Crowne Plaza Reading, an IHG Hotel Reviews Summary

Hotel Condition

Pros:

• "The hotel is currently undergoing heating and AC renovations."
• "The hotel was well maintained."
• "The rooms were well equipped and clean."

Cons:

• "The hotel seems a bit run down."
• "Room is run down, grotty carpet, sofa bed missing springs and very thin and uncomfortable."
• "The wallpaper in both rooms was peeling, ripped, bulging and dirty."
• "The room looked nothing like it did on the booking sight, it was damp, smelly and scruffy looking."
• "The furniture was all scratched and damaged the wall paper was damaged the over all cleanliness of the room was poor."
• "Wall paper coming away in the room."
• "Even the front doors are completely scratched and you can see this as you walk down the corridor."

Staff and Service

Pros:

• "The staff are first class and the hotel always has a very welcoming atmosphere."
• "Dining experience was great with friendly wait staff who couldn't do enough for us!"
• "The staff were all friendly and attentive and made us feel incredibly welcome especially Shalie on the front desk who’s customer service went above and beyond."
• "Staff were professional, helpful and knowledgable."
• "Every staff member was polite, so friendly and nothing was too much trouble."
• "The staff were really attentive, and made it a fantastic conference."
• "The services is very kind and ready to help and do their best in any situation."

Cons:

• "Welcome & check in was poor, for the standard I'm used to as a Diamond Elite."
• "The breakfast experience was poor."
• "Exceptionally poor service offered at breakfast and the lounge access is just not what is expected of a Crowne Plaza hotel."
• "Check out the following morning, receptionist didn't bother to ask if everything had been okay with our stay, the room keys were merely taken from us."
• "Not enough staff at breakfast time meant many uncleared tables."
• "However, breakfast both mornings felt understaffed."
• "I called down to reception numerous times and no one answered."

Facilities

Pros:

• "Facilities are very good, with a free gym, spa and swimming pool."
• "The pool was nice."
• "Swimming pool, 2 saunas, and a jacuzzi, gym all lovely and clean!"
• "There's also a swimming pool, gym, and sauna. The gym was refurbished in 2023 and the equipment is excellent quality."
• "The hotel offers a spa facility with a swimming pool, sauna, steam room and jacuzzi."
• "Lovely location with the river views from the restaurant. Also gym and spa facilities."
• "This hotel is great! I’ve been to a lot and this one has all you need. great beds, nice rooms swimming pool and sauna and steam room and gym."

Cons:

• "The steam room wasn't working when we went, which was a shame."
• "Steam room was not working."
• "Some of the spa facilities were not working and no warning or notification were send out before arrival or during the booking."
• "Poolside shower not working and tiles hanging off. Jacuzzi not working."
• "The jacuzzi was 'out of order'."
• "Unfortunately half the pool is taken up by a swimming class at the same time."
• "Hotel policy is to discriminate against children and families. You are not allowed to swim for 18 hours of the day."

Food and Dining

Pros:

• "Lunch however was spectacular, with so many healthy choices available."
• "Great breakfast selection in the morning."
• "Breakfast was good quality, quick and easy with everything you could want."
• "Had a stunning, delicious dinner and lovely breakfast!"
• "Breakfast buffet was fantastic with excellent ham, large sausages, blood sausages, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, cereal, juice, coffee, etc."
• "The breakfast buffet and the exquisite dinner at the hotel restaurant."
• "The breakfast was great."

Cons:

• "Fried eggs were bought out at some point but only 8 of them."
• "The first morning there were no fried eggs, no hashbrown's, no salmon and no smoothies the entire hour we were sat at breakfast."
• "The breakfast experience was poor."
• "The service at breakfast isn't representative of all the staff although I did find the room cleanliness less than I've been used to at this hotel."
• "Both mornings there were a lot of things missing for breakfast."
• "However the breakfast was so disappointing, the food was okay but the way it was run was a mess, long queues for everything as things were not replenished and mugs and plates were lacking meaning people just stood around waiting for staff to appear."
• "Breakfast is £18.95 per person per morning so I expected at least the basics of breakfast!"

Room Comfort and Cleanliness

Pros:

• "The rooms are very clean and comfortable."
• "Rooms are clean and well maintained."
• "Room was well furnished."
• "Bedroom was so spacious and comfortable, super quiet even with windows open."
• "The rooms are a bit dated, but well maintained."
• "The rooms, sauna and pool are really clean and comfortable."
• "The room was clean and well presented with a lovely view."

Cons:

• "Unfortunately, the sleep quality during my stay was subpar as well."
• "The sound of people walking upstairs frequently woke me up, causing significant inconvenience and disrupting my sleep."
• "At night we could heard the music being played near the hotel, which was really inconvenient when trying to sleep after a long day."
• "We must have only had an hours sleep if that, the cold and the noisy hallway, doors slamming half the night."
• "Myself and my mother had a bad nights sleep as the pillows were incredibly hard."
• "The room itself was on the smaller side, leading to a cramped feeling."
• "The only thing I didn't like was the single pain windows as was cold in our room can feel the breeze more then the heater."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "Great value for £."
• "Had an excellent stay. Ideally located."
• "We enjoyed our stay and would make a return visit for a short break."
• "Booked a premium room for my birthday this weekend. Lovely room, clean, comfy bed, nice bedding!"
• "Every staff member was polite, so friendly and nothing was too much trouble."

Cons:

• "Didn't like paying an extra £15 a day parking."
• "We were refunded £100 but not sure it was worth what we paid as stayed down the road for less money and a million times better hotel."
• "The cost seemed OK for a nice room with a balcony and breakfast. But alas the room was very run down, and the breakfast experience was poor."
• "£300 for a night seemed an expensive stay to enjoy breakfast and dinner seamed rather steep!!"
• "An expensive stay to enjoy breakfast and dinner seamed rather steep!!"
• "There is a hotel car park but it's not cheap."
• "Fire alarm rang more than 3 times from 10pm to 4am; loud enough to keep you awake the night; called front desk two times, phone rang but no one answered."