmer und im Pub. Gutes Preis/Leistungsverhältnis.

Bronze-age television with remote that didn't work. Unpleasant, large stain on the carpet near the entrance (Room 15).

Very freindly staff.

The price was very good The room was clean and the shower was good The breakfast was excellent The hotel in general was probably ready for a refit but I expect that was why the price was so goog

Everything is alright for this price, very typically British style

The pub is downstairs, and i can hear there music when I was going to sleep.

Nicely themed hotel and pub Good location Comfortable bed Great breakfast

Found room to be tatty and dated the bathroom needed a refresh as tiles showing mouldy / dirty joints, plus the shower head was dirty and the drain blocked after 2 minutes in the shower so had to stop and wait then continue Plus Internet failed to work ! No parking And generally slighty dirty all over Woken up at 5 am by noisy guests or staff running around and shouting

On arrival, the staff were friendly. The location is ideal for going into town to shop or meet friends. Breakfast was good, and after asking when booking, I was given the opportunity of a late check-out with no extra charge or fuss.

Its a shame there isn't a lift to help get suitcases up the stairs, but it is an old building and so it is understandable that there isn't one. Its just something to be aware of if you book this hotel. Also something to be aware of is the noise coming from the RISC bar next door. I arrived back to my room (room 2) at about 12am to hear very loud music. I went downstairs to complain and the guy at reception kindly, and without fuss, changed my room to one across the hall (room 11), where I couldn't hear the music at all and which was nicer than Room 2. So I would recommend that on booking, you ask for a room away from the RISC bar!

I chose the hotel as it is a minute's walk from the South Street Arts Centre where I was attending a concert. It is also excellent value for money - much cheaper than I would have expected for such a striking building. The huge Dickens-themed bar downstairs is divided into lots of cosy little alcoves, and Sky Sports was showing when I arrived on Saturday afternoon - perfect! The young staff were courteous and very helpful, and my single room on the second floor was clean and comfortable. The thick walls and floors meant not much noise from outside or other residents. Breakfast was included in the price and taken in the bar whilst watching Match of the Day - the Full English was well cooked and substantial. I would definitely stay there again - very pleased.

The stairs up to the second floor are quite steep, and there is no lift - I was quite out of breath by the time I got to the room.

Fantastic value for money. Friendly pub style bar downstairs and good food

Good price £38 for a single room, big and clean room, fairly quiet although on top of a bar. Excellent location. Nice and helpful staff, got an early check in when requested.

The breakfast was pretty good apart from the coffee which ranks one of the worlds worst ever ;( Also the cooking fumes overtook the whole bar (breakfast area) and I stank like a sausage for the rest of the day- very embarrasing! The bucket in the corridor catching dripping water didn't look so good ... I stayed in room 10.