Reception hallway
Bar boot lighting and metallic wall covering
84,000 glass beaded chandelier
Lobby seating
Seating and handmade glass partition 
Blue bedroom
Pink bedroom
Chandelier within old lift shaft
Programme 4
Overview
The Forbury Hotel & Apartments are located in the historic Forbury Square, the "Mayfair" of Reading, overlooking the Forbury Gardens. Forbury Square has recently benefited from £2.5m of investment to restore the gardens to their former glory.
Interior Design
The design is the real talking-point. With its mixture of colours, textures and patterns, interior designer Nicholas Hollinshead has created a sumptuous yet modern response to the bland designs that have become commonplace in corporate hotels the world over. As Hollinshead himself says, "Minimalism is not a word in our dictionary."
History
The Forbury is a Grade 1 listed building built in grand, Queen Anne style in 1912. A grand civic redbrick building, it was once used as Berkshire County chambers and Shire Hall until its present owner, the property developer Toby Hunter of the Waterbridge Group, decided to create a hotel.
Features
The vaulted ceilings, panelled walls, wide corridors, marble floors and pillars of the original building are in stark contrast to the new additions, with new fire surrounds in sleek minimal settings, striking metallic and pink floral wallpaper, and boldly patterned sofas. A chandelier made from 84,000 glass beads hangs the full height of the building through the stairwell. There are seven design schemes used throughout the 24 bedrooms. Rooms share certain features such as the American walnut flooring (with underfloor heating) and Coles wallpaper alongside Zoffany Manhattan wallpaper, upholstery, fabrics and rugs vary (each one is different thanks to changes of colour and fabric) creating 23 truly individual rooms. Room 18 is the Grand Suite. The colour scheme is different to all the other rooms. It boasts a large bathroom incorporating a steam room with mosaic walls and fibre optic lighting feature in the ceiling. A glass bath is the central feature to the room made by Jeff Bell, a glass designer based in London. This room is located above the Grand Salon and boasts the same panelling details and moulding detail on the walls. They are hand-painted in a floral design with elements picked out in the colours of the fabrics in the room.