The Berkshire Arms is laid back from the main Bath Road in Midgham a small village between Reading…read moreand Newbury. Formally a big farm house this is now owned by Chef and Brewer with accommodation by Premier Travel, the spacious building has about ninety tables for dinning including an outdoor patio and large garden, the food served is excellent value at a very reasonable price. The service is next to none with very polite waitress service, the large bar offers a good selection of three Real Ales, lagers, bottled beers and wines. This popular place is highly recommended with its very laid back atmosphere.

Good food both at value deals and if you fancy something a bit more special the choice is there. A…read morenicely decorated pub with friendly staff. Update: Oct 2011 Went here especially for lunch today with a friend and while the lunch was fine, there seemed to be problem with the bill. We asked to speak to the manager who was right there and said speak to another member of staff. Turned out we were over charged but we were treated as if were trying to get a freebie. Also miserable manager and really slow staff. Really disappointed.

Just checked in but it seems like a decent place. I am to the left of reception, which looks like a…read morenew wing. The manager commented that these rooms are all identical. Wifi blazes, all is clean. I decided no breakfast, which saved me 8£.

The visit to the Vineyard for my birthday meal had a slightly strange timing, coming as it did on…read moreApril Fools' Day and not on my birthday! It did make me feel a bit like the queen, having 2 birthdays! The Vineyard had been on my foodie radar for awhile, from the days of chef John Campbell who held 2 Michelin stars here. So, when I started dating my girlfriend who lives in Newbury, she organised to take me here for a celebration dinner. The hotel and restaurant is definitely a dress up sort of venue and walking past the bowls of flames on the outdoor pond and through the automatic front doors made it feel like a special occasion. The whole place has light coloured decor with modern accents, which removes the air of over-bearing starchiness that can pervade some fine dining venues. We elected to have drinks while perusing the menu and 2 glasses of freshly squeezed orange juice were accompanied by some moreish canapes - large mild Ligurian olives, salted almonds and some savoury straws. Chef Daniel Galmiche has his hand on the tiller in the kitchen these days. He is described on the Vineyard's website as the king of contemporary French cooking, which are a big pair of shoes to fill. A lovely touch came at the end of the evening when he came round the dining room to meet the diners and have a short chat. He gave us a tip on how best to eat our dessert course. The menu has 4 choices in each of the starter, main course and dessert sections. It covers both meat and seafood and perhaps a couple more choices in each section would have been nice. After making our choice of food and wine, we were shown to our table. I have to say that the service from what seemed to be an exclusively French brigade was top-notch and very smooth and unobtrusive throughout the evening. We had an amuse-bouche of goat's cheese straw with beetroot tagliatelli and avocado mousse. A good idea with balance of flavours but the cheese straw proved hard to break down into small enough pieces to complement the beetroot. My starter of scallops in an oriental broth yielded top class sweet scallops cooked to perfection but the oriental accents were perhaps a little muted for my palate - however, with scallops this good, the accents were perhaps missed less. My girlfriend's starter of foie gras terrine was lovely and rich but the portion size was quite large - I helped to polish the dish off. For mains, I had Balmoral Estate venison fillet cooked to medium rare perfection accompanied by my favourite ingredient in the world - seared foie gras. Top notch ingredients cooked perfectly accompanied by salsifi, butternut squash and quince to help cut through the richness. The girlfriend had a plate of veal - slow cooked rack, braised shin and sweetbread. Again, well cooked but quite a large portion size. This meant that we had to share a pudding, both being unable to manage a whole one on our own. The girlfriend chose well - blackcurrant souffle with licorice ice cream.Chef Galmiche's tip was true - to get the full effect of the flavour combination, you had to eat the souffle and ice cream in the same mouthful. The souffle was really intensely flavoured with blackcurrant. I also have to make mention of the pianist who entertained us through the evening. He was very friendly, giving me the name of a piece he was playing that I particularly enjoyed and taking requests. We had a lovely evening here - great ambiance and venue for a celebration or date. The food is good and with a little tweaking of choice and portion size, it could be great.

