A hotel in Reading that is due to be reopened by a hospitality company could be getting new fitness rooms.
The Crowne Plaza just south of Caversham Bridge and the River Thames in Reading, closed down late last year, and has subsequently been acquired by Village Hotels.
Earlier this year, the company announced that it would be investing millions of pounds into the hotel to provide revamped guest rooms, a pub and grill, and even a Starbucks cafe.
Part of this project involves the creation of improved gym facilities for guests and people with hotel club membership.
To that end, Village Hotels wants to build the extension to create three dedicated wellness studios.
A planning agent from Leach Roades Walker Architects explained: “These studios—Spin, Burn, and Reformer— are designed to enhance the Hotel’s fitness offering.
“The Spin studio delivers high-energy indoor cycling classes aimed at improving cardiovascular health and endurance.
“Burn focuses on high-intensity interval training (HIIT), combining strength, cardio, and agility exercises for a full-body workout.
“The Reformer studio offers low-impact pilates sessions using specialist equipment to build strength, flexibility, and support rehabilitation.
“Together, these spaces provide a varied and comprehensive health and wellbeing experience for hotel guests and members.”
The single-storey extension would be visible from Caversham Road.
The plan for these studios has been submitted to Reading Borough Council.
You can view the application by typing reference PL/25/0759 into the council’s portal.
Village Hotels hopes to open the site in December this year.
The company website states: “We’re bringing the full Village experience to Reading with a fully renovated hotel offering everything under one roof, including incredible Health & Wellness facilities and more.”
Village Hotels took over the former Hilton in Bracknell in 2022, and also runs a hotel in Basingstoke.
The Crowne Plaza in Caversham Road was previously earmarked for complete or partial redevelopment in the council’s Local Plan partial-update process that emerged in 2023.
Options that were considered included turning the site into housing or a care home, a partial redevelopment that would have provided a hotel and restaurant, and even an electric vehicle charging facility.
However, the acquisition by Village Hotels put all of these proposals on hold, with the site no longer appearing in the pre-submission draft of the Local Plan Partial Update that was published last November.
