If you are looking for a recommended family friendly hotel for visiting Legoland Windsor then I would highly recommend the Hilton Reading. It lived up to our high expectations on what we expect from a stay at a Hilton hotel.
After spending hours looking for hotels that would be suitable for our visit to Brick or Treat at Legoland we found the Hilton Reading by chance and we are so glad we did. This is one of the best Hilton hotels that we have stayed at in the country.
I’m surprised that the hotel is not listed as one of the preferred partners at Legoland Holidays as it’s a great option for families visiting Legoland from Wales and the West Country.
We had Hilton Honors points to redeem and the Hilton Reading had really great redemption rates for a Saturday night stay so we reserved a family interconnecting room.
After visiting the nearby National Trust property Basildon Park we arrived at the Hilton Reading late in the afternoon and the hotel was easy to find, located just 5 minutes from the M4.
We parked our car in the hotel’s underground car park which is complimentary to hotel guests and caught the lift up into the lobby area.
The lobby of the hotel much like its exterior was stylish, bright and modern and from the moment we checked into the moment we left nothing was too much trouble for the hotel’s staff.
We had a lovely warm welcome from the reception staff and the check in process was quick and efficient.
We were given our keys for each room and the children were extremely excited about having their own bedroom during our stay.
Our Family Interconnecting Rooms
The hotel has 210 rooms across four different categories – standard, deluxe and suites.
Our two interconnecting deluxe rooms were modern and tastefully decorated, with a cool contemporary décor – very similar to the equally impressive Hilton St Georges Park which we rate as one of the best Hilton hotels in the country.
We find that interconnecting rooms are perfect for our needs as they offer the extra space we require with a growing family.
The girls don’t have to sleep on sofa beds and there is no squabbling trying to get them to sleep at night which what tends to happen when we are all in the same room. It’s nice being able to close the door – ha!
We love the Hilton Serenity beds which are extremely comfortable and we all had a good night’s sleep.
Our rooms contained the facilities you’d expect in this standard of hotel as a Hilton Honors Gold Guest– large flat screen TVs, air conditioning, complimentary high speed WiFi, complimentary still and sparking water, tea and coffee making facilities and a selection of magazines.
But there were also so many thoughtful little touches. On each of the girls’ beds there was some really clever animal towel art (and more importantly for the girls) a Hilton Stieff teddy bear.
These little bears were adorable, wearing Hilton uniforms and holding sweet treats for the girls to enjoy! The look on their faces when they saw their teddies was brilliant.
We had a hand written note from the hotel’s management along with chocolate cake and drinks, welcoming us to the hotel. This was a greatly appreciated gesture and what makes the Hilton Reading such a special family hotel.
In the girls bedroom they soon made themselves at home by decorating the beds with their new additions to the family their Hilton bears and settled in watching their TV and using the complimentary WiFi for their iPads – a definite pre-requisite when travelling with kids.
The smart modern en-suite bathrooms were consisted of a shower over the bath and maintained to a very high standard with the standard Hilton Crabtree and Evelyn toiletries.
Our deluxe rooms at the Hilton Reading also had upgraded facilities over standard rooms such as a bathrobe and slippers.
Facilities
The girls faces lit up when they found out there was a swimming pool at the hotel – it’s always their favourite thing to do when staying at a hotel. Even during our visit to the North Pole they still asked did our hotel at a pool – luckily for them it did.
The pool at the Hilton Reading was small but perfect for both Chloe and Holly to have fun, even if it was a little too cold to tempt my husband and I into the water.
The only disappointment about the Hilton reading was that there was no executive lounge.
Relaxing in the lounge after a busy day out is one of our favourite things to do at a Hilton hotel, however there were lots of public spaces and a lovely café/bar area to sit and relax.
Breakfast
Breakfast is served at the Larder Restaurant, and offered the typical Hilton breakfast which was excellent.
Whenever there is a pancake machine at a Hilton hotel the girls love it and set about creating their own masterpieces for breakfast.
If pancakes aren’t your thing, you will be pleased to know that there were lots of options from hot cooked breakfast items to small pastries, fruit and cereals.
Location
After checking in to our room we made the most of being in Reading for a little retail therapy. After driving most of the morning we wanted to relax and the hotel arranged a private executive transfer for us into the town at a very reasonable £10.
I can now see why Reading is rated as one of the best shopping destinations to visit in the country.
The town offered everything we wanted from a shopping destination from independent stores to major department stores including the girls favourites Hotel Chocolate, Hollister, Disney Store, Lush and Ben’s Cookies.
There was also a great range of restaurants for families along the waterside at the Oracle shopping centre, and after working up an appetite shopping we had a lovely meal at Las Iguanas.
For football fans the hotel is also a great option for the Reading’s Madjeski Stadium which is within walking distance.
As part of Hilton’s Incredible families promotion where kids stay and eat free the hotel had a large Disney Incredible poster and the girls couldn’t resist a photo in front of it.
If you are reading and thinking why are the girls dressed as witches we were visiting Legoland for their Brick or Treat event which was brilliant (you can read our review here)
Overall
The Hilton Reading is an excellent family friendly hotel and is highly recommended – it is one of the best Hilton hotels in the country and we have stayed at many.
We had such a wonderful stay and it was the perfect location for us explore Reading and more importantly it was less than a 30 minute drive to Legoland.
Family rooms at the Hilton Reading start at a very reasonable £111 per night with Hilton Honor redemptions starting at approx 49,000 points per night.