Absolutely amazing…read more We stayed here for a weekend for a Valentines Day treat. The hotel was lovely, the spa very relaxing, but the best reason to come here would be the food. In fact, you could just skip the whole hotel thing so long as you can sucker someone in to driving home (or get a taxi). The friendly maitre d' greets you enthusiastically upon arrival and summons the discreet and charming sommelier. With a name like The Vineyard, you know to expect wine, but the reams of paper that contain the wine menu are just breathtaking. Every nuance of taste and knowledge are catered for, or you can merely leave your choices in the capable hands of the sommelier, who, with a discreet wink to how much you intend on spending, will guide you through the perfect accompaniments to your chosen dishes. Then comes the restaurant. You are led into a delicate tiered room bedecked with a baby grand and a talented pianist to add to the atmosphere. Outside, flames burn around the central courtyard fountain, echoing the soft glow of the intimate lighting inside. The menu is astonishing and should come laminated to prevent the odd Pavlovian accident. Even the most decisive of people can find themselves giddy at what to order. There is of course a tasting menu to reassure you, should the vital decision elude you. But whatever you pick, the rapturous praise you will bestow upon what you receive will be the same. This is gastronomy. This is the reason the French can no longer justifiably sniff at English cuisine. And I went there when it only had one Michelin star. Since my visit, another has been awarded, and the praise has more than doubled. As for cost, who the hell cares? When the food is this good, you just pay the bill and worry about your knees at a later date.

Went there today for afternoon tea. The worst experience ever. As an non white woman going…read moresomewhere quite "fancy" as a gift from my girlfriend just to be racial abused by the customers and let down by the staff. Besides, the food was atrocious and not worth £30 EACH! Included : 1 tiny scone 1 tiny tea cake 1 split brown bread with smoked salmon (tasted off) 2 sandwiches (looked disgusting) 4 kinds of small taster cakes Tea and coffee was so weak it tasted like boiled water Waste of Money. Never going there again.

This is one of my favourite hotels in the area! The location is great as you are walking distance…read moreto shops, parking can be a struggle sometime but there is off-street parking! If you ever stay in this hotel and want a really special treat I would recommend booking a RIver view suite. Each suite is named after luxury champagne and the river view suites are called Comtes de Champagne, Laurent Perrier and Ruinart . These are duplex rooms with King size beds with Egyptian cotton. Each having stunning open plan bathrooms and lounge area upstairs with French doors leading onto a heated balcony and outdoor bath with breathtaking views of the River Thames and Regatta lawns. The bathroom has another flat screen television and each bathroom has a open rolltop bath enough to share for two people and a monsoon walk in shower which there is ampul of complimentary toiletries. There is a double sink and a large mirror as well as a very large L shaped leather sofa. The amazing view outside can also be enjoyed in another roll top bath outside which is allows you privacy from other rooms or buildings but also you can enjoy the beauty of the stars in the sky at night! I go here every year and try to stay more than one night! It's a luxury treat but a very romantic weekend!

Lovely 15th century property. Nice cozy rooms in the pub and kind staff. I had some fish and chips,…read morebrought the dog, sat by the fire. Friend had the pie and really enjoyed. Good menu with varied gastropub fare offerings. I'd love to check out the hotel, they've really done a nice job restoring and maintaining the buildings and interiors. Very sweet village.

I found this a fine place for bit to eat at the adjacent restaurant from the hotel. It's very…read moreinviting with a nice little menu featuring regular pub fare. I had some fish and chips while I watched the cricket match. The fish was over cooked but tasty and the chips are fabulous. Note: I hate generalizations but I do find everything over cooked in England. It seams to me you have a few choices in food preparation I.E. Done, well done, burnt to a crisp. Perfect. Enough of that...the staff is wonderful and attentive. When I started to pay I was informed their credit card machine wasn't working. The barkeep said no worries you can pay later. That would never happen in LA! I scrounged up a few ponds and all was good. I would stop in anytime!

