Oxford visit

[Wishimaywishimight]

DH and I are planning to visit Oxford in April (have always wanted to visit, based on TV series Morse and Lewis largely!). We are travelling over from Ireland and spending 3 nights there.

Wondering if anyone could recommend a hotel? We would like to stay right in the city centre if possible as we won't have transport. Budget up to an absolute max of £250 per night, ideally a little under that.

Any recommendations of restaurants / bars / where to visit / what to do would also be most welcome 😀

The Malmaison is in the old prison so quite a distinctive (and central) place to stay.

Visit the Ashmolean Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Turf tavern for lunch, maybe a hop on hop off sightseeing bus?

If you're staying outside term you could book a room in a college.

With your budget you could also look at the Randolph which is relatively new

@Floatinginvacherin I currently have 2 hotels on my list - the Malmaison and the Randolph!

@Overtheatlantic Many thanks. I love a 'hop on, hop off' bus on holiday. Have added your 3 suggestions to my list!

@PoppingTomorrow Randolph on my list - I like the look of it and the Morse Bar would amuse DH! Hadn't thought about a room in a college (or realised this was possible!!) so will do a bit of research into that.

Hi! Fellow Irish here... Oxford is fabulous but beware of the city centre Tourist restaurants which can be disappointing. For hotels, The Old bank hotel on the high street or the old parsonage inSt Giles are both gorgeous hotels (owned by people who also run the lovely restaurant Gees (highly recommended; in a beautiful old Victorian glasshouse on the Banbury road) and Quod (at the old bank) and the Cherwell boathouse restaurant as well. Nicer than a chain like Malmaison I think and should be in your price range. Randolph has recently had a refurb so might be ok but used to be rather old fashioned, though nice for afternoon tea (very expensive tea though!). College rooms are nice but basic and not always in colleges but in their housing blocks which can be out of the centre so be careful! The covered market is lovely and worth a visit, the vaults cafe in the bottom of St Mary the Virgin church in Radcliffe square is gorgeous and very good value. Love coffee in the high street excellent for food as well as coffee, artisan coffee in the market or Taylor's next to it also great for light lunch. Pierre Victoire in little Clarendon street off st Giles isa lovely independent French restaurant. Browns used to be great but now best avoided I think--overpriced and awful service last few times we're tried it. Best coffee is Society coffee near the Union or the missing bean in turl street. The Botanical gardens are beautiful, Ashmolean a must (also lovely restaurant on roof), university museum great for a visit especially Pitt Rivers part. If you venture to Summertown, also nice restaurants are mamma Mia or Pompette. There's also a mamma Mia in Jericho conveniently near the Phoenix picture house which is terrific.

I used to work at The Randolph in the early 1990’s whilst a student in Oxford. John Thaw used to pop in regularly and was great friends with the Head Bar Lady at the time. The Morse Jag used to be kept in the hotel garage during filming.

I’d stay there just for the Morse connection if that’s one of the reasons you’re visiting.

And the Pitt Rivers museum.

I stayed at the Randolph last week. Definitely wouldn’t recommend it. It was about 30 degrees and the air con is controlled centrally so we couldn’t change it. I didn’t sleep a wink. The Morse bar is worth a visit though!

I would definitely recommend booking a Morse tour the guide who took our tour was fab, very engaging, informative and entertaining.

We mainly just wandered around Oxford and the College grounds that were open as the weather was unseasonably warm out of season when we visited so we needed and wanted to be outside.

A drink in the Randolph bar is an absolute must do.

We stayed in a Premier Inn which was in a fairly central excellent location but (I can’t recommend much else about it, the cleanliness and service was dire.

Lots of nice little independent cafe’s around to visit and the shopping was fantastic. I must recommend that we also had the most gorgeous pizza here don’t be deceived by the appearance. Unfortunately we visited on our last night otherwise we would have visited more than once it was that good https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g186361-d18818884-Reviews-BBuona_Pinsa_Bar-Oxford_Oxfordshire_England.html

Wow, thanks so much for all of this information - looks like we will struggle to fit everything into 3 days!

@cunningartificer Both the Old Parsonage and the Old Bank looks fab however both are over £1,000 for 3 nights so just a bit too pricey.

@CurtainsUp Will definitely pop into the Randolph to visit the Morse Bar although the reviews are not great so don't think we will stay there.

I am edging towards the Malmaison just for the novelty factor (and location looks good).

Used to stay in the Randolph regularly but that was before it was taken over and given a makeover (and the fire of course).
Odd thing is that we lived only 5-miles away but it was something we did as a treat every few months! 😁

If you want to see some of the filming locations then do a bit of research first and plot them on a map, Oxford is so small that you will find you can walk to most of them easily.

