Without a car, we have to stay close to city center. But finding a good place to stay in Oxford seems near impossible. I've looked over accommodations, and all I can find is a couple of $400+ places and a bunch of iffy, low rated hotels and iffy B&Bs. There seems nothing in-between except the for prison Malmaison, which holds no appeal.

I'd appreciate any suggestions.

Have you come across this website which may help you?
http://www.oxfordbedbreakfast.co.uk/vendors/

Which B&Bs/hotels do you consider 'iffy'. We know you don't want to spend $400/£270 - but how much DO you want to spend? What is your actual budget?

Just in general, Oxford is not a cheap place to stay . . .

(and - why doesn't the Malmaison appeal?)

Depending on your dates you may be able to stay actually in one of the colleges.

See: http://www.universityrooms.com/en/city/oxford/home

I stayed in Keble on my last visit to Oxford. Not luxurious, but comfortable, walking distance to the center, and I got to eat in the magnificent dining hall.

Staying in Oxford Centre can be expensive, but you haven't given us a definite budget. You can usually get rooms at the Randolph for under $400. You might have a look at The Cotswold Lodge and the Mercure Eastgate. There are a number of good B&B s along both Woodstock Road and Banbury Road. Try Marlborough House on Woodstock Road. Buses are frequent along both roads making for easy access to city centre. Would also like to know the problem with Malmaison as it's a very popular hotel.

Iffy?

There are a few decent B&B's in Headington a short bus ride away--10 minutes to city centre. Headington has a few good decently priced restaurants too.

We stayed in the Mercure Eastgate a couple of years ago. It was a bit quaint in places, but very clean and comfortable. I don't know what the current rates are, but it certainly wasn't expensive when we were there.

It's very convenient if you are arriving and leaving by bus (we did, from Heathrow), there's a great walk that takes you around the back of the town and along by the river, and easy walking to all we wanted to see of Oxford. The centre of the town is very flat and easy to walk around. Di