River Hotel

We had a comfortable stay. The staff were nice and friendly. The location was good, right next to the Oxford Station. The breakfast was lovely.

Despite having a really good location, the hotel let itself down for a number of reasons. We booked a room only option as one of us is not able to eat a full meal in one go so breakfast was not going to be for us. We stayed in room 15 for one night. Firstly, despite the online booking platform saying parking was included in the rate, because we had opted for room only rather than bed and breakfast, on check-in, we were asked to pay an additional fee for parking. This was not made clear when booking. There was an attempt to persuade us to purchase breakfast for a discounted rate, but we were asked to decide there and then on check-in which was not an option for us. Other problems included only having one hand towel and one bath towel, even though the booking was made for two people. When it can to showering, the water was barely lukewarm; certainly not hot enough to shower under during cooler weather. Additionally, the sensor lighting in the hall outside the room door was faulty meaning the light kept switching on and off throughout the night. The gaps in the room door were such that the light would clearly illuminate the room, making it difficult for a light sleeper to get a restful night. The decor is dated, the bathroom a bit tatty and needing a good lick of paint and pillows were rather lumpy. Overall, a rather disappointing experience from what was essentially a bed and breakfast place, trading on its good location as a hotel. Its marketing pictures do not portray its reality. The only positive, and surprising thing was the existence of an ‘honesty’ bar which was welcome after an evening out in the town centre.

Great location just on the edge of Town. 10- 15mins walk to get the centre of Oxford. Nice location by the River about 15-20mins to get to Folly Bridge. Check in was easy, very friendly staff. Breakfast was great with plenty of choice. Room was small but we were barely in there. Very clean. Got given a map at check in with recommendations where to walk and visit. Honesty bar, help yourselves and then pay on check out, was very well stocked. Didn’t really make use of it though. Considering it’s a 2 star it offered everything we needed. Would recommend and stay here if visiting Oxford again.