The Forbury
Berkshire, United Kingdom [view map]
- Style
- Decorative opulence
- Setting
- Grand civic redbrick
This Berkshire boutique hotel has a slick European-style ambience; contemporary art and bold colours add up to a stylish stay with a decadent, playful air.
Need to know
- Rooms
- 24, including four Luxury Rooms, four suites and a Grand Suite.
- Rates
- £230–£440.
- Check-out
- 11am but flexible when possible.
- Facilities
- Bang & Olufsen audiovisual, free wireless broadband, custom-woven satin sheets, welcome bag with Molton Brown products, tealight candles, herb and spice balm and a rubber duck. 30-seat cinema, library, Moroccan-inspired Secret Garden.
- Children
- Cot available at no charge; extra bed, £30 a night. Babysitting, £10 an hour. Children's menu in the restaurant.
- Also
- No pets, but guide dogs are welcome. Smoking in the bar only. There are 16 serviced apartments available for short lets.
In the know
- Our favourite rooms
- The fabrics throughout are beautiful, from Nina Campbell, Designers Guild, Kenzo and so on; floors are American walnut. There are at least three specially commissioned artworks in each room. All the bathrooms have stone floor and walls, six-inch monsoon showers and baths big enough for two. Luxury rooms are particularly spacious, and the suites all have something really special about them: a glass bath, a steam room, a copper bath in front of the fire…
- Packing tips
- Walking boots and binoculars for Thames Valley twitching.
Food & drink
- Hotel restaurant
- In Eden restaurant, you'll eat simple, well-executed dishes made with seasonal British produce, from ex-Cliveden chef Daniel Galmiche's accomplished French-style menu.
- Dress code
- Retired raver (this is M25 country, after all).
- Top table
- The Secret Garden, weather permitting.
- Last orders
- Lunch, 3pm; dinner, 10pm, except for Fridays and Saturdays, when last orders are 10.30pm.
- Room service
- 24 hours.
- Hotel bar
- Cerise has a long pewter bar where you can snack on 'global tapas' and sample fine wines, malt whiskies and cognacs.
Smith card offer Complimentary cocktails on arrival, and pudding on the house when you book dinner in Cerise restaurant on a Sunday evening
If you're a member of Mr & Mrs Smith, you can get special privileges at every Smith hotel you book through us. Just show your Smith card at check-in to claim the offer featured on every hotel page (like the one above).
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Smith concierge
If you’d prefer to talk to someone, or you’re having trouble booking online, ring our travel team on 0845 034 0700 (+44 20 8987 4312 from outside the UK). We guarantee you’ll get the best available rates, and we don’t charge a booking fee.
The Forbury
26 The Forbury, Reading, Berkshire RG1 3EJ