The Elephant Hotel Reading, Pangbourne

Reviews

1. Jennifer Daly ★★★★★

   Lovely hotel in the pretty village of Pangbourne. The staff were very welcoming, friendly and helpful. Our room was well equipped, spacious and spotlessly clean. Excellent breakfast - a good continental selection and a good cooked menu option - freshly cooked by request - delicious! The hotel is old, so don’t expect a modern furniture layout in the bedrooms - I suspect they are all different, and a bit quirky - but for us this just added to the charm of the hotel. Pangbourne is a busy village and a lot of traffic passes through. Our room was on the ground floor at the front of the property and, of course, there was occasional traffic noise but we very quickly stopped noticing it. We occasionally got our car into the hotel car park, but most nights we left it in the neighbouring, convenient and very inexpensive car park.

   almost 9 months ago
2. Nick O'Donnell ★★★★★

   Overnight stay. There dinner bed and breakfast offer was great value for money. As long as you know your going into an older building on busy road in the centre of the village you will be happy with the service and quality of food

   almost 9 months ago
3. Alex Bodman ★★★★☆

   Great hotel, with really friendly staff. Nice bar and the rooms are cozy with an interesting theme. Love the elephant pillows. Breakfast was superb (eggs benedict). The whole hotel has a lovely feel. Just one thing to watch out for: if you get the Mandalay room beware that it’s right on top of the kitchen extractor fan. This works as a handy, or not so handy 05.30 alarm, depending on whether you sleep like a corpse or a princess…. Will defo return but possibly not to that room.

   almost 9 months ago

1. Matthew Budd ★★★★★

   We had our wedding at The Elephant on the 23rd August 2025. We stayed over from the Friday evening and had a family meal in the trunk room which was exquisite. Service was amazing. On the day of the wedding everything ran smoothly due to the helpfulness of the staff, the venue was immaculate, the food was not only delicious but also great portions. The bar was well stocked and well staffed all weekend. The rooms were clean, tidy, quirky and comfortable. We had guests in every room of the hotel and everybody commented on how lovely their room was. Check in was seamless considering the check in time was during the ceremony. The staff moved all cases and bags to the rooms and couldn't be more helpful. The breakfast service on the Saturday and Sunday was perfect with plenty of options for all. One of the best breakfasts we have ever had. The Bridal party were treated exceptionally by the staff and restaurant whilst getting ready for the wedding. Claire Cole, the wedding co-ordinator, was outstanding from the beginning of planning our wedding to the very end. She answered every question we had in a timely fashion, advised when necessary and helped to make the experience unforgettable. We hired Claire's company, Luxe Design Company, to help with decor and lawn games and she was amazing. The Elephant room where we had our wedding breakfast looked wonderful. We chose to have a garden ceremony and Claire decorated the garden beautifully, it looked like a fairy tale! Overall choosing The Elephant was the best decision we ever made. We fell in love with it when we went to the wedding fair and we still love it now. Every single member of staff from the manager to the bar staff to the kitchen staff contributed to making our wedding weekend the best weekend of our lives. Thank you all from Matthew and Dennisha

   almost 11 months ago
2. Paul Johnson ★★☆☆☆

   My wife and I stayed for a friend's wedding. We had to use and pay for public car parking as there is insufficient space owned by the hotel. It was one of the hottest days of the year which was a bonus as the bar is small and there wasn't enough tables or seating for the guests while we waited for the ceremony. There was no air conditioning in our room so we had a sleepless night. I only saw one air-conditioning unit in the whole hotel were the wedding was held and this was not any use. Breakfast was a huge disappointment, appearance, quantity and quality were lacking. The fried egg had angled edges and the was not hot. My wife never got her toast and I never got my tea. The cereal and continental breakfast table was still being set up as we ate and left and we were not up early! (not that it was worth waiting for!) The staff appeared unenthusiastic or trained? The only thing of quality was the tea and coffee tray in our room which seemed out of place in comparison to the rest of the facilities.

   1 year ago
3. Warren Stembridge ★★★★☆

   Had an afternoon tea (late Birthday present). Met with a warm welcome by Sky on reception. We sat down to a lovely afternoon tea.. The warm scones were particularly tasty! The staff were all attentive and thoughally enjoyed our afternoon. Definitely plan to revisit. Thank you kind regards Warren

   almost 3 years ago

1. Patrick Hayward ★★★★★

   Been coming in here for years and thought I'd leave a review to express my appreciation. Always a lovely pint of Good Old Boy, great variation and choice of liqour. Great bar man with Yacob, whilst manager, Chris, leads a great team. In addition, you'd struggle to find a better steak in West Berks.

   almost 3 years ago
2. Luke Anthony ★★★★★

   Had a great time, felt very welcome and room was clean. We took our dog and we arrived with fresh water and doggy biscuits, with a doggy bed and towels. Reggie loved it. Felt very welcome. Room was nice, a little dark and decor a bit outdated but was perfect for what we needed. I was looking forward to a bath but unfortunately the bath plug didn't seal around the whole, so I ran a bath then went straight down the plug whole... But apart from that all good. Nice facilities, tea coffee, hot chocolate and shower gel stuff, lovely! We will be back

   almost 3 years ago
3. Lorry Driver ★★★☆☆

   Food was ok, portion sizes a little small with the sides, the vegetarian fajitas were poor and tasteless (being kind as this is a stake house). Our serving staff were nice but not very knowledgeable about the menu, and there was an unpleasant odor that followed the chap who served us our wine. We also felt a little rushed towards the end of the evening.

   almost 3 years ago

1. Seano ★★★★★

   A great dinner experienced by myself and two friends on 12th October. The steaks were outstanding and cooked perfectly. Rarely do I experience this at restaurants these days so a very pleasing meal. Chris the restaurant manager couldn’t have been anymore accommodating and welcoming. A 1st class experience and for those looking for the best steaks around the Thames Valley, go no further. Thanks The Elephant Hotel and team.

   almost 3 years ago

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