The Oxford House

The bedding and towels were fresh and clean, the carpet was nice, and the walls were cleanly painted. Still, I’m glad we only stayed one night. We arrived late and couldn’t park. The place is above a few shops and a takeaway, and the welcome wasn’t very good. The bathroom smelled awful, the floor looked dirty and there was mold around the wet room edges. The double bed was so noisy whenever we moved that we hardly slept, and from the front room we could hear traffic. The TV was tucked into a corner on a table where you couldn’t watch it from bed, and there was just one chair for two people. It needs modernising for what it costs. I’d call it fair, not a good rating.

For £50 a night in Oxford, it was decent, and the short bus ride into the centre made the location pretty good. The bedding and room felt clean, though there was old blood on the bathroom side of the toilet door handle. The road noise and people outside were blocked fairly well, but my room smelled of cigarette smoke, so I had to choose between fresh air and the noise from opening a window. I woke once or twice when internal doors shut, though jet lag had me in bed very early. Three stars sounds about right.

The staff fixed things quickly, so the service was alright. But I paid £100 for 2 nights and the room felt more like what I’d expect for £50. There was noise from the hallway, paint was peeling off the room wall, and the electricity kept going off.

The rate was good for six days, and the flexible timing suited international students moving in. Check-in was confusing because of a room allocation mix-up, and I waited near reception for almost 20 minutes. The bathroom handle and lock were not missing.