Malmaison Hotel, Reading
The Malmaison Hotel Reading (formerly the Great Western Hotel) is a grade II listed hotel in the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It is situated at the junction of Blagrave Street and Station Road, directly opposite the main entrance to Reading railway station. It was opened in 1844, shortly after the Great Western Railway opened its line from London, and is thought to be the oldest surviving purpose-built railway hotel in the world.[1][2][3]
| Malmaison Reading Hotel | |
|---|---|
.jpg.webp) Malmaison Hotel in 2007 | |
  Location within Reading Central | |
| Hotel chain | Malmaison |
| General information | |
| Location | Reading, Berkshire, UK |
| Address | Great Western House 18-20 Station Road Reading RG1 1JX |
| Coordinates | 51°27′26.64″N 0°58′18.35″W |
| Opening | 1844[1] |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 75 |
| Number of suites | 6 |
| Number of restaurants | 1 |
History
When the Great Western Main Line from London to Bristol was completed in 1841 a hotel was needed for people visiting the town. According to English Heritage, the building is likely to have been designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who was GWR's Chief Engineer at the time of its construction and who incorporated similar features in the Royal Station Hotel at Slough (which was demolished in 1938).[2][3]
The building was completed in 1844 and was used as a hotel until a fire in the 1960s. Subsequently, the building was used as offices until it was renovated by the Malmaison hotel chain and reopened, in 2007, as the Malmaison Hotel.[1][4]
References
- Phillips, Daphne (1980). The Story of Reading. Countryside Books. p. 115. ISBN 0-905392-07-8.
- Historic England. "Great Western House (1113591)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
- "Building the Great Western Railway". Reading History Trail. Archived from the original on 16 October 2010. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
- "Reading". Malmaison. Retrieved 24 February 2017.