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★★★★ Hook · Reading ★ 4.5 · 1153
The Elvetham Hotel
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The Elvetham Hotel

Hartley Wintey, Hook, United Kingdom
from £94

The Elvetham Hotel is a well-rated 4-star hotel in Hook, Reading, popular with guests who want comfort and a strong location near Mapledurham House.

The surrounding Hook district is one of the most convenient parts of Reading to stay in, with restaurants, cafés and transport links close by.

Rates shift with the season and with demand, so the live price on the booking page is always the one to trust — tap through for tonight’s or your dates' real availability.

Key facts

Class
4-star
Area
Hook
Guest rating
4.5 (1153)
from
£94
Address
Hartley Wintey, Hook, United Kingdom

What’s included

Where to stay in Reading: which area suits which visitor

Reading Town Centre (RG1) around Friar Street, Broad Street and the station is the default choice for a first visit: you are walking distance from the Oracle, the Abbey Ruins and Forbury Gardens, and trains to Paddington take 22-27 minutes. Expect the highest nightly rates here, especially midweek when the town fills with business travellers heading to Thames Valley Park and Green Park. Caversham, just over Caversham Bridge, is quieter, sits on the Thames, and usually costs £20-40 less per night for a similar standard.

For business trips, the hotels clustered around Green Park (south of the M4 J11) and Winnersh Triangle suit anyone driving in — Voco and Crowne Plaza sit on the doorstep of the offices, and parking is free or cheap. Earley, Lower Earley and Woodley are residential and best if you have a car and want value; Tilehurst and Southcote are cheaper still but poorly connected without one. For day trips, Henley-on-Thames, Sonning, Pangbourne and Marlow are prettier bases if you have hired a car; Windsor and Oxford are 25-40 minutes by train and worth a night each if the itinerary allows.

Best time to visit Reading: month-by-month prices

Reading has two clear price patterns: business demand Monday to Thursday, and event spikes in summer. January and February are the cheapest months — town centre 4-star rooms often drop to £70-90 — but the weather is grey and the Thames Path is muddy. March to May is a good balance, with the Reading Half Marathon (usually early April) being the main weekend to avoid if you want value.

June and July are steady and warm; the Henley Royal Regatta in the first week of July doubles rates in Henley itself and pushes overflow demand into Reading and Twyford. August is the trap: the Reading Festival at Richfield Avenue over the late August bank holiday sells out every hotel within a 10-mile radius, and rates triple. September and October are the quiet win — mild, dry-ish, and business travel is the only pressure on midweek rates. November and December are cheap except for the two weeks of the Christmas market in Forbury Gardens.

Getting around Reading: car, train and bus

You do not need a car if you are staying in the town centre and using Reading as a base for London, Oxford (23 minutes by train), Windsor (change at Slough, 30 minutes) or Henley (change at Twyford, 25 minutes). Reading station is one of the busiest interchanges outside London, with direct GWR services to Paddington, Bristol, Cardiff, and the Elizabeth line running east through Slough and Ealing. Reading Buses covers Caversham, Tilehurst, Earley and Woodley from the station on frequent routes — the purple 17 to Tilehurst and the pink 22/23 to Lower Earley run every 10 minutes in the day.

You do need a car for Pangbourne, Sonning, Marlow, Ascot, Newbury and the villages around the Chilterns; buses exist but run hourly at best. The M4 (J10, J11, J12) rings the south of town, the A33 links the centre to Basingstoke, and the A4 runs east-west through Maidenhead to Newbury. Parking in the town centre is £3-5 an hour at the Oracle or Queen’s Road; most hotels outside the centre include parking, most inside it charge £15-25 per night.

Questions, answered

Where is The Elvetham Hotel located?
The Elvetham Hotel is in Hook, Reading (Hartley Wintey, Hook, United Kingdom), close to Mapledurham House.
How much does The Elvetham Hotel cost per night?
Recent rates started around £94 per night, but prices are set live — check the booking page for your exact dates.
How many stars is The Elvetham Hotel?
The Elvetham Hotel is a 4-star hotel in Reading.
Is The Elvetham Hotel a good hotel?
Guests rate it 4.5 across 1153 reviews. It’s an upscale choice for Reading.
Is Reading town centre walkable?
Yes, the core between the station, the Oracle, Forbury Gardens and the Abbey Ruins is flat and walkable in 15 minutes end to end. Caversham is a 20-minute walk across Caversham Bridge from the station. Earley, Tilehurst and Lower Earley are not walkable from the centre — allow 15-25 minutes by bus or 10-15 by taxi. The Thames Path from Caversham to Sonning is about 4 miles and takes 90 minutes on foot.
Can I visit the Abbey Ruins and where is Henry I actually buried?
Yes, Reading Abbey Ruins reopened in 2018 after a major conservation project and are free to visit as part of the Abbey Quarter, open daily from the Forbury Gardens entrance. Henry I was buried in front of the high altar of Reading Abbey in 1136, but the exact spot is under what is now the Ministry of Justice car park next to the ruins — a project has been searching for the grave for several years. Reading Museum next door displays finds from the abbey and is also free. Allow 90 minutes for both.
What is the best area to stay in Reading for first-time visitors?
Reading Town Centre (RG1), specifically the streets between the station and the Oracle, is the best first-time base. You can walk to the Abbey Ruins, Forbury Gardens, Reading Museum and the Kennet and Avon canal in under 15 minutes, and the station gets you to London Paddington in 22 minutes. Friar Street and Castle Street have most of the evening options. Expect to pay £100-160 for a mid-range room midweek.
When is the cheapest month to visit Reading?
January is the cheapest, with town centre 4-star rooms often at £70-90 and no major events to drive demand. February is similar but half-term week (usually mid-February) pushes family-friendly hotels up. Avoid the first weekend if Six Nations rugby is on, as Twickenham overflow reaches Reading. November before the Forbury Gardens Christmas market opens is the other quiet window.
How many nights do I need in Reading?
Two nights covers Reading itself — the Abbey Quarter, the Oracle, the museum’s Bayeux Tapestry replica and a Thames Path walk from Caversham Bridge to Sonning. Four or five nights makes sense if you want to use Reading as a Thames Valley base for Windsor, Oxford, Henley and Marlow, all reachable by train in under 40 minutes. One night is enough only if you are here for a single event at Rivermead or the festival grounds.

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