Marlborough Arms Hotel

The building is beautiful, and the lady at reception gave us a lovely, warm welcome. It’s a perfect spot for Blenheim Palace, which is within a 10 minute walk. Our room was spacious, very clean and tidy, with everything we needed. Breakfast was included and lovely, and the staff greeted us warmly again and catered for me as a vegetarian. I’d definitely recommend staying here.

The staff were attentive, the room was comfortable, and breakfast was wonderful. It’s a great base for Blenheim. The gravel in the car park made it very difficult to get around with suitcases, though, and I wasn’t keen to learn that dogs were welcome.

Breakfast was amazing, with cereal, fruit salad or fresh fruit, yoghurt, cold meats and a full English cooked to order, plus tea, coffee and toast. The staff were always nearby to help and check everything was all right. We also made use of the 10% discount at a local place for our evening meal, then returned to The Marlborough to sit by the fire with a bottle of red. There were four of us, and this was our third visit for my husband and me, but the first for my daughter and a friend. We arrived at 10.30am, let Alina know, then took the bus into Oxford. After a lovely walk by the river and Christchurch Meadow and a visit to the tourist spots, we got back around 3.30pm. Alina showed us our lovely double and equally nice twin rooms. We had cream tea and Prosecco by the log fire in the lounge, with warm, mouthwatering scones, cream and jam, or should that be jam and cream? The cold Prosecco went down nicely. The bed was really comfortable, with quality linen and luxurious pillows. There was hot water for a bath or shower, shampoo, soap and body lotion, and the warm, soft white towels on the heated rail were very welcome. Coffee maker and pods, kettle for tea or hot chocolate, biscuits and bottled water were provided too. Sorry for the long post, but it was a really positive experience worth sharing. Please try it for yourselves. Thank you, Team Marlborough.

The Marlborough Arms worked really well as a base for our three nights at the start of the trip. We visited Blenheim Palace one day and Oxford the next. It’s handy for the town entrance to Blenheim, and buses to Oxford stop almost right outside. The road in front is busier than you might expect, but you can easily walk around the nearby pubs, restaurants and little shops. Staff were super friendly and helpful, the main building has a delightfully rustic interior, and breakfast was good, with a small buffet and a few freshly cooked choices. We had to book a time, though the breakfast room was never crowded when we were there. We were in room 15, a Superior Deluxe Twin in the “new” part across the courtyard and up a flight of stairs. It was comfortable, a nice mix of modern and cosy, and both the room and bathroom were a good size. The drawbacks were in the room. The old-fashioned skeleton key was difficult to use and had to lock the door from inside as well. There wasn’t a convenient outlet for the hairdryer, so we had to crawl under the TV to plug it in and use it in an awkward spot. Our windows faced the car park entrance, so we heard cars idling and people crunching over the pea gravel early and late. The large bathroom window was right beside the toilet and looked toward the kitchen window below, so we had to raise and lower a cumbersome Roman shade for privacy or light. Even with those inconveniences, we really enjoyed the stay and would recommend the inn.