Pet-friendly hotels in Reading, ranked
Dog resting in a hotel lobby armchair in Reading
Seven hotels that actually welcome dogs — with pet fees from $0 to $45 a night, room restrictions decoded, and the two properties where I’d genuinely bring a bigger dog.
The truth about pet-friendly in Reading
'Pet-friendly' in the UK hospitality industry means anything from 'small dog, in a carrier, in one designated ground-floor room' to 'bring the labrador, he can eat sausages at breakfast'. Reading has both extremes and most points in between. The town has decent dog infrastructure — Prospect Park, Forbury Gardens, and the Thames Path all welcome dogs, and Caversham in particular is dog country at weekends. What's harder is finding a hotel where you don’t feel apologetic bringing the animal through the lobby.
I’ve stayed with a 22kg lurcher at seven Reading hotels in the last two years. The rankings below reflect what the pet policy actually is on the ground, not what the website claims. Pet fees range from nothing (Premier Inn on their pilot rooms) to $45 a night (Malmaison), and some hotels charge per stay while others charge per night — the difference on a week's booking is significant.
Malmaison Reading — the top pick if you’re spending
Malmaison genuinely likes dogs. The converted Great Western station has ground-floor rooms opening onto a courtyard, staff who keep treats at reception, and no size restriction. Rate $185 to $240 plus a $45 per-stay pet fee (not per night — this matters). Rooms are the nicest in Reading and the location is two minutes from the station, ten from Forbury Gardens for the morning walk. I’ve had a lurcher fall asleep on the room's velvet armchair without a raised eyebrow.
The catch is dinner: the ground-floor brasserie doesn’t allow dogs in the dining room, only the bar lounge area. That's an evening-planning constraint if you’re travelling solo. Book the courtyard rooms specifically — they’re quieter and the door-to-grass route is thirty seconds, which matters at 6am. For a weekend break with a well-behaved dog and a $200-a-night budget, this is where I’d go every time.
Premier Inn Reading Central — the value pick
Premier Inn has rolled out pet-friendly rooms across select hotels, and the Reading Central branch has around eight rooms in the programme. Rate $85 to $115 plus a $28 per-stay pet fee. Rooms are standard Premier Inn — clean, functional, hard flooring in the bathroom which is genuinely useful with a wet dog. Two-dog maximum, no size limit stated but staff will push back at anything approaching a great dane. Ground-floor rooms only.
The location is unbeatable for a walking-with-dog weekend — five minutes to the station, ten to the Kennet towpath, twelve to Forbury Gardens. There's no on-site restaurant with dog access, which is standard Premier Inn, so plan for takeaway or find one of the several dog-welcoming pubs on Castle Street. Book the pet room specifically at booking — the general reservation system won’t automatically assign one. Ranks second for anyone under $150 a night.
The Roseate Reading — for the low-key luxurious weekend
Roseate accepts dogs in specified garden rooms at $30 per night (per night, note, so a three-night stay is $90). The garden runs to the Kennet and there's genuinely space for a dog to stretch, plus a reception that keeps water bowls and biscuits. Rooms $210 to $290. The whole vibe is quieter and more grown-up than Malmaison, so this works better for older dogs who sleep through dinner than exuberant puppies who don’t.
The restaurant is not dog-friendly at all, which is a stricter policy than Malmaison. What Roseate offers instead is a garden-room breakfast option where staff will bring food out if the weather cooperates. It's a fussier setup but the payoff is a genuinely beautiful stay. For a special weekend with a mellow dog, and if the per-night fee doesn’t scare you off, this is a good third pick behind Malmaison and Premier Inn.
Holiday Inn Reading South — the road-trip base
Holiday Inn accepts dogs in ground-floor rooms at $25 per stay. Free parking, big surface car park you can walk a dog around, and the property backs onto some scrappy but functional green space. Rate $115 to $150. This is the practical pick if Reading is a stopover on a longer trip: you can arrive, walk the dog, sleep, and be back on the M4 by 9am without ever going near town centre. The pool doesn’t allow dogs (obviously) but the corridors are wide and unfussed.
The location is dull and the food is dull, but with a dog those are minor. Better to drive fifteen minutes to a proper pub for dinner — the Bull at Sonning welcomes dogs and does proper food. For anyone road-tripping to the West Country or the Cotswolds with a dog, Holiday Inn Reading South is a smarter overnight than the town centre options. Just don’t stay two nights unless you have specific reasons.
The ones that say pet-friendly but really aren’t
Novotel Reading Centre technically accepts dogs at $18 a night but restricts to small dogs (under 15kg) and forbids them from public areas including the lobby beyond arrival and departure. That's a workable policy for a chihuahua and a nightmare for anything bigger. Ibis Reading Centre has a similar restrictive setup. Pentahotel is genuinely welcoming but the ground-floor rooms overlook Oxford Road and the noise punishes a light-sleeping dog.
Voco Green Park and Crowne Plaza Reading East both accept assistance dogs only, not pets — worth knowing because they show up on some search filters as pet-friendly. Holiday Inn Express M4 Jct 11 similarly restricts to assistance dogs. The overall Reading pet-friendly picture is thinner than it looks online; four hotels really work, three are marginal, and the rest are polite refusals dressed up as policies.
Walking your dog in Reading
Prospect Park in West Reading is the best serious walk — 60 hectares, off-lead areas, and a decent café that tolerates muddy dogs on the terrace. Forbury Gardens is small but central and fine for a pre-breakfast wander; the Reading Abbey Ruins are on-lead only. The Thames Path from Caversham Bridge east toward Sonning is a proper hour-long walk with river views and pub stops at the Roebuck. Kennet towpath from the station east to Sutton's Seed Trial Ground is a shorter option, mostly on-lead because of cyclists.
Dog-friendly pubs worth planning around: the Griffin at Caversham, the Fisherman's Cottage on the Kennet, the Nag's Head, and the Bull at Sonning (fifteen minutes out). Reading Museum and Reading Abbey Ruins don’t allow dogs; the Museum of English Rural Life allows them in the gardens but not inside. Take a folded towel to any hotel — the Thames Path in October is a mud commitment, and no hotel appreciates a full-body wet dog on their reception carpet.
Before you book
What people ask before booking Caversham.
Malmaison — no size restriction, ground-floor courtyard rooms, and staff who genuinely welcome larger dogs. Premier Inn Reading Central is second choice with no stated size limit though anything over 30kg gets soft resistance. Novotel and Ibis both cap around 15kg, so ruled out for lurchers, labs and anything bigger.
Malmaison, Roseate and Premier Inn all allow it if the dog is quiet and crated. Holiday Inn requires housekeeping notification. None will accept a dog left barking. Realistically for a full day out you want a dog daycare — Bark Avenue in Woodley and Doggy Daycare Reading in Whitley both take drop-ins around $35 a day.
Pubs, yes; restaurants, mostly not. The Griffin at Caversham, Fisherman's Cottage on the Kennet, and the Nag's Head all do proper food and welcome dogs. Franco Manca on Broad Street tolerates well-behaved dogs on the outside seating. The Oracle food terrace is generally dog-welcoming outside; inside is patchy.