Premier Inn is a pretty basic hotel chain. Don't expect five star service here, but as far as three…read morestar hotels go, this place is ok. The location of the hotel is pretty convenient- in the Leisure Park area of town. Abundant free parking, and a shuttle bus to the railway station just behind the hotel (with a day pas only £2.30). Pretty close to the M3 and fairly easy to get to. As far as accommodations, the rooms are newly renovated with wall mount flat screen televisions, neutral colors, and several USB plugs per room. The bathroom was a bit on the tiny side, and the shower didn't drain properly even after we had alerted maintenance. Despite the fact that this hotel chain seems to pride themselves on comfortable beds, the twin bed in my room was anything but- I could almost feel the springs coming through the sheets, it was a fairly rough night. The full size bed in the room seemed to be better however- though neither had really good pillows. There is a Beefeater pub right next door that serves typical fare- as well as breakfast for hotel guests. Prepare for the hotel staff to try to sell you a meal package upon checkin- for me it wasn't worth it as I don't eat breakfast.

Nice place! We were seated near an incredibly loud table but they moved us kindly when we asked…read more Yummy food, good selection of drinks too. Nice looking both inside and out, and kind staff. Great!

Stay away. The owners of this "establishment" have ZERO flexibility. They show the lowest price…read morerates and hide the normal rates. Be sure to scroll way down when reading the terms. The terms are in the opposite order as the rates. Very deceptive.

We are pleased to use the Calcot for Christmas and New Year. We have at least one lunch there as we…read moreapproach the end of the year. However the highlight is New Years Eve when we arrive at about 6.30pm and go to our pre-booked bedroom, relax and nave a nice bath. We then get ready in our dinner suits and dresses and meet up in the bar where we are offered spritzers and canapes. Then we open our bar accounts ( but be careful, we had some so-and-so put his drinks on our bill one year !) and start on the heavier stuff. We booked our table when we booked the package so we are shown to it. It is festooned with balloons, poppers and other items. We have also booked our menu in advance and our choices of wine arrive on time. We set about our food and pull crackers and get into the mood. Soft music plays in the background. The meal is savoured fully and as we finish, the plates are taken away and we chat to people on neighbouring tables..... Then the disco starts and we are up, dancing the night way. Just before midnight our pre-ordered champagne arrives and the countdown starts to a new year.. Ding Dong Hooray !!! It is now the New Year and people kiss and or shake hands. More dancing until we take the half empty bottle and our silly paper hats to our room and crash out. We wake and go down to have a full english breakfast and get home for 10.30am and then start thinking of lunch !! We met up with a number of people who, like us, have found it a nice way to start a new year....And it is not expensive ....BOOK EARLY

I stayed in this hotel with my work and it is not an amazing hotel but then on the other hand it…read morecould be a lot worse. The rooms are well presented and have the basic extras that you tend to get i.e tea,coffee, basic kettle. The restaurant was expensive and a lot of the food seemed to be overpriced. However, make sure you try the steak's, they really were of a good quality. Overall, i would definately say that this is a hotel for business trips.

My friends and I came here to visit the spa, White Cottage...but afterwards spent a few hours…read morerelaxing in the sun in the beautiful grounds of this hotel...and trying their food. The cafe menu wasn't particularly extensive, and is probably better suited to cold days (there were pies, sausages, pasta and lots of stodgy comfort-food type meals) but it all tasted lovely. They have plenty of comfy seating, covered in cushions so you can relax outside in the sun. We all ended up a little pink, but happy. I imagine this would be a lovely venue for a wedding (we saw some confetti on the grass, so they must do weddings!!) ...as the gardens would be perfect for photos.

Wow have you seen the refit. We havent eaten here yet but…read morethe menue looks amazing and the whole place has been tranformed since De Verehave taken it over. VERY IMPRESSED !