The Oxford Belfry

The map is wrong. This hotel is on the other side of the M40 and the map location is probably an off-​site mailing address. I spent a few weeks here once and as much as I liked the hotel, after one week it gets boring. The food is good, the rooms are clean, and when the gusts are reasonable, it’s quiet and peaceful. Occasionally, a wedding reception will get out of control with drunken guests singing badly at 3AM, but I’ve been on both sides of this one and can’t take any stars away.
Stay here for a week, then go to Oxford and stay downtown for another week. There’s always something to do in Oxford if you can find a place to park.

I booked this hotel because I read it was under going refurbishment and had new pool facilities. These were excellent as are the massage facilities. The other reason was because the reviews said the rooms had been done. The room we received had not been refurbished which was a disappointment. The breakfast was the usual buffet but there was lots a choice and it was very good

I’ve only been here for work events like meetings and parties, therefore I have only experienced the conference /​meeting rooms but from what I did experience was good. The food was good quality and not your average options available. The staff seemed friendly enough although in some areas of he hotels did seem a little rude. The place is laid out like a bit of a maze and I must admit I got lost a few times! I bought one drink at the bar though and it nearly cost me £5 which was absolutely ridiculous. I was also treated to a facial and manicure in the spa which I can not rate highly enough. It was amazing and quite possibly the best therapy I’ve ever had, well recommended.

OK, so this might not be the choice of someone just taking a break in a long journey but, if your company is paying and it’s near where you need to be, take a break here. The staff are always courteous even if it is like being at a UN gathering with the number of international accents among them. The food ranges from the pretentious (if you can afford it) to the ordinary (if you can’t) but, and this is a big but, even the ordinary will leave you feeling like you have had a great meal.
I will admit to not trying out the leasure facilities — the bar had much too strong a hold upon me — but, judging by the well dressed and efficient staff rapidly moving back and forth between the facility and the rest of the hotel gathering anything that their charges may wish for, I would suggest that it would be an excellent idea to try them out.
Nothing in this hotel could disappoint except, possibly, the rabbit warren feel of the corridors to the rooms. Anyone with a tad more alcohol running through their veins than is absolutely necessary, may find themselves completely lost — you have been warned.

Walking around the hotel, it is difficult not to overhear the conversations of the residents complaining about the service and the general experience of staying at the Oxford Bellfry Hotel.
It’s not actually in Oxford, it’s about 13 miles out, in the country but almost on top of the noisy main M40.
In only two hours of being here, I have got lost in it’s maze of nondescript passageways only to be asked by a member of staff where the kitchen is. I had a mediocre dinner which reminded me of being at school. An interesting conversation with a couple who were checked into someone else’s room and witnessed a young girl untrained at kitchen work fuse her fingers to a hot pan. On top of that, on arrival last night a associate of mine was told there was no food in the Hotel and was finally offered a sandwich from the local petrol station.
On the good side, I am glad I am here to work and not to relax. The Receptionist was really helpful and let me have wifi access for free and although a small cup of coffee was £3. it was pretty nice and I got to steal some biscuits from a conference room that had not been tidied since breakfast.
This is apparently a four star hotel. I give it one.