| From: Karen Moogan |
| Date of Stay: September, 2008 |
| The hotel was nice enough but for a big chain of hotels I was expecting more. I didn't have a TV remote in my room or a welcome booklet of the hotels services, meal times etc. My room was clean but the grout and sealant in the bathroom was moldy and black. I was put in a room designed for a disabled person which would have been fine apart from the shower which was on a fixed pole and I had to crouch to wash my hair - I'm 5ft 2in so anybody taller will have difficulty. The staff were very helpful but overall I would not stay here again if I had the choice. |
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| From: Reviewer has requested to be kept anonymous. |
| Date of Stay: September, 2008 |
| Nice easy overnight stay. Staff very helpful. Room comfortable. |
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| From: S Williams |
| Date of Stay: September, 2008 |
| The service at this hotel is awful. When you book a room you have no idea which 'block' you will stay in, this consequently meant that we went to three different receptions (which involved parking & re-parking the car) - each manned by the most unhelpfull staff i've ever come across. The room 824 in 'Ivy Cottage' was small, with a single bed, a cramped bathroom and definately not worthy of £140 per night! (I've been in larger and better equipped budget hotels - i'd be interested to know what DeVere would classify this room as?)It's redeeming feature ... once we had been to one restaurant and been told that we could not enter because there was a private function .... then to the other bar where there was also no entry as there was a private function (but we were offered the self service coffee bar!!!) .... then to the restaurant that we had to 'be quick because they stop serving at 9'...... was..... that we had an excellent waitress, don't know her name (long dark hair), but she deserves a medal - this was the only member of staff worthy of praise, all the others appeared to be lazy, badly organised and inefficient. (the food was ok - small portions and overpriced though!)The surroundings etc. are beautiful ... such a shame |
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| From: Reviewer has requested to be kept anonymous. |
| Date of Stay: September, 2008 |
| Out of town corporate hotel, £17 taxi from Reading Station. Was upgraded to superior room, but no mini bar and only 5 tv channels. Woken at 8.30am by a knock on the door and a call of can I clean your room. The act that there were no "Do not disturb" signs in my room didn't help. The hotel bar was very cold as both outside doors were open on a chilly evening. I asked for a toasted cheese sandwich, This consisted of two slices of cold toast and an uncooked filing. Overall a disappointment. |
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| From: Reviewer has requested to be kept anonymous. |
| Date of Stay: September, 2008 |
| Stayed in the Executive Centre, where it seemed an eternity to get to the room. Room was a bit shabby to other De Vere venues I have stayed in they have tried to update but the room felt dated. As useual drinks expensive and choice of bar meals poor. |
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| From: Joyce Matthews |
| Date of Stay: September, 2008 |
| Awkward layout and difficult to find but good value for money. |
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| From: Reviewer has requested to be kept anonymous. |
| Date of Stay: September, 2008 |
| Large hotel that combines golf/leisure resort with training facility with hotel. As a result, it feels more like a place of work than a welcoming hotel. Having said that, the room was great and excellent value for money. |
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| From: Reviewer has requested to be kept anonymous. |
| Date of Stay: August, 2008 |
| My partner and I sartyed with our 2 year old son had a great rate of £45 a night from laterooms.com and this made our stay very good value. The staff are excellent friendly and professional and the rooms are decorated to a good standard and clean. The only issue was the sound proofing on the rooms is slightly below par though to be fair we were positioned near to the entrance door for the floor and it was primarliy other guests opening and closing this door which was the main issue, though service vehicles unloading at 6am on Friday morning were also loud enough to be noticable. The breakfast is fantastic and the staff very friendly and welcoming which is nice for a larger venue like this one. All in all can't compain and the price and no hesitation in recommending. |
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| From: kev smart |
| Date of Stay: August, 2008 |
| Good points - free tea/decent coffee around in the main hotel area, great pool & gym, lovely setting, generally polite helpful staff. Bad points - Bedroom disappointing, bed base was dirty, mattress lumpy. tiny 12" TV, no hot chocolate in room. Overall feeling is positive, good value for money |
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| From: Reviewer has requested to be kept anonymous. |
| Date of Stay: August, 2008 |
| Hotel was absolutely first class. Although rated as a 3 star hotel I stayed at a 4 star hotel in Cambridge a couple of days earlier and the De Vere Vnues hotel was light years better. Just perfect. As an example I had a small package I wanted to send and I asked reception where there was a post office and reception took the package and sent it for me at no cost. That is service. Breakfast was great. |
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| From: sarah mccormick |
| Date of Stay: August, 2008 |
| The hotel is gorg!Staff very friendly (although they all seem VERY young and to be in training?!)the most helpful being "Natalie" who was on front desk, after complianing about a noisy neighbour she suggested we be moved rooms, she promptly upgraded us and had all our stuff transfered!! A nice touch are the tea and coffee stations in corridors, and the flat screens in the rooms is a nice lil bonus! I have stayed in De veres across the country and this one yet again didnt dissapoint! One small gripe was the breakfast was pretty bland (plus no bacon and eggs avail on both mornuings, we had to wait) the guy who seemed to head the waitresses seem to stand about whilst the young girls ran about like headless chickens! And bth mornings we had to ask and then wait around 10mins for a high chair to be brought! Not the best breakfast service we have had from De Vere I must say! But nothing to write home about thought I would just mention it...The food in the bar was FAB! Good value, Hot and the staff very friendly. |