Be prepared for the crowds of tourists, the Oxford of today is not the Oxford I grew up in and I actively avoid the place now as I can't get on with the huge groups blocking the way all the time. ☹️

@Cotswoldbee Definitely will do research before we go. It looks so beautiful on TV, I'm looking forward to just meandering, stopping for coffee and cake from time to time :-)

DH took a real liking to the Malmaison so we have just booked that!

While I'm here, just checking re transport. We are flying in to Heathrow and it looks like the best option is to get a bus directly from the airport (90 minutes apparently) into Oxford. Does this seem like the best option?

Yes, the coach is definitely the best way to get from Heathrow to Oxford. It may take rather longer than 90 min depending on traffic, but is super convenient and cheaper than the train.

Basically everything @cunningartificer has said!

Pierre Victoire is so lovely, as is Gees. Old Parsonage does a fab afternoon tea. While visiting the vaults cafe at SMV, definitely worth going up the spire (if you can stomach heights).

To soak up the atmosphere, personally I think it’s worth going to an evensong in New College, Magdalen or Christ Church.

Also G&Ds ice cream (on Little Clarendon St and St Aldates) is awesome.

If you’ll have access to a car, the Mole Inn at Toot Baldon is also great.

We were a little boring and stayed at the city centre Premier Inn, but we wanted to keep the costs down, so it was fine for us. The Pit Rivers at the back of Natural History Museum is amazing. I love the Ashmolean, although you need much longer than the couple of hours we gave it on our last visit. We enjoyed the Botanical Gardens and just wandering around the stunning architecture.

The Malmaison is almost next door to the Premier Inn we stayed at, its a fab very central location (everywhere is walkable from there). There is also a newish looking shopping Centre opposite which offers stunning views over the city from the top floor (where most of the shopping centre restaurants are located).

The Malmaison is very central, could see it (when it was a prison) and Castle Mound from my office window.
Like I said in my earlier post, Oxford is so small that you can comfortably walk around most of the popular spots.
If you want to see a few of the more spread out Morse/Lewis locations then a bus will be ideal. Don't miss "Canal Reach" in Jericho (Morse ep1), The Trout Inn (multiple episodes), The Victoria Arms Marston (several Morse & Lewis) and of course the towpath alongside the Thames used for filming so many times (used to run along there in my lunch break).

Sure you will have a great time. 👍

The White Rabbit pub does great pizzas.
Agree with Ashmolean, Pitt Rivers and Natural Hist museums.

Walk through Christ Church meadows to see the rowing crews on the river. University Parks and Port Meadow are nice open spaces if you like walking and weather is decent. The Perch is a Morse pub that you can walk down the river to from Port Meadow.
Lots of nice cafes and independents along Walton Street (this area is known as Jericho - the pretty side streets also often feature in Morse).
Consider going to Evensong in Christ Church cathedral or one of the other colleges like Merton, Magdalen or New. The music and architecture is very special. Pre-book a Bodleian library and Divinity School guided tour.
There’s lots to do!! Enjoy.

Restaurants; Branca and brasserie blanc in Jericho are nice.

And the Standard curry house, also in Jericho. All my other favorite curry houses have closed down.

Duke of Cambridge cocktail bar on little Clarendon street is good and at least used to have a good happy hour around 5-6.

Personally I think Gees is overrated and the old parsonage is overpriced with terrible service!

And kazbah restaurant near the plains roundabout does great tapas (if it's still there)

The Trout inn is a good place to have lunch, you can walk across Port meadow to it, or drive!

The newish shopping centre referred to above is the Westgate. It’s very fancy with a John Lewis etc. For independents you need to go to the covered market, which is ace, and there are still some nice shops on High St although not as good since the Westgate arrived. There are some nice antique jewellery places there still.

I’ve heard less than positive things re Branca from a DSS that waited there for a while.

I hope Kasbah is still there in the Cowley Road. Also Cafe Coco just next to it (owned by Florence Pugh’s parents, but it’s been one of the nicest places in Oxford for decades). Amazing pizza!!!!

I agree with @Aria999 Gees is completely overrated!
Definately walk through Christchurch meadows, take a punt from Magdalen bridge. The Trout at Wolvercote/Port Meadow is lovely( but not city centre)
The collages are often open, New Collage has the huge hall, used in the Harry Potter filming.
Bens Cookies in the covered market was the first opened and still worth a visit as is the new hot chocolate shop Knoops!!
Oxford is full of quirky little cafes and restaurants, don’t be afraid to pop down a tiny side road away from the masses, you’ll find something lovely lovely.
If I was was staying overnight I’d stay in the Old Parsonage, although I haven’t a clue of their rates!!