River Hotel — Hotel in Oxford

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...

I was turned away from here on the grounds that I was a prostitute. I am not. I came into the hotel with my boyfriend as a nice, romantic spur of the moment gesture as we were living with my parents, which you know, can be a little much. The woman on reception was cold and rude from the beginning, once she looked at our passports she said we shouldn't need to stay here as we both lived in Oxford. After a long drawn out exchanged filled with unpleasantries she said made it clear she thought I was a prostitute and it would be a good idea if I left. I would have argued but was so shocked by how disgusted she seemed by me that I went and sat in the field across from the hotel and cried for half an hour. I can't comment on the inside of the hotel as I wasn't allowed past reception, but that seemed relatively mediocre.

This actually happened a couple of years ago and I was recently passing the hotel again and it reminded me of the simmering rage I feel...

Always a warm welcome and great service. The rooms are cosy, clean and comfortable. It's our go to place when we visit our son at Oxford University. Very close to the town centre but located in an area by the Thames with an outdoor area to sit and watch the world go by that is quiet enough to forget you are in a city. The hotel is based in a house built by Thomas Kingerlee who was a master builder and mayor and looking for the buildings he built in Oxford as you walk around is interesting, so the hotel has lots of history associated with it. Breakfast is always great and is made to order. Parking is free and you can even leave the car in the car park on your day of checkout so you can get lunch or some last minute shopping before going home. Thank you for a great stay again and we look forward to seeing...