Hotel 1843 Reading

While the hotel is older, the rooms are spacious, the people are so helpful with bringing bags early, nice check-in etc. the restaurant is great and breakfast is free. Very nice all round!

Not clean, odd check in and bad service

No one on reception to give you a warm welcome, had a sign up to go to the bar to check in. Walking into bar area with other guests around & carrying our luggage..... not ideal. Room was booked for 2 people only 1 cup in the room, had to wait for my partner to finish his before i could have a cup of tea. The shower, although warm was leaking from the shower hose which was hitting the top of the bath & back of the wall straight onto the floor causing a pool of water, other than that comfy bed.

The reception and bar/restaurant area has been refurbished to a good standard, however the rooms haven't been updated yet. We had a friendly welcome and check in was efficient. The room was not as described as we booked a family en suite and it wasn't until we were looking to rebook that we realised that our room should have had a sofa and bath instead of shower. The room has plenty of storage, but needs updating and a deep clean. Also the room was on the second floor with no lift and the stairs up to the second floor are curved and narrow in places so was a bit of an issue with luggage. Soundproofing could be improved as you can hear plumbing from other rooms and we were unlucky on the second night to have people walking past our room at 11.30pm talking which disturbed us. Bed was comfy enough, but did make a noise when you moved. There were 2 windows in our room and one pair of curtains were lined and kept out enough light, but the pair closest to the bed were unlined and with a building behind with lights on did leave the room light at night, however this was not a problem for us. The continental breakfast was very basic, and they were limited on items on our second morning when we went down about 30 minutes after breakfast started, not sure if they top up items but didn't whilst we were eating. Although this is a fairly basic hotel, it is in a good location.

The bathroom really needed some attention. There appeared to be some type of stains on the floor and very heavy black mould on the shower door. Overall the hand sink needed a good clean with hard water scum removed. The shower stall also need a removal of hard water scum. On the floor towel were two very long black hairs. Not mine as I am a blonde. I also could not get hot water for the shower or sink. After speaking to a couple of other guests I was told they did have hot water but they had to let the water run for a very long time in the hand basin before the shower water will get hot. I wish I had known that because I went without a shower. I do have pictures of the mould which was the major issue.

Well laid out room with cosy vibes, very relaxing. Helpful team at reception and nice and close to the centre of town. Well-sealed windows that keep the noise out, which is always important to me. The lift wasn't active when I visited, but I had small wheeled luggage so no problems.

The hotel is very close to Reading town centre and train station, so staying here was very convenient. The staff were friendly and responsive to our needs. The bed was soft, and the shower was powerful. The location is difficult to access by car, however, on account of the UK's bizarre addiction to one-way streets.

The property location is good. However even though it says there is live music on the weekends creating noise in some rooms I stayed midweek and there was music till late. Not very clean. Cheap furniture and fittings and most importantly mattress which wasn’t comfortable. The pigeon in the window woke me at 5 am (not hotel’s fault). Only will stay again if I don’t find anything else.

The room smelled of raw sewage. After going out for the evening my key card would allow me access even though it had worked earlier. There was no one in reception at night so I stayed in a friends room which had a spare single bed. There room was just as grim and the bathroom nearly flooded from the bath. In the morning I went to reception and told the receptionist I couldn’t use my room all night. He didn’t care and just gave me a new card. When I went into the room the smell was atrocious, I’m glad I didn’t stay in there even though I had paid for the room. After complaining I had no response and no refund.

Sheets smelled musty. Bathroom was awful. Breakfast not available. Empty condom packet on top of wardrobe……..avoid if you can

Good, spacious room and excellent value. Great location.

Comfortable room and bed. Clean bed and bathroom but some cobwebs up high in room and dust on lampshade. Won’t stop me returning

Location was excellent for access to the town centre and public transport. Check in was straightforward. The room was very basic, as expected so no problem, but concerned about the cleanliness when my tea cup was stuck to the saucer (face down) and was dirty, and a big clump of hair on the floor outside the shower. Single bed, comfy enough

Central located and walkable. Mattress could be relaced.

Liked the Georgian elegance of the building, the entrance and spiral staircase. After complaining about mattress it was replaced and the room was cleaned. Manager was helpful and efficient. Room was a good size. Its best advantage was easy walking distance from the town centre. We were not informed about the disco on Saturday night until booking was confirmed by which point the deposit was not refundable. Disliked the very limited breakfast menu as no breakfast places nearby. The room was airless and looked onto a brick wall. Both chairs were uncomfortable.

The room wasn’t as clean as I would like, the shower door had evidently not been cleaned in a while, the toilet wasn’t the cleanest and neither was the bathroom sink, the floors look like they hadn’t had a clean in a little while too… and the room decor was very outdated. I paid £170 for 1 night, granted it was whilst a popular festival was on but it was worth £40 at best. I hope they deep clean the rooms better in future! And look at upgrading the decor, as well as looking at their prices, even during popular seasons. The downstairs had a nice vibe though, and the restaurant looked nice.

An old room but very clean. Could leave our bags in the room despite being very early. Close to heart of Reading.

Lovely welcoming property in a great location. The room had everything I needed and more. Would highly recommend and would stay again!

Decent enough for couple of nights , room was fine and close to town .. , could do with aircon but had a fan , no lift but managed ok

The DJ wasn't a problem as he stopped fairly early. The hotel is incredibly dated - fair play to whoever photoshopped the room pics. The hotel smells strongly of the Indian food from downstairs. The staff are not particularly helpful. The room (suite) had not been decorated since the late 1970s and was filthy with hairs all over the place and a filthy mattress. Would not recommend.