What I liked
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Swimming pool
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25 acres of well-maintained grounds
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Lot of activities – Tennis and ping pong
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Smart rooms
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If you need a hotel near Bracknell, the Doubletree St Anne’s Manor is a good option. Bracknell is a town in Surrey, about 1 hour from Central London. The Doubletree is a smart 4* hotel, five minutes from Wokingham. There’s a swimming pool, 25 acres of gardens and modern rooms. All this is offered at a decent price.
I was attending a wedding close by. I needed a hotel for one night, but didn’t want to spend a lot of money. For me, this hotel was ideal! I didn’t fancy paying £300 on a posh hotel, just to arrive at midnight, half drunk! While I did arrive at the hotel drunk, I made sure to take photos for this review. The sacrifices of a blogger!
The Doubletree St Annes Manor is a Hilton in Bracknell. It’s a smart 4* hotel with the following features:
I stayed with my family, so I booked 2 connecting rooms. Hilton has a great offer. A 2nd room is half price, when you stay with a child. The 1st room cost £55 and the 2nd one cost £27.50. This is obviously a terrific deal. In London, it costs more than £27 to play tennis for 2 hours.
The gardens are nice and well maintained. You can walk around them in 20 minutes.
The hotel isn’t a grand manor, like The Langley. It’s not on that level. The Langley costs £500/night and has spectacular grounds. However, the Doubletree offers more than most hotels at the same price.
The location is excellent if you need a hotel near Bracknell. Bracknell is in Surrey, which is one of the nicest parts of the UK. It’s very popular with investment bankers that work in London! The Doubletree St Annes Manor is 5 minutes from the town of Wokingham. It’s one hour from Central London.
The room was pretty good. Standard fare for a modern 4* hotel. The room had the following features:
The room had a shower, rather than a bath. I’m not personally a fan of this. I like to take baths when I’m in a cold country. That being said, showers are becoming increasingly common. Even at expensive 5* hotels! The Kimpton Edinburgh charges £500/night in peak season. The hotel is beautiful. However, they have small showers and tiny bathrooms!
In room tea and coffee was available. However, the offering was basic. A kettle, some tea bags and instant coffee.
My wife mentioned that the rooms weren’t cleaned properly. She found an eye mask on the floor. She also found crumbs from potato chips behind the bed. That’s not very nice, but I didn’t want to complain on a 1 night stay. Ultimately, if you look behind the bed at your hotel room, you’re asking for trouble!
I have Gold Status with Hilton. Sadly, I didn’t get an upgrade on this occasion.
As a Hilton Gold, I got complimentary breakfast. This was served in the downstairs restaurant. It was standard English Breakfast fare. The following was offered:
The quality was similar to other 4* hotels in the UK. Perfectly acceptable but not great! They didn’t have any fresh fruit, mushrooms or porridge. Check out my review of the Radisson Blu Liverpool for a similar example.
I had veggie sausages, hash browns and a pot of tea. The veggie sausages weren’t the best. The tea was ok – a little weak.
The Doubletree St Annes Manor is a Hilton in Bracknell. It’s a decent hotel that offers amazing value. For £82, I got two rooms for one night. I got breakfast for a family of four. I also used the swimming pool and played tennis. It's not a grand English Manor. But it’s a good place to spend a day or two.
Bicester Village is not far from Bracknell. It’s home to the most famous outlet mall in the UK. You can buy items from Burberry, Prada and Dior for large discounts. I stayed at the Bicester Holiday Inn Express. Review here. It’s an excellent budget hotel! The rooms are modern, the breakfast is good and you’re 5 minutes from the outlet mall.
I flew in British Airways fabulous Club Suites. Review here. That is the name of their long haul business class. I had a terrific flight. The suite was awesome, the food was good and the service was top notch.
I’ve also reviewed the British Airways Lounge in Heathrow Terminal 5. It’s a bright and impressive space. The kids play area has a model airport – my daughter loved it! That being said, I was disappointed with the food.