The Forbury
Style Decorative opulence
Setting Grand civic redbrick
The reception of this Berkshire boutique hotel is a swirl of pinks, reds, burnt orange and silver, creating a slick European-style ambience. The Forbury's commissioned contemporary art on the walls and one of the world’s biggest chandeliers add up to a stylish stay with a decadent, playful air.
Need to know
- Rooms 23, including four Luxury Rooms, four suites and a Grand Suite.
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Rates
Double rooms from $143.71 (£95), excluding tax at 20 per cent.
The price shown represents the lowest nightly rate for a double room available at this hotel over the next 21 days. Any price conversions from the hotel's local currency (£95) have been conducted using today's exchange rates from xe.com.
- More details Rates usually exclude breakfast (£12 for Continental; £17 for full English).
- Facilities Bang & Olufsen audiovisual, free wireless broadband, custom-woven satin sheets, 30-seat cinema, library and Moroccan-inspired Secret Garden.
- Check-out 11am but flexible when possible.
- Children Cot available at no charge; extra beds for older children are £30 a night. Babysitting, £10 an hour. Children's menu in the restaurant.
- Also No pets, but guide dogs are welcome. There are 16 serviced apartments available for short lets.
Food and drink at The Forbury
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Hotel restaurant
Cerise serves up moreish Mediterranean cuisine, with dishes such as salmon with peas and saffron sauce and wild mushroom and butternut squash risotto.
- Dress code Cool and casual.
- 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.
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Hotel bar
Cerise has a long pewter bar where you can sample fine wines, malt whiskies, cognacs and cocktails – try a chilli and cucumber martini or the signature Forbury: a blend of amaretto, apricot brandy, apple juice and lemon.
The Forbury 26 The Forbury, Reading, Berkshire RG1 3EJ
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Smith extra at The Forbury
Late check-out (12 noon; usually £30). GoldSmiths get afternoon tea on arrival, including scones with Forbury preserve and clotted cream, and cakes
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.
From the Guestbook…
Like the review states, a glamorous weekend in Reading is a difficult concept to imagine but the Forbury certainly made our stay more extravagant than we had imagined. On arrival, ...
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