Artist Residence Oxfordshire — Hotel in West Oxfordshire

My husband and I stayed at the Artist Residence Oxfordshire for a week to get away from the London city noise. In that regard, the location is excellent — the only sounds you can hear throughout the day are the cooing of the wood pigeons and an occasional moo from the cows nearby. We chose one of the grand suites as a special treat for ourselves, and we expected to be treated as welcome guests.

The food was quite good, and the service from the younger part of the crew has been genuinely warm and accommodating. We’ve ended up spending almost the entire time of the trip at the hotel (and having almost every meal at the hotel restaurant). Until the last day, we’ve had no complaints.

We left with a bit of a sour taste, however. Although we’ve arranged a late checkout (and confirmed it on the first day), the lady managing on our last day woke us up with a stern knock at 11. When we said we have a 12:30 checkout, she said it is “not in her notes” and that she can “give us until 12”. My husband then went to the lobby to confirm whether we’re able to check out as originally planned, where he was asked to visually describe the member of the staff who checked him in. (For some reason, the hotel management seemed unaware of who is managing the hotel at any given day.)

When my husband tried to give that feedback to the lady who woke us up, she repeatedly tried to interrupt him mid-sentence until he reminded her that he is not in high school, and she is not his teacher, and that we are actually their paying customers (at which point she apologized and changed her attitude).

We were then asked to enumerate what we have taken from the minibar over the week, which was a bit strange as one would expect the staff to be able to keep track of that. (We’ve taken one or two things — the staff has kindly ended up discounting them as a courtesy for waking us up.)

Overall, aside from unpleasant interactions with that one member of the staff, we have really enjoyed the getaway. We’ve never had such problems staying at other Artist Residence locations so perhaps this is a one-off. Still, we’d be wary of running into that lady again. Not because of the mistake, but because of the attitude — it felt like we are actively inconveniencing her by asking her to do her job.

We give it three stars because we’d like to highlight how miscommunication within the team and entitled attitude from even one member of the staff can affect the perception of the trip. We hope that the Artist Residence management finds feedback useful and can take it into account. It’s highly unlikely we will return to this...

Overall a nice little spot, however having stayed in the Cotswolds a few times now, there were a few things we felt let it down, based on price. My partner found the website a little misleading (post booking) as a lot of the photographs seem to be of other locations, as opposed to the one we we stayed at - appreciate that's on us though. The room was small and comfortable, soho house vibes on the decor, but for the cost, perhaps felt a little overpriced. Little things like it would have been helpful for some hooks to hang jackets / clothes, and quite thin walls, so could hear your neighbours occasionally. Bathroom floor a little grubby. The pub itself is cosy with games, and very friendly staff - I liked coming back to a roaring fire. As a vegan and vegetarian, we were surprised there was only one option on the menu, which seems a little out of touch. There was a BBQ which offered one more option, but shortly after sat at 7.30, we were told it had closed, which was a shame. Having said this, the one veggie dish was tasty, bit on the small side, but cocktails were great too and I like they offer wine by the carafe. Overall all, pretty good, but probably not one we would visit...

I stayed here while in the area for work.||It’s a charming small, countryside hotel with a very nice, traditional pub attached - The Mason Arms.||The decor is a refined country cottage and feels very homely. Some nice art on the walls, interesting furniture. Bathrooms good, strong shower with immediate hot water and high pressure. Comfortable bed and good seating area as well as outdoor terrace.||The staff are all very friendly and helpful. Happy to deliver food to your room. Again, very homely feel. Special mention to the Welsh lady.||Area is very quiet. Only thing to bear in mind is the flight path for Brize Norton but it’s not too bad. I did wear ear plus on my second night.||Breakfast in the pub. Good options - full English and eggs Benedict/ Royale plus yoghurt/granola, breads, etc. All well done. Table service.||Dinner again in the pub and all nicely produced. Solid burger.||Nice touch with free EV charger.||Overall, a great stay. It’s a very charming, cosy, friendly and relaxing place, and I would return for a work stay but also as a couple or...