Linton Lodge Hotel, BW Signature Collection

The location was great, within walking distance of a lot of things, and £160 for two nights was a good price. We booked a room with one double bed but somehow ended up with two double beds. Nobody mentioned an upgrade, we just walked in and found them. Sleep was really difficult both nights. There was a loud, strange humming noise we couldn’t describe, neither clearly mechanical nor human. It woke us about six times the first night and four the second. We told the receptionist, who replied, “I don’t know anything about that.” It felt like a strange response, and he wasn’t helpful or curious and offered no solution or investigation. There was black mould in the shower, dirty marks around the room, and food stains all over and under the coffee table. The tap water smelled of chlorine, and the plumbing seemed old and not great. WiFi kept dropping, and there was hardly any cell service, so don’t stay here if you need to work. I’d seen bad WiFi reviews and the hotel’s replies saying they’d look into it or fix it, but it seemed they simply didn’t care. The room doors were very thin with big gaps underneath, so we could hear everything in the hallway. The reading lights were jarring, and there were no outlets by the bed. I’m also not sure if there are lifts. We had to carry our suitcases up the stairs, which was fine for us but could be a concern for someone physically disabled.

We paid £280 for our New Year’s holiday stay at Linton Lodge BW Hotel, and it wasn’t worth the money. The rooms were unclean, breakfast was poor, and the parking policy felt unaccommodating. I can’t recommend the hotel based on our experience. The breakfast was tasteless, though the service was acceptable. There were spider webs by the windows and messy, unclean carpets. Our radiators didn’t work in the cold weather. They provided a portable radiator, but its noise kept us awake. Parking cost £20 for two nights. We arrived at 3 pm and paid for two full days. At checkout, 11 am, we asked to leave the car until 2:30/3 pm so the children could enjoy a little more of Oxford city centre. The receptionist refused, saying we couldn’t park after checking out. That felt unfair after paying for two full days. Given the number of rooms available on New Year’s night, improvements are clearly needed.

Getting into Oxford was easy, with a five-minute walk to the bus stop and then four stops into town. Location gets five stars. The rooms were quite clean, the beds exceptionally comfortable, and it was good value for the price, though the bathroom was a bit small. Parking costs extra, and spaces are available both at the front and back of the hotel.

The evening food was good, about what you’d get at a decent pub, despite some other reviews. Breakfasts, though, were mostly flavourless. Quite a few staff were fantastic and lovely, but some were downright rude from the start. The hotel itself was in pretty dire shape. The carpets were stained and rumpled, the bathroom fittings were very cheap, big sections of caulking were missing, window locks were broken and reading lights didn’t work. I don’t understand how it got an Eco/Green award when there was so much single-use plastic, including toothbrushes, tiny toothpaste tubes and the cheapest plastic-wrapped plastic water cups. They also took towels regardless of where we left them. Even the fake plastic plants and flowers looked neglected, with clumps of “dead” leaves in the pots and coffee stains on the petals. Best Western really needs to spend some money on this place.