Rasa Sayang House — Hotel in Oxford

I loved staying here! I’ve been meaning to leave a review since staying here in early January for three nights. ||The room was clean and felt very cosy. Having a kettle, microwave and fridge was so useful - all worked well and it meant I didn’t have to spend as much money on food. I can’t speak for the kitchen facilities because I didn’t end up using them but even within the room there was enough to make life easier. It was also well supplied with a cup and saucer, cutlery etc. The bed was also comfortable and I slept really well each night. ||The only very slight issue was that the TV didn’t really work (all of the channels were pixelating/breaking up and unwatchable) but I didn’t want to watch TV badly enough to contact anyone so that wasn’t a problem for me. If I had wanted to contact help I would have known exactly who to contact though because there was a very helpful book in the room with information and numbers. The WiFi was easy to connect to and worked well too. ||Checking in and out was very easy - I was a little nervous as I’d never stayed anywhere with self check in before, but the process was really straightforward. I’d also like to note that I was here as a young woman on my own and unfamiliar with the area, and I felt very safe here - the door locked easily and it was peaceful and quiet. I felt right at home. ||Overall this was lovely and great value for money. I’d definitely stay here again if I need to come to Oxford again and would recommend it to others too....

Google lists them as a 3-star hotel. That is generous at best.

Horrid check in experience. Despite paying for early check in, our key code to retrieve our keys was locked until 4pm. We called the customer service line which is offshore. The phone line was poor quality and was difficult to understand a word they said due to the poor connection. They struggled mightily with providing us access. They simply kept telling us that our access key should work despite repeatedly confirming to them I had already used the exact same access key they were providing me. It didn't help matters that internet was poor here which made it by far the most frustrating check in experience ever. RasavSayang also made it difficult to sort out as the instructions were buried in a wall of text with other useless information. The access code was in a message which was in the midst of an onslaught of messages which only added to the confusion.

Rooms are cramped, dingy, and dusty. I literally was sneezing for 10 minutes straight upon entering. Amenities are limited, floors are creaky, and you can literally feel the springs within the mattress. Wifi is slow to the point of being nearly unusable for modern use cases.

I would not recommend this...

I usually don’t leave negative reviews, I rather leave them positive or I don’t at all, but this time I had to as this was so frustrating. Our experience at Rasa Guest House was extremely disappointing. The mattress was so uncomfortable that my wife couldn't sleep and ended up with back pain the next day. The couch was equally bad completely unusable and uncomfortable to sit on. The room itself was tiny and felt more like a cheap, cramped flat than a proper guest house. Check-in was another frustrating experience. Instead of sending a clear message with the access code for the keys clearly marked (bold or highlighted), they buried it in a long, disorganized email. I ended up standing outside for nearly 20 minutes, scrolling through the whole thing just to find the code. It was an unnecessary hassle after a long day of travel.

To top it off, the listing on Booking.com stated that parking was available but failed to mention it was paid, very misleading and disappointing.

Overall, it was an uncomfortable stay with poor communication and misleading information. We won’t be returning and wouldn’t recommend...