Weekend Stay at Mercure Oxford Eastgate Hotel - Oxford, UK
Located in central southern England, Oxford is a university city with 38 prestigious colleges that were established in the 12th century. The city has also been given the name of 'City of Dreaming Spires' by a poet called Matthew Arnold. When I entered the city, I got to see lots of students which also gave me vibes of time when I spent at my own university and my student days. For a moment, I just thought of going back in time and staying there for a while as I cherished the good old memories.
I was quite bleary when I reached Oxford from Bristol because I had done some sightseeing around Bath and Cotswold as well, so all I wanted to do was to check-in to this stunning 4 star luxury hotel in the Oxford, stretch myself and hit the bed. Being in the city center, Mercure Oxford Eastgate Hotel has a very prime location as it's opposite some of the Oxford University buildings, making the sightseeing easier! The hotel's 17th century building has been refurbished recently, by adding luxurious touches to the hotel to make the stay for the guests memorable.
It's not quite an easy job to find a parking in Oxford but luckily, the Mercure Oxford Eastgate hotel had their own chargeable car park, with an overnight £20 car parking charge. The car park was on Mercure's own plot of land adjacent to the hotel's main building, and the cars were parked back to back, which sounded a bit confusing initially but we discovered that they keys had to be left at the reception so the hotel staff could move the car in case any one else in the front, wanted theirs.
Our check in was extremely smooth and I loved the reception desk with a display of pretty flowers on it. We went straight to our Privilege room on the third floor. However, the lift at the hotel just goes till the second floor, so we had to use the staircase to go to our room, that was on the next floor. It wasn't much of an issue because there weren't many steps to climb.
Inside the room, there was a large king sized bed with comfortable bedding and linen. The room also had a coffee table with two Victorian velvet chairs and a writing table with Nespresso coffee machine. Other basic necessities such as the hair dryer, iron with stand, extra towels had also been provided. The bathroom was my absolute favourite! Our en-suite was very good sized, with The White Company toiletries and quite an impressive bath. Although the hotel doesn't have a pool at it's premises, the bath with one press buttons was fabulous. Just with one touch, I could opt for both the showers or run a bath.
Since the hotel is in the city centre, and it was a Sunday night, we could hear a lot of noises of people talking, and the traffic outside which probably seemed like heavy vehicles but that's because husband had opened the windows as I was feeling hot. Later, we just closed the windows shut and turned on the air conditioner so it was all good for a peaceful night's sleep. Ah, and there was another exciting event that took place during our stay which was the fire alarm at midnight. Both BabyN' & husband were sound asleep and I was to sleep soon when the alarm started ringing and we immediately grabbed our jackets in the preparation to get out of the building. It struck me more also because we were probably staying in the last room of the hotel which was a corner room not very near to the staircase. As we were about to leave, the alarm stopped but still I had to confirm from the reception for my satisfaction which I did, and went back to sleep.
The next morning, we all woke up fresh and ready to explore the city of Oxford but found that, it was also essential to charge ourselves with a delicious breakfast so we headed straight to Marco's restaurant at Mercure Oxford Eastgate hotel. There was a buffet breakfast already served and we just had to order hot breakfast. My most favourite part of the breakfast was eating the freshly baked chocolate croissants that arrived just after we got seated. Even the hot breakfast that was served on the table was perfect and very filling.
After the breakfast, we decided to check out and to see the city on foot. We spent a few hours exploring the place, seeing the prestigious colleges and Oxford Castle after which we headed towards the Oxford University Museum of Natural History followed by the Pitt Rivers Museum. Both the museums are perfect for young children and BabyN' was extremely excited and thrilled seeing the huge dinosaur skeleton at the entrance, and the best part is that the entry to both the museums was free! There's also, University of Oxford botanic garden which has beautiful plants but visitors can only enter after paying a small charge of £5 per adult. Nearby, is also the Oxford canal where many people can be seen enjoying the ride and the views around. The Oxford Covered Market is also something that shouldn't be missed as it's free to enter and has lots of amazing stalls and shops and as you exit the market, you go to the town centre where there's always some activity going on especially if it's a nice sunny day!
Mercure Oxford Eastgate hotel has a perfect location and everything is accessible just within a couple of miles, so it's perfect to see the town on foot or on a bike. We had an amazing stay at the hotel, and will definitely come back if we were to stay in Oxford anytime again in future.
If you enjoyed reading this post, don't forget to SUBSCRIBE
This looks like a great place! I have been to Oxford university once and it felt like a Harry Potter setting truly magical :-)
ReplyDeleteLooks like a perfect place for a getaway, I used to travel to oxford alot and wish I knew of this hotel. Well next time I go I will be checking this place out.
ReplyDeleteThanks
This resort looks dreamy- I could stay in that bed forever. Glad it was a great time! xo
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous looking hotel, I love Oxford so will definitely check it out next time we go.
ReplyDeleteThis hotel looks fab! Love the decor of the rooms and the breakfast looks yummy :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely looking hotel. I've been to oxford a couple of times but never stayed over, might try here.
ReplyDeleteI really want to visit Oxford and this hotel looks so perfect. Great review. Kaz
ReplyDeleteI love the Mercure chain, we're actually staying in one tomorrow in Bristol!
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a fabulous place, the bathroom is GORGEOUS!
ReplyDeleteOxford is beautiful! I went last year although I only went there on a work trip. I love how luxurious your hotel looks x
ReplyDelete