Review: The Roseate Reading – A Luxurious Town House Experience

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A red brick townhouse is just five minutes from the centre of Reading. The Roseate Reading is billed as ‘The UK’s Sexiest Townhouse Hotel’. Originally Shire Hall for Berkshire County Council, it retains its stunning architecture, restored and revived beautifully.

The Roseate Reading

We couldn’t wait to experience a stay there.

The old Shire Hall’s formality is incorporated into The Roseate’s luxury, with black and white marble floors and a glamourous chandelier with 86,000 glass beads. There’s no doubt that this is one luxurious hotel.

The Roseate Reading – 86.000 Glass Beads

Staying at The Roseate Reading

We stayed in the Roseate Prime suite, which was beautiful – homely and snug with a comfy king-size bed and gorgeous floral feature wallpaper.

The Roseate Reading – Rooms

The huge bathroom was spacious with clean and crisp lines, a deep bath, a monsoon shower and Penhaligon toiletries. Elaborate wooden carvings adorn the hotel, with sculptures throughout, which we enjoyed as we walked through the lobby and along corridors.

Review: The Roseate Reading

There’s also a secret garden with heaters and a fountain which would be such a sweet photo opportunity, or even to host a small, intimate wedding.

Eating at The Roseate Reading

Dinner was served at the Reading Room, a contemporary restaurant with a seasonal menu of delicious dishes. The food was excellent, and we enjoyed Orkney scallops with slow-cooked pork belly and gin-cured salmon to start, followed by sirloin of beef and pan-fried salmon, and then the most delicious pistachio souffle. It was all divine.

The next morning we enjoyed more delectable food with the breakfast buffet before exploring the Aheli Spa.

Aheli Spa at The Roseate Reading

With three treatment rooms, a sauna, a steam room and a gym, the Aheli Spa offers a menu of different therapies and treatments, including massage, hot stone therapy and wraps. I had a beautiful skin nectar facial, 60 minutes of enjoying an aromatic honey nectar soothing facial, just the perfect end to a wonderful stay.

The Roseate Reading – Treatment Room

Weddings at The Roseate Reading

Weddings at The Roseate Reading

Well-equipped for weddings of all sizes, The Roseate is a great place to hold a wedding. With fireplaces, wooden carvings and art, there are plenty of places to stage photos and some beautiful spaces to hold your ceremony and reception. At just 20 minutes from London, it’s perfect if you have guests travelling, and they can accommodate from two to 52 guests for civil ceremonies.

Weddings at The Roseate Reading

Signature wedding cocktails, a tailor-made menu of seasonal produce or even an afternoon tea, The Roseate offers a package to suit your requirements. You can hire the hotel exclusively, taking all 55 rooms and suites, all three dining areas, the cinema, the restaurant and bar, and having use of the spa as well.

Weddings at The Roseate Reading

They’ll even provide personalised stationery with handwritten place cards. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at The Roseate Reading. With excellent food, a wonderful, comfortable room and such a gorgeous building, it was a real treat.

My five 5 Star highlights:

• Our suite – was so comfortable and spacious
• The pistachio souffle – was just a stunning dessert
• A nectar facial – ultimate relaxation
• The chandelier – with its 86,000 beads, the longest I’ve ever seen
• The secret garden – so pretty with its cascading waterfall

Related reading: the wedding profile of The Roseate Reading, our In Focus feature on The Roseate Reading, the magazine issue on The Roseate Reading, wedding venues in Berkshire and the United Kingdom Wedding Atlas. We have also reviewed Benham Park and Wasing Park, and you will find all of our venue reviews together.