Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
21ST CENTURY, GATSBY STYLE Discover a unique historic getaway at The Read House hotel, where modern-day comfort meets timeless Chattanooga charm. Conveniently located in the heart of downtown, our landmark property is walking distance from the top attractions in the city. Visit the Tennessee Riverwalk, Chattanooga Convention Center, AT&T ballpark, Tennessee Aquarium and The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga – all just steps from our door. Each of our rooms and suites includes a coffeemaker, flat-screen TV, room service, premium bedding and lovely views of downtown Chattanooga. Complimentary Wi-Fi and convenient work desks make it easy to stay connected and productive throughout your stay. Whatever your pleasure, it’s all here at The Read House.
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Nestled in the heart of downtown Chattanooga, The Read House garners acclaim for its friendly service and classic 1920s ambiance, complete with elegant holiday decorations that transport guests to a bygone era. Its prime location is a hit among guests for the ease of exploring the city on foot. While the hotel's amenities and cleanliness receive high marks, some visitors mention occasional delays in service and housekeeping.
The rooms' comfort and historical allure are appreciated, though critiques of minor maintenance issues and decor arise. Travelers also voice concerns over hidden charges, questioning the hotel's overall value.
Location
Convenient
Atmosphere
Charming
Rooms
Mixed
Value
Expensive
Cleanliness
Meticulous
Service
Attentive
Amenities
Well-appointed
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The Read House is an exceptional place to stay from the minute you pull up for valet parking right in front of the historical hotel to dining at the Chop house. We have stayed here many times and each time is wonderful. The rooms are beautiful and the beds are so comfortable. Also always see spirits within the halls I’m a medium so that makes sense with the history of this hotel. Come for a stay you won’t be sorry.
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Date of stay: December 2024Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Jill Crawford, Other at The Read House
Responded Jan 17, 2025
Thank you for this Roaring Review!
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I stayed here last night and loved it. The hotel has been renovated at some point, but has kept its historic nature. The lobby is very classy and there was a host with a top hat to help with information. My room was quite large and inviting. The bathroom hd a clean tiled floor and the shower was great. I got a full eight hours of sleep, which has become rare. I was given a card for a glass of champaign in the bar. Bridgeman's Restaurant was a nice upscale place and has a great chef who produces interesting dishes. I got breakfast at the Starbucks that is across the hallway from Bridgman's and it was quite busy. The valet parking charge was $28 plus tax, which is lower than most places these days. The building was erected in 1926, lending itself to the classiness of the hotel. There is another tower that is being renovated currently and a pool and workout room are near it. I saw a couple ballrooms on the mezzanine level that were large. I hope to return here someday.
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Date of stay: January 2025
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Jill Crawford, Other at The Read House
Responded Jan 17, 2025
Thank you for this Roaring Review!
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
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My husband and I stayed at the ReadHouse for a couple of nights. We took advantage of the “bed type not guaranteed “ rate and were rewarded with a premiere room with a king bed. The room was lovely. We self parked at the Citi Park garage ($20 per overnight ) which is across the street from the hotels side entrance. The hotel is in a good location. Highly recommend.
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Date of stay: March 2025Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
While the size of the room was nice and big, the extra small window looked out onto the other side of the brick building which allowed no light in. The small air conditioner, heater would cycle on and off every 3 minutes so it kept me up all night. Then when I wanted to take a shower in the morning there was no way to direct the water to the shower head. No shower!!. We were told the room charge would match what we found on line at Expedia, but after we left the hotel we discovered we were charged $157 instead of the 144 that was on line. We went to their restaurant in the hotel for a nice meal Bridgeman’s Chophouse. . While in understand the steak is expensive and I had no issue with the $66. 16 oz strip steak, we got charged $71. If they charged us an extra $5 to split the steak and therefore we needed an extra plate, that is ridiculous. We at least should have been told when we placed our order.
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Date of stay: December 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Room Tip:Find somewhere else.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Jill Crawford, Other at The Read House
Responded Jan 17, 2025
I am sorry to hear that this was your experience. I will share all concerns and issues with Management.
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I really just can't say how much we enjoyed our stay at the Read House. We were at the very end of a five-week road trip, so we were really tired and had accumulated a lot of stuff along the way. The relief we felt when we were greeted by the wonderful Bell Captain Corey after driving all day was tremendous. He was the first Bellman we've seen anywhere since before Covid. In addition to handling all our bags, he was a great source of information, offering quality restaurant recommendations, and he showed us where the free shuttle picks up just outside the hotel to take you anywhere you need to go in the city. We really enjoyed the shuttle, even though a lot of places were walkable.
Our room was very comfortable - we had a corner king in the section of the hotel that has been renovated (the Tower side?). The bed was nice, the TV was huge, and we really appreciated that both nightstands had two plugs, a USB port, and a USB-C port right on top. One of the other nice touches was that the brand new shower had the shower controls on the side where you're standing, across from the shower head so that we didn't have to enter the shower directly under it and turn a cold stream of water on ourselves to get it going.
The other thing I really appreciated is that the air conditioning will get as cold as you want it. My husband is Titanium Elite with Marriott, and I'm a retired flight attendant, so we've spent a lot of time in hotels, and most of the large chain hotels have governors on their thermostats, so no matter where you set it, the room rarely cools below 73, which is a tough go under the 3" down comforters all the hotels have these days.
