Review: The Oxford Belfry

Published Jul 18 2021, 8:28 AM, Updated Sep 9 2023, 1:23 PMOxford is one of my favorite locations for an English mini-break as it combines both the English countryside and the beautiful historic city too; I was delighted to stumble across the ultra-convenient The Oxford Belfry located just off the M40 recently. It’s not just the location that charmed me either, the stylish hotel boasts a large restaurant and lounge, bar and spa and indoor pool, and plenty of event spaces too.

Why We Love This Hotel

Great facilities, clean, contemporary and lots of space plus a very convenient location had me more than convinced.

Location

The hotel lies 8 miles east of Oxford city itself where you can soak up the cultural sights, shop till you drop or take in a play or gig. The Park & Ride which takes you into the heart of the city is a 12-minute drive away. Blenheim Palace is a 30-minute drive away if you want to extend the cultural trip or for something completely different, how about the Silverstone racecourse or the wonderful Oxford Museum of Natural History (which we rather prefer to its larger, more crowded cousin in London).

Best Time To Visit

While there’s no wrong time of year to visit the Oxford countryside or to explore the city, the hotel itself was just delightful in the summer. The grounds are so inviting and the courtyard oozed relaxed English charm.

How To Get There

By car, the Oxford Belfry couldn’t be easier to reach with the M40 lying less than a mile from the hotel. If you are arriving by train, Oxford Station is a 30-minute transfer by taxi, or King’s Cross St. Pancras is 50 miles away. Heathrow Airport is 36 miles away and the transfer is approximately 35 minutes.

Style & Character

The Oxford Belfry is stylish and contemporary but it was the spaciousness that really impressed me. The grounds are vast, the communal areas large and the rooms are simply sprawling. This consistent feeling of space was most relaxing. My favorite space had to be the courtyard terrace area where you can enjoy a drink in the sunshine. Despite not being next to the bar, they wait the tables here just as efficiently as if you were.

Service & Facilities

Facilities are a huge plus for the Oxford Belfry. Aside from the dining and drinking establishments (more on those later), there are two gyms (where personal trainers can help get you into shape), a gorgeous spa, tennis courts, a steam room, a sauna, and a large heated indoor pool with a stunning glass roof. We visited on a sunny English day and the pool’s roof made me feel we could be in the Mediterranean! The spa uses Elemis products and has 8 treatments rooms and a relaxation lounge.

There are also 18 conference and meeting spaces; no doubt the exceptional location and great facilities make this a very popular choice for meetings, events, and weddings. They have dedicated event coordinators to make sure everything goes without a hitch too.

The 17-acre grounds are beautiful to explore, perhaps with a picnic and there are 450 complimentary parking spaces as well as fast Wi-Fi with no fiddly passwords to endure.

The service was great too; an inviting welcome set the tone for the friendly and efficient staff who were all on hand to ensure we had a relaxing stay.

Rooms

Choose from 154 bedrooms and suites for your accommodation. All the rooms are comfortable and contemporary in design, ours was also huge and I don’t think this was just ours; even the standard Guest Rooms are large enough to include a desk! Well equipped with large flat-screen TVs, Wi-Fi, there were lots of finishing touches to make you at home. We appreciated the fluffy robes which were ideal to wear down to the spa, the USB sockets by the bed, and the complimentary mini-bar (with a suite).

Best Rooms

We were traveling as a family and so a luxurious suite made perfect sense for us. An entirely separate lounge was located at the other end of our entrance hall which added to the sense of privacy. There was a huge amount of room for us all the spread out, 2 bathrooms and lots of storage space. Not forgetting that very well-stocked mini-bar of course!

Food & Drink

Spires Restaurant is open throughout the day and evening, the locally-sourced food is freshly prepared and there’s lots of choice, with pies and pizzas sitting alongside burgers, grills, and salads. The wide menu was great, there was even a specials menu too which had more of a regional emphasis; the only problem is narrowing down your choice! We very much enjoyed our full English breakfast too and it set us up very nicely for another day in the Oxfordshire countryside.

When you want a more casual meal or just to enjoy a beverage, relax in the comfortable lounge bar. They have a bar menu and you can also visit for a coffee, snack, or treat yourself to a traditional Afternoon Tea – they even have a Vegan option.

My personal favorite though is definitely that courtyard terrace, if the weather permits, a morning coffee or evening cocktail here should be a requirement of any stay at the charming Oxford Belfry!

If you would like to book a stay at this luxury hotel, or a business class flight, contact our luxury travel concierge to get a quote before booking. We offer free upgrades, free breakfasts, deals, and special benefits.

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