Minster Mill

Came for a weekend with no expectations other than what we read online.|The hotel is lovely, where we were met by a lady at reception who was nice enough. |Got to the room and was disappointed.|The room was extremely small with no air conditioning. In ~30C all we had was a small fan to keep us cool. The heat was intense with the corridor and outside being cooler.|The bathroom has little ventilation so the tiles floor became slippery with showers and condensation, so much I slipped several times. |There were snacks and drinks in a drawer but no fridge; bed was ok but pillows were very flat. |The breakfast is served in the Old Swan, opposite the hotel. It took ~40mins for the meal to be served and despite the cooked breakfast being ok, mine was disgusting - bagel with avocado which was overly soggy. Unfortunately not one person came to check up on things, so I was left sharing my husbands meal. |The dinner in the main restaurant was delicious, and the staff were lovely. Unfortunately the prices for drinks at the bar knocked us - over £30 for 2 drinks. This is more than what we’ve ever paid for in any village or town. Not sure how these prices can be justified!|The spa was lovely where I had one of the best massages I’ve ever had.

Disappointing Stay – Overpriced for a 4-Star Hotel We recently stayed at Minster Mill, and sadly, the experience didn’t match the expectations — especially at £300 per night. This is particularly hard to justify given that The Swan Inn, the 5-star sister hotel just across the road, was charging £260 per night. When we queried this, we were given an unconvincing explanation, and it made little sense for the supposedly more premium property to be cheaper. Our room was very small and not what you’d expect for the price. Even more frustrating was that fire pits used by rooms below caused smoke to drift directly into ours — leaving the room with a strong smell and our clothes affected as well. There was also damp clearly visible on the toilet walls, which is unacceptable in any hotel, let alone one marketed as a luxury retreat. Adding to the disappointment, we were placed right next to a wedding venue area without warning, making it hard to relax due to the noise and foot traffic. Connectivity was another major issue. There was no phone signal throughout the property, and while this can happen in rural areas, the WiFi was also down when we arrived, and it took over two hours to get it working again — not ideal when you’re trying to settle in or get basic information. The common areas were poorly maintained, with paint splattered on corridor floors and dirty chairs in the lounge and communal spaces. The location is beautiful and the property has potential, but the experience felt overpriced, underwhelming, and nowhere near the standard expected — especially when its 5-star sister hotel across the road offers more for less. We left disappointed and wouldn’t return unless significant improvements are made.

Stunning hotel set in the most beautiful grounds. Very central for Oxford and The Cotswolds. Fantastic restaurant reasonably priced. Choice of pretty seating areas all with fire pits, logs, fire lighters and matches. Our room was right next to the pretty river. There was a lovely seating area outside our room with a fire pit and marshmallows for toasting. The room was very comfortable and included a Dyson fan and a coffee machine. Staff were friendy and helpful. Highly recommend.

I took my partner to Minster Mill for a big birthday. We had a wonderful stay. The room was fab...clean and spacious. Our spa treatments and experience relaxing and the food in the restaurant was excellent with a great wine choice. On top of this the team was friendly and welcoming. We will definitely be going back.

Positive:||- Excellent restored buildings and grounds in a beautiful setting||- Relaxing outdoor areas along the river||- Peaceful walks through the gardens and grounds||- Spa treatment faciities very good||- Food and service at the pub (accross the road) was very good||||Negative:||- Size of the room very dissapointing for a "Superior" room!||- Thick duvet on bed rather than a sheet/light blanket in the current heat wave!||- Gap between mattress and headboard - pillow kept falling into gap making sleep uncomfortable!||- Restaurent NOT open on weekends! Had to have meals accross the road at the pub!||- No diet drinks at the pub - dispenser broken!||- Credit card machine would NOT connect to the network - made 3 attempts on arrival the 2 attempts on departure - finally had to switch credit cards and another 2 attempts to connect before payment would go through! Other guests had the same problem! Can't run a business on this basis!||- It all seemed a bit amateurish!||- Has the potential to be so much more!

We have been going to the Old Swan and Minster Mill regularly for over 30 years. The ambiance is charming and the setting beautiful. On every other trip awe we would have given a rating of 'outstanding' but this time it wasn't. It was still good, but this time it had the feel of a hotel chain rather than the boutique that we have been used to.

