Mercure Oxford Hawkwell House Hotel

“Delightful hotel with charming staff”

Our two-night stay with a 16-strong group of old school-friends exceeded our expectations. The spacious interiors are comfortably and tastefully furnished/ decorated. The breakfasts were superb. Most of all, the staff who dealt with us were all charming and helpful.

“Smart hotel but cleaner’s timing is off”

My wife and I stayed here last month for our anniversary and had a pleasant stay. As it was our anniversary we upgraded our room which was very spacious and well decorated… couldn’t fault it all. The reception and bar areas seemed smart too but I was somewhat disappointed with the lager with no h… more

My wife and I stayed here last month for our anniversary and had a pleasant stay. As it was our anniversary we upgraded our room which was very spacious and well decorated… couldn’t fault it all. The reception and bar areas seemed smart too but I was somewhat disappointed with the lager with no head that I was served, very kindly of the member of staff though they replaced the pint with a different one so that was fine. Only other thing that I want to mention is that as we were packing up (…fortunately), a cleaner tried to enter our room. We would have expected this if we were late leaving the room but this was 45 minutes before checkout time! Not a problem on this occasion but we could have well still been in bed. Apart from the disturbance though the stay was very nice.

less

“Not up to expectations.”

On a pouring, wet October afternoon we were disappointed that our room was not in the main building but up the hill in Elm House, a brisk minute's walk away. There was no warning of this when we booked on line. We are in our early seventies and, luckily, fit and active otherwise the walk, and carry… more

On a pouring, wet October afternoon we were disappointed that our room was not in the main building but up the hill in Elm House, a brisk minute's walk away. There was no warning of this when we booked on line. We are in our early seventies and, luckily, fit and active otherwise the walk, and carrying our own cases up three flights of stairs to our room (no lift) could have been an issue. No one on reception offered any help. Our bedroom included a dressing area and a generous size ensuite bathroom, quite a large space to be heated by one small, electric oil filled radiator so we were cold. The room was dark. Apart from the bedside lights, there was just one overhead spotlight in the main bedroom and one in the dressing area. There was a small, free standing reading lamp in the dressing area which served as a night light. The lack of sufficient lighting was made worse by the brown decor and furniture, creating a quite depressing ambience. The lighting in the en suite was good but to access the magnifying mirror to shave/do make up it was necessary to squeeze awkwardly into the small space between the toilet and the wash basin. A broken roof gutter meant that, as it rained heavily during our visit, there was a constant noise outside the bathroom window made by the water falling onto the ground below. We noticed another broken gutter creating a similar problem at the front of the building. We were also rather concerned that the only way of exiting the building during a fire was past most of the other rooms and down the main staircase. A fire in the hall on the ground floor would have cut off our only possible exit. How does that comply with Fire Regulations? On the plus side, the room was spotlessly clean, well equipped and the bed was comfortable. The dining room and Terrace Bar in the main building were well set out and comfortably furnished. The members of staff we came across were all polite and professional. However, we found the gentleman who was on Reception when we arrived very difficult to understand. He was very personable and tried hard to explain things to us but we found his accent quite impenetrable. It can be very embarrassing to have to constantly ask someone to repeat what they are saying so we didn't. Consequently, we were mostly unclear about what we were being told which resulted in us going to the restaurant for our 'Burger Night' booking instead of the Terrace Bar. After some initial confusion a staff member took charge of the situation and assured us that we could have our meal in the restaurant but it was an awkward moment that could have been avoided. We booked Hawkwell House because of its proximity to Rosehill Cemetery where we were due to attend a family funeral. Sadly, our stay did not live up to the experience we have come to expect from a four star hotel.

less