Old Parsonage Hotel, by The Oxford Collection

Our experience at this hotel was excellent. The service here was top notch starting right when we walked in. We got help with our bags, had a very easy check in, and was kindly shown around the property. The staff were so attentive our entire stay, making the experience really lovely. The room was very clean and updated, but it was VERY small. The restaurant was delicious, and made alterations to menu items to fit dietary needs without a fuss. The bed was very comfortable, the room was quiet and homey, and our sleep was amazing while here. The location is fine, good if you’d like to be a bit far from the hustle and bustle, but if you’re not keen on walking to your destination from the get go, you might want to stay somewhere closer to the city centre. Overall this stay was very pleasant, but the room size and distance would knock half a star off from it being flawless.

One of the most lovely hotels I have stayed at. Dating back to the 1600s, it oozes character and is stylishly decorated. The service from the staff was second to none, attentive but not stuffy. We also ate in the restaurant and enjoyed a simple but well cooked meal. || I would describe it as a small and intimate hotel. I read the negative reviews before booking, which mainly mentioned the size of the bedrooms and narrow stairwells. Having stayed, I realise these are written largely by Americans / Canadians used to modern-built Marriot hotels. I however loved the cosy atmosphere and all the lovely places to sit with a coffee or a pre-dinner drink.||I’m looking forward to my next stay.

I booked a 1 night stay here for me and my now fiancé. I booked the Garden Room private dining for just us 2 and the hotel made it really intimate and romantic. The hotel staff were really friendly and helpful. The food was excellent and we enjoyed some refreshing cocktails that the bar staff recommended. The room was clean and the powerful shower was enjoyable. The library is a really relaxing place to enjoy a book and a coffee with some natural light. The car park is hard to spot off the main road, make sure to ask for a parking reservation when you book. Overall we really enjoyed our stay and I want to say a big thank you to everyone at the hotel for making it seamless. Thank you to Emily who helped me book and make all the special arrangements and thank you to the restaurant manager and our waiter who made our evening special and one we will never forget.

Old Parsonage ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This place has been around since 1660—think about that! It’s older than my country (the USA). The original door is still there, which gives it such historic charm. The exterior is beautifully maintained, but the inside is on another level. I loved the art and how everything was placed—it gave the space its own unique culture and warmth. I had lunch here, and the seabass was excellent. Great food, great service. Highly recommend!

We had a fantastic stay at the Old Parsonage. It's a lovely historic building that has been lovingly renovated with all amenities including air conditioning, which is a rarity. The staff were kind and helpful and we felt pampered during our entire stay. There were freshly baked cookies placed in our room every day, a delicious breakfast with many options, and even a free 2-hour tour of Oxford with a talented historian who was able to gain rare access to one of the colleges with her personal connections. We were within a 10-minute walk to the center of Oxford and the museums, covered market, and other attractions. I would definitely stay here again!

One of the most charming hotels! Gorgeous year round, but autumn is particularly delightful as one enters a gorgeous courtyard replete with pumpkins and outdoor dining with blankets to share. The roaring fire inside is both welcoming and warm. A private terrace outside my room was perfect for early morning coffee 🍂🍁

Staff were very helpful and gave us a wonderful time. We had evening meals in the bistro and Gees restaurant and both service and food was excellent. The hotel is ideally situated for visiting everywhere in Oxford. Parking at the hotel is a real bonus. We used the bikes that again was a lovely extra.

Ultimately this didn’t feel like a high end experience, but it was pretty good. The restaurant staff was amazing, but the rest of the hotel staff seemed confused and overwhelmed. For example, during checkout, I had to return to the room multiple times to do things that typically the staff does (like check the minibar and retrieve keys), and storing our bags seemed onerous for them even though that’s a pretty typical ask. There was just a lack of ease that made it feel less luxurious than other hotels of the same caliber. The rooms were wonderful, though. I wish they had a little more charm that reflected the history of the building, but they were clean and comfortable.

I visited Oxford for the first time in May. It was the loveliest hotel I have ever stayed in. Very elegant but not uncomfortably so. The staff was friendly and helpful. The service was extraordinary and the rooms were freshened everyday with clean sheets that smelled like lavender. It was the perfect place to unwind and relax after a day of exploring. I was lucky and had a room that had a small patio, it was so lovely to have my tea there. I highly recommend this hotel, and I hope to someday go back. (One warning, if you stay overnight tbrough Sunday the church bells from next door are pretty loud and ring throughout the morning)

Perfect example of stellar service and accommodations. Building is beautifully preserved (some areas from the 17th century). Our room was modern and cozy, the food was delicious.

My new favorite hotel in Oxford. Wonderful old world charm, brilliant waitstaff. Euro sized rooms are very well accommodated. Dining and lounge area is very cozy with original art. Preferred over The Malmaisson and Randolph. Parking on site for 9 or so. Public parking with 2 blocks for 2.50 after 6 pm. Short walk to downtown and out of city center which simplifies access to the motorway.

Recently, I came here with my great aunt and mom for champagne tea. The dining area is cozy with paintings filling the red walls. You feel like you are sitting in someone's parlor not a restaurant. We started with a glass of champagne which was fab. It was followed by English breakfast tea and a 3 tiered platter of scones, tea sandwiches, and mini cakes. My favorite party was the scones with the clotted cream and raspberry jam but everything was delicious. I would recommend reservations, it was completely full on a Saturday afternoon.