We visited the hotel in March to celebrate my mother in laws 60th birthday. It’s situated in a lovely part of the Cotswolds and the hotel building (external) itself is stunning, but the room and the service was a let down. ||We booked a room for 3 people (2 adults 1 3 year old) which we specified when booking. We also requested an extra bed/cot bed via the booking too. Our MIL had a separate room. When we arrived they gave us our key and a separate one to my mother in law. They specified which room was the one for us. When we arrived into the room there was just a double bed, no extra bed. ||We attempted to call down to reception as our room was quite a walk away but the phone didn’t work. We tried to have a look at the lead and realised it wasn’t plugged in because the fitting wasn’t the right connection for the socket. So my husband walked back to reception to request the extra bits we needed. When he explained our request the receptionist said “we assumed he would be in the bed with you” (talking about our 3 year old). ||They eventually brought up a travel cot, and gave us a sheet that was big enough for a king size bed, and one hand towel. In the bath room we had only been given two large towels originally. So our son had to share our towels. ||I went to reception on our way out to dinner that night to ask if they had a cover/blanket suitable for a child and they said no. So we had to use the blanket from the end of our bed.||The room itself was really outdated. There was cobwebs, the internal blind wasn’t there just the hooks (see picture). So in the morning the room wasn’t dark at all, we had to hang up clothes to keep the light out. |The carpet and you stepped into the room was filthy and worn. |During the night there was a loud generator type noise as well. ||The service at breakfast the next day wasn’t great either - considering the price of the meals. There was no options for kids. ||We were really let down as the hotel looked lovely on the pictures. As i said, the location was lovely but we probably wouldn’t go back to the hotel.

We came here for a midweek spa day, massage, lunch, dinner and overnight stay for my birthday and it was lovely! Minster Mill is such a beautiful building with a nice quiet riverside terrace and very friendly and attentive staff. The spa is very small which was the only let down of the stay but the massage was very nice, as was lunch and dinner at their pub across the road.

Quaint hotel and great staff made my business stay enjoyable. If you want an "English countryside" experience, you will get it in this 15th century hotel. The basic rooms are small, but comfortable enough that I slept well each night. The convenience of the onsite restaurant was nice, and the food was decent. I stopped in the spa for a manicure which I do not recommend. The girl that did my manicure was very nice, but had a hard time getting my gel off so I ended up scraping it off my nails myself, and then the polish she used came out bubbly. Not worth the £50. The hotel also has a gym and free bicycles you can use. About 1/4 mile down the street are 14th century ruins that are worth a visit, just follow the signs to the church.

Lovely country inn and an authentic English inn experience. A bit out of the way in Oxfordshire but isn't that the point? The inn is staffed by a seemingly small but professional staff who check you in, draw you a pint, and show you to your room. The rooms are a bit small (it dates to the 15th Century) but comfortable and well appointed. The inn serves 3 meals a day and the menu is rather upscale. I only had lunch which was delicious and commensurately priced. The inn isn't really within walking distance from much to do so have a plan to get out an about via car. Overall, not a 5 star experience by far but very nice and recommended.

This hotel is slightly oddball, but set in a lovely village in Oxfordshire. The River Windrush flows next to the Mill, and the gardens and grounds are great for quick walks. There is also a Gym. The Mill is the hotel, while The Swan is the pub/resturant - all run by the De Vere group. This is a nice setup, though I guess it could be quite annoying in wet weather. The rooms vary, but some can be extremely small and cramped. The restaurant is also very overpriced, and I advise you look elsewhere for your tea! That said, and despite it not being the best hotel in the world, the setting and location make up for that, and we were happy with our stay here. Very good for visiting Oxford.

Beautifully situated hotel and old inn. Be aware there are two properties and more rooms than one might think looking at the web site presentation. Plus the inn seems to get plenty of local patrons wanting pub lunches and family dining seats. Bar was cosy with a goodly amount of draft beer taps and the menus for the various sittings of meals were thoughtful and expected of what is obviously a serious destination. I avoided paying 25 pounds for a swim in the spa center which can be avoided if you have a treatment in the spa. Lovely walk along the river aside the property and you can fly fish for half a day on said river (for 60 pounds) Reception made an error processing my final bill which probably wouldn't have been caught without my input. Rooms in the inn seem to have more hidden away rooms . Mercia room was at the top of a vertical spiral suitcase in the inn.! Help was needed to move suitcases. But the Mercia room had an outside patio albeit it close to the coolers by the kitchens. Parking easy and plentiful out back.