Palm Cottage

Palm Cottage is in Reading Town Centre, Reading (10 Shinfield Road, Reading, United Kingdom), close to Blenheim Palace.

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

Palm Cottage is a 4-star hotel 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.

The RailAir coach runs direct from Heathrow Central Bus Station to Reading station every 20 minutes, takes about 60 minutes, and costs around £20-25. A taxi is 40-55 minutes depending on the M4, and priced at £70-90. From late 2024 the Elizabeth line connects Heathrow to Reading with a change at Hayes and Harlington, taking around 90 minutes for roughly £13. The RailAir is still the fastest public option.

No, if you are staying in the town centre and mostly visiting Reading, London, Oxford, Windsor and Henley — all of those are on direct or one-change train routes from Reading station. Yes, if you plan to spend time in Pangbourne, Sonning, Marlow, Ascot or the Chiltern villages, where buses run hourly at best. Parking in the centre costs £15-25 per night at hotels and £3-5 per hour at the Oracle, so a car is a cost if you don’t need it.

Reading works for both, but suits couples slightly better in the centre and families better in Caversham or on the Thames. Caversham Court Gardens, Thames Lido and Beale Wildlife Park in Pangbourne are the family draws; couples tend to prefer the Forbury area, Sonning’s riverside pubs and day trips to Henley. Family rooms are easiest to find at the Novotel, Holiday Inn South and Crowne Plaza. The Reading Festival weekend in late August is not a family event and should be avoided if travelling with children.

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.