I guess the only potential negative is that you pretty much have to pay for valet parking, but that's the case with most city hotels. I know people have reported problems, but we didn't have any. No scratches or dents, and we didn't leave anything in the car worth taking, so it worked fine for us. There's street parking around, and garages too if you're not comfortable handing your keys over to someone.
Oh, and if you don't like the Keurig coffee in the room, there's a full service Starbucks right downstairs.
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Date of stay: June 2022
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
Room Tip:Reserve Tower side of the hotel for a renovated room
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Beautiful hotel with old world charm to burn. We stayed in room 903 in the historic building. Spacious room..very comfortable
Front desk was friendly and helpful, Bridgeman’s chop house was exceptional.
My only complaint was with housekeeping. This is an ongoing issue with hotels lately. We left the hotel around 9 am for a full day of exploring Chattanooga. We returned around 4:00 and our room still wasn’t ready. The Make- Up the room light was on. The young woman assigned to our floor spoke no English, not even basic phrases needed for her job, such as “ Please clean our room”. I had to resort to my rudimentary Spanish and that was touch and go.
If housekeeping can’t get to your room until late in the day, please advise. Otherwise, if the light is ON, please get the room ready pronto.
Other than that,, fabulous stay.
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Date of stay: August 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Room Tip:Stay in the historic old wing
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Jill Crawford, Other at The Read House
Responded Oct 28, 2024
Thank you for your Rave Review! I will share the concern with The Housekeeping Managers.
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Clicked ‘reserve’ on a standard room to be told only deluxe rooms were now available, so decided to pay for the upgrade. However the ‘Manor’ room, though spacious, was charmless and barely furnished. But the cramped bathroom was another level of disappointing: the toilet rocked on its base, the faucet and shower were loose in the wall, the extractor didn’t work and the bath was old, marked and stained, as was the tiled floor.
Because we booked direct we were given vouchers for champagne at check-in. This turned out to be screw-csp carbonated white wine, barely drinkable and, like the Read House itself, promising long but delivering very short indeed.
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Date of stay: October 2024Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Jill Crawford, Other at The Read House
Responded Oct 28, 2024
I apologize that this was your experience, please contact me directly at 423-643-1225 to discuss your stay further. Sincerely,
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I am not sure how there are so many positive reviews on this place, to be fair, potentially there are newly renovated rooms, but our room was a complete disaster. (See Photos) Keep in mind, the room was $453 per night. The bathroom was like a $59 per night Econolodge, black mold on walls, mildew all over shower, chips and rust spots all over tub, etc. Every painted surface was nicked and scratched and stained, there were dead flies all over the air conditioner, there was a random heavy duty extension cord plugged into an outlet that then ran into the wall (I’ll bet that is up to code.), etc., etc., etc. The room was not in any way consistent with the posted photos. When you check in tell them you want a renovated room, or you will be horribly disappointed.
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Date of stay: October 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled with family
Room Tip:Pick a different hotel.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Jill Crawford, Other at The Read House
Responded Oct 28, 2024
I apologize that this was your experience, please contact me directly at 423-643-1225 to discuss your stay further. Sincerely,
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Very elegant and historic. Lots of charm. Room polished and well appointed. But underneath, needs some attention. No good parking options, forcing you to take the $25/night valet deal. Seat slide clamp on Peleton bike broken off, no way to adjust. Particular criticism of Barry at Bar and Billiards Room eatery - you should inform customer BEFORE they order a drink that you are only serving off the more expensive Bridgeman Chop House menu that night; and, it's okay to also be friendly with the customers lacking a southern accent. For a hotel striving for this level of class, free NYT's and WSJ's in the lobby would add a nice touch.
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Date of stay: May 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled solo
Room Tip:If you eat at the billards room and bar, make sure they are serving from that menu before you...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Jill Crawford, Other at The Read House
Responded May 9, 2024
Thank you for your review and your concerns have been heard, meters are scarce after 6pm and pending weather, the self parking garages are far. Our valet has a fast and convenient reputation, I apologize that you weren't given options. I will look into the menu change and the Peleton seat has been fixed, we apologize for these inconveniences. Please give us another try when you return to Chattanooga.
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My visit to The Read House is met with mixed thoughts. I stayed in room 432. When a hotel has a beautifully designed lobby and amenities but the room itself is lack luster I don’t think I could return to this hotel. The positives are that the room was large and spacious. But the decor is a bit dated and missing a table which could easily fit in the large room. Now what was disappointing is the bathroom in both size and updating. The tub is peeling with molding caulk. The door frame is rusted. The shower head is tiny. And the shower curtain is too small for the bar so water sprays on the floor. There is no air vent in the bathroom so no ventilation. The bathroom looks dirty. Sadly, I cannot recommend this hotel even with great customer service, it comes down to the room and bathroom that makes a hotel comfortable and worth the stay. I need more than a lovely lobby to justify the costs.
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Date of stay: June 2023Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Jill Crawford, Other at The Read House
Responded Jun 22, 2023
Thank you for the review! We are taking on our Manor Building bathrooms one by one. If you decide to come visit us again, please feel free to call the hotel or myself for updates on our Manor Building or information on our Historical Tower Rooms. Sincerely - Jill Crawford, AGM, 423-643-1225
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You would need to ask them. We had a catered brunch and they had a commercial kitchen but I didn’t go in it. Sure there’s microwaves there but not sure if guests can use them.
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