Crescent Hotel

Crescent Hotel is in Reading Town Centre, Reading (35 Coley Avenue, Reading, United Kingdom), close to Basildon Park.

Prices are set live by the hotel — check the booking page for a real rate for your dates.

Crescent Hotel is a 2-star hotel in Reading.

Guests rate it 2.5 across 139 reviews. It’s a value choice for Reading.

The Reading Festival weekend (late August bank holiday) sells out hotels within 10 miles four to six months ahead and rates triple, so book by March. Henley Royal Regatta in the first week of July and Royal Ascot week in June also fill Reading, Wokingham and Maidenhead hotels. Graduation weeks at the University of Reading (usually mid-July) fill the Green Park and Whiteknights-adjacent hotels. Everything else you can book two to four weeks out.

The typical midweek rate for a mid-range 3 to 4-star room in Reading is £95-135, dropping to £75-110 at weekends outside event periods. Budget hotels like the Ibis and Premier Inns sit at £55-85, while the Roseate on the Forbury and Malmaison in the old station building run £170-260. During Reading Festival weekend, expect £280-450 for the same mid-range room. Green Park and Winnersh business hotels drop sharply on Friday and Saturday nights.

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.

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.

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.