Merlot and Chianti at Kidmore End

In preference to staying in chain hotels during our 30,000 miles a year travel around the UK; the intention is to book small, privately run hotels that offer good quality accommodation and service, discounted to ensure we provide value for money for our clients.

We propose to share our experiences through this blog and hope that others will do the same to provide a meaningful resource for other frequent travellers.

With rooms named after popular wines, the boutique, New Inn Hotel at Kidmore End was a must for an overnight stay prior to a 15-hour video shoot at the Reading Station redevelopment.

Rooms enticingly titled Merlot 1 and Merlot 2 were duly booked for the two intrepid videographers but within minutes LateRooms called to advise that there had been an error during booking and only Merlot 2 was available which we could if preferred, share.

For anyone who has read our previous hotel blogs, you’ll note that we prefer not to share.

On this occasion it seems that the computer systems of LateRooms couldn’t integrate with the wireless telegraphy of the New Inn and as a result didn’t identify that Merlot 1 was in fact the same room as Merlot 2, available for one person or alternatively for a couple.

But no problem, the New Inn made direct contact with us and offered Chianti for my colleague Brett, which seemed to appeal to his well-disguised feminine side.

So, after miles of mindless motorway, anticipation quickly turned to trepidation when satnav took us off-main-road down a wet track leading to the New Inn.

But unlike many of our previous LaterthaneverRooms experiences, on arrival we were pleasantly surprised to find that we were expected, two rooms were available for us and despite arriving late, food wouldn’t be a problem.

A King size bed is a good start but a king size bedroom was definitely unexpected. Contemporary decoration, every facility from a wall safe to a walk-in wardrobe and a bathroom that could comfortably feature in the best interiors magazines and for less than £70,  it really would be unreasonable to fault the accommodation.

Or the menu, which was a far cry from traditional pub food and offered something for most palettes. Well prepared and cooked, matched with excellent service, and as with the accommodation, at a cost that wouldn’t offend those with snug pockets.

So if you need to stay within 20 miles of Reading, you can do far worse than lay your head in Merlot or Chianti.