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| From: Richard Rae |
| Date of Stay: August, 2008 |
| For £45 a night, including breakfast, this was outstanding value for money. The only thing I'd fault would be the gym, which given the quality of the rest of the facilities, and the general golfing/sporting theme, was a bit small and lacking in equipment. Also the pool tends to be overrun by families/kids - a lane should be marked off for those who want to swim lengths. Generally, though, easily the best value I've come across in years of business travel. |
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| From: Kenneth Bain |
| Date of Stay: August, 2008 |
| Very busy hotel, car park generally packed, but spaces to be found away from the entrance. Generally smart in appearance, though some mildly shabby bits in need of refreshing, but decent sized room with a comfortable bed. I had to leave before breakfast service began so cannot comment on that. Bar small, so busy in the evening, but still reasonably prompt to take orders and deliver food. Lovely location, even if you are not a golfer - well off the beaten track, so not the easiest place to get to. Bargain rates available from time to time - and they really are a bargain. Always happy to stay here. |
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| From: Steven Parrish |
| Date of Stay: August, 2008 |
| Excellent hotel. Wish we had had more time to enjoy the facilities more. |
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| From: Reviewer has requested to be kept anonymous. |
| Date of Stay: August, 2008 |
| A very good room and hotel slightly let down by a few maintenance niggles.An out of the way upmarket hotel with attached golf-course- about 15-20 minutes drive from Central Reading . My satnav took me a roundabout way using the postcode - use the written directions from the website instead. Also the hotel driveway entrance is not lit up at night making it easy to miss (the hotel is at the end of a very long drive).Full English breakfast was self-serve and good quality with the tea/coffee or special requests being waiter service. I didn't eat any other meals there.The room looked very smart and stylish. The room looked out over a courtyard than over the golf-course - though you expect that with the cheap rates. A few minor issues with the room itself let down what would have been a perfect score: - the TV sound was very poor - the flat-screen TV (perhaps 28 inch) was built into a stylish wooden unit which seemed to interfere with speech and meant that you had to have it loud to hear voices properly. Presumably the frame is an anti-theft feature as a large wide-screen TV is unusual in most hotels.- there was a huge ornamental silver clock in the bathroom - about 2 foot across - making the fact it wasn't working rather obvious.- the roller blind on the window was broken so I couldn't open it fully to open the french doors or wind it up after letting it down. Also note there is no air-con. |
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| From: Helen Smart |
| Date of Stay: August, 2008 |
| Unfortunately I did not have a pleasant stay. The room was basic and worn, the bed was incredibly hard, I had to ask for additional pillows. There was no information in the room about the hotel and very basic refreshments. I had some mushrooms, egg and toast for breakfast and this upset my stomach. I was really disappointed at the quality and lack of comfort of your hotel based on accommodation in room 255. |
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| From: natalie reddick |
| Date of Stay: August, 2008 |
| on arrival we were given a unrefurbished room with a really uncomfortable bed, we complained to reception and they changed us to one on the newly refurbished rooms without quibble. Breakfast was fantastic quality and you could fill yourself up for the day!! Although on the 1st mornings breakfast there was no fried eggs and they were not willing to do anymore even though there was 25 minutes left till the end of breakfast, The next 2 mornings breakfast were fantastic and staff very helpful. We ate in the main restuarant one evening and it was fantastic value for money and very nice. Had a sandwich in the bar and that is all there was on the plate rather steep for £5. Golfing facilities were fantasic and very resonable and great fun with the golf buggy as a non player can enjoy a afternoon. would not recommend for families as there is nothing for children to do. Would definately stay here again. |
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| From: Rob Eagle |
| Date of Stay: August, 2008 |
| I took advantage of a special deal and on that basis it was exeptional value indeed.The hotel is modern, caters for all your needs and will suit the business traveller well.The restaurant food was more than acceptable.On the down side the pillows could do with replacing, the sheet was so thin I could see the pattern of the mattress underneath and I would have prefered a more extensive wine list as I do like a good bottle of wine in the evening. |
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| From: Reviewer has requested to be kept anonymous. |
| Date of Stay: August, 2008 |
| I booked last minute, so got an incredibly good deal - the 1 night stay was excellent value, particularly as I also had my 2 children (age 10 & 7) with me. Its not specifically a young-family friendly hotel but my two had a great time thanks to the pool! The room was a standard size, so a little tight with the 3 of us, but very comfortable all the same, nice decor and very clean. The breakfast the following morning was excellent in terms of both choice and taste. My only criticism would be the dinner - it was very expensive for the quality and quantity served, which was a shame. |
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| From: Reviewer has requested to be kept anonymous. |
| Date of Stay: August, 2008 |
| Value for money excellent at Lateroom price. I would not think it so at their published rate. Good sized pool and excellent, modern public areas. The room allocated was nice and quiet, and a long trek from reception! The room was dimly lit and the bathroom very small for a 'premium priced' hotel. |
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