Staying in Oxford?
 

We would like to stay in Oxford for one or two nights during June. There are four in our family and the budget is fairly limited--hoping for under $150 per night. Does anyone have a suggestion?

Are you driving or using trains/buses? Makes a big difference where you can stay.

There are 100s of places to stay in Oxford, many are B&Bs and I would guess would be around that amount for 2 rooms (a few may have a family room that sleeps 4). Is your family 4 adults or 2 adults + 2 kids sharing?

Like Janis, I'd like to ask, is it important for you to stay in the city centre, or would you be prepared to take a bus into the centre (5-15 min trip)? The city centre hotels tend to be much more expensive and may not have free (or any) parking. One thing is certain, a car is a liability in Oxford, sightseeing is done on foot or on the hop-on-off buses.

It was agood many years ago, but we took our three teenage daughters to England and at Oxford we stayed in student housing just off campus. This was in August and I don't know if school is out in June. I can't tell you how I found out about it, but my daughters loved it. We had adjoining rooms with a lockable pass thru between. The rooms were large, clean and came with breakfast in a common dinning room. It was very reasonable at the time. You might write to Oxford, Student Housing and make inquiries if you are interested. Have a great trip.

My main point re driving wasn't about seeing Oxford itself, but more how you plan on getting TO Oxford. If you are taking the train/bus to the city, then you are better off staying in the city center or on one of the main roads into the city w/ great bus service.

But if you are driving into Oxfordshire - then you can stay literally anywhere. You can drive to a park and ride lot, park for free and and take frequent, inexpensive buses into the center.

Accomodations IN Oxford tend to be more expensive than outside of the town so you could get more for your money staying in an outlying village.

Staying in central Oxford would be great too, but if you have a car, that would be a problem.

Term finishes mid-June, so it's probably unlikely that there would any student accommodation available. This would mostly be handled by the individual Colleges rather than the University, and I don't know if it is provided to individuals - they mostly provide accommodation for conferences. But it would be an interesting option if you can get it!

Also, to avoid confusion, Oxford University doesn't have a campus (though Brookes University does, which is also in Oxford). University and College buildings are spread out all over the city (mostly in the centre). The relationship between the Colleges and the University is complicated to say the least, but the Colleges are far more than halls of residence.

I know next to nothing about accommodation in Oxford, except to have noticed a remarkable number of B+Bs I'd pay good money not to stay in.

But £80 a night for four people doesn't sound promising to me.

If you don't get answers telling you there really are cheap reliable places, you might do worse than look at the youth hostel.

It's clean and new, slap next door to the station (and therefore five minutes' brisk walk to the historic centre), has tasteful placards outside saying "families welcome", seems to have a number of normal-looking grownups going in or out every time I drive past and is also on a wonderful network of footpaths that take you into uncluttered countryside within minutes.

www.yha.org.uk/hostel/hostelpages/836.html NOT suitable if you're in a car (the only way you can park within miles is to buy a train ticket and use the station long-term park). But perfectly placed for the city's excellent bus and train connections.

Try Mulberry guest house, Headington, Oxford. As well as the guest house they own the house next door which we rented and self catered.

The proprietors are a lovely couple, and the house has all facilities you need, local shops, etc.

A few minutes walk to bus stop which takes you into Oxford, or buses direct to London, Heathrow etc.

We stayed there for a week & found the location ideal

Thanks for all the great ideas. We are a family of 2 adults and 2 teenage boys. We will be there June 19 and 20 (the term at Oxford ends June 17) so student housing is a great option. We are taking the bus or train from London. We did that 2 years ago and it was very convenient, but that was only a day trip. We wouldn't mind staying farther out, especially for the price. I will check into the hostel and B&B. Any other ideas?

I stayed in a motel on the Wolfcote roundabout but cannot remember the name of it. It was clean & comfortable and was less than two blocks to the bus stop that went to St Giles. Very convenient.

I think it's called the Oxford Hotel, Wolvercote. Quite a distance from the station though.

I agree with the Youth Hostel suggestion, and also think that for most other options, $150/night will not be enough for 4 adults in Oxford (only children can usually stay in their parents' room - the ages allowed depends on the hotel).

My wife and I visited our daughter, who is going to school at Oxford Jan 1-4. We stayed at http://www.cotswoldlodgehotel.co.uk/

We were very happy with it - 10 block or so walk to the center of town.