Recently refurbished and the food is fantastic. I've been a fan of the restaurant at the Old parsonage for years, and I was nervously apprehensive about the recent refurbishment. Last week I went for the first time since it re-opened and I am happy to say that they have done a brilliant job. The restaurant still feels lovely and cosy and hasn't lost any of its elegance, but it has been freshened up and it feels more up to date. The collection of paintings are still on the wall and the lovely bench seats have been updated with a luxurious purple velvet. The food is lovely, it is modern British cuisine at its best. There is something reassuringly traditional about the menu, but the food tastes refined, is beautifully presented and the portions are sensible. Good wine list too, and the specials are seasonal. I can highly recommend the deserts, the lemon and ginger sponge pudding last week was the perfect end to a meal. The service is attentive but not over-bearing and the atmosphere is relaxed yet smart. This is one of my first choices for when family visit from outside of Oxford, for both afternoon tea and dinner. The champagne high tea does not disappoint, it is everything you would expect and want and it feels more authentic than some of the other places in Oxford. I would recommend making a reservation.

(Reviewing for dinner only, not hotel, tea, etc.) Good overall, but not great. Nice atmosphere, under-cooked (slightly bland) risotto, pretty good skate, skip dessert. I can see how this restaurant would be rated well compared to other Oxford restaurants, but it's just OK compared to restaurants more broadly.

I reserved this hotel almost three months in advance because my daughter is taking a class at Oxford and this hotel was .1 mile away from her college. I communicated several times with them by email regarding my reservation and transport. When I arrived TODAY they told me they are so sorry they had to cancel my reservation and booked me at a hotel OVER 2 miles away. And said they were adding breakfast as a 'sorry'. And would pay for my taxi only after I insisted. They NEVER emailed me to tell me, said they called, I had been traveling all day and on email. And of course there are no nearby hotels available at this late date. And of course the time wasted after I paid 75 pounds to take a train a half hour earlier. So unprofessional. I'm sure the hotel is nice, but there is no guarantee you will actually get a room, so it does not do much good.

Reviewing only for the Afternoon Tea. Recommendation: Take your high tea here. I had afternoon tea only once the entire time I was in the UK, and this experience was well worth the 20 pounds or so spent [for two]. The waitstaff is incredibly courteous and efficient. My friend and I ordered the "Very high tea" which was a selection of finger sandwiches, cakes, scones with clotted cream and jam and a tea. We ordered an additional tea and simply split the food. The foods were all fresh, the presentation quite lovely, and the ambiance very fitting for afternoon tea. [We sat inside] They do have outdoor seating out front btw.

We came here to celebrate my sister's birthday with afternoon tea and were not disappointed. We originally planned on sitting outside in their cute courtyard but the weather didn't seem to support that idea, so we ended up inside, which was dark but enjoyable. We each chose the Celebration Tea, which came with a glass of champagne, finger sandwiches, a selection of cakes, scones, and tea....so much food! Our server was so sweet and, when we told her we were actually half vegetarians, she volunteered to take the sandwiches back and came out with new ones for us with a smile on her face the whole time. There was so much food I didn't even get to the cakes, but I enjoyed them later that evening. Overall a great experience at the Old Parsonage!

Lovely. Cosy 'old world' decor and their high tea (including their signature blended tea) is very British...thick clotted cream, sweet home-made jam, and of course, fluffy one-isn't-enough scones. It's also a lovely spot in Oxford to pop into for a drink (or weather permitting a Pims on their private walled patio).

Extraordinary experience. Amazing service. Exceptional wine list. The menu is diverse and everything is prepared impeccably well. The ambience is warm. Seating outside, weather permitting. They even have off-street parking. Very expensive, and worth every penny.

Oh dear! We get to Oxford several times a year and stay at the Old Parsonage. We haven't for a while because it was closed for refurbishment. We just returned from a visit, our first since refurbishment. What a disappointment! Firstly, the food is still excellent and the staff super! But however good it is, their charge for a full English breakfast is just silly. They did build a very nice library with outdoor reading tables. A very nice improvement. The warm, cheerful ambiance is gone. Totally. The friendly, cheerful, upbeat dining room and lobby is now battleship gray. Yes, they did away with the wonderful old Russian Red! It is really depressing. Moreover, the entire hotel is gray, although the corridors and rooms are a lighter shade. The rooms have problems. The showers are bathtub showers which is perfectly OK but they put in new tubs that have very high sides. The tubs are slippery and have no anti-skid mats. Worse, there are no grab bars whatsoever. It was pretty risky to take a shower! The toilet was difficult to operate and the bathroom waste container was so small it was useless. We had a suite and the place was wired so that we never figured out how to turn on just one light. There were two desks but one was inaccessible. The night table was so close to the desk that we couldn't get to it. There were no luggage racks so we had to use the other desk. I know the rooms are small and have no complaint - the building is very old but in order to give the rooms a more open appearance all the chairs are spindly things, sort of like those in a dentist's waiting room. There wasn't a single upholstered easy chair! Nor was there a decent reading lamp. Nor could we figure out how to turn it on with the other lights turned off and didn't want to sit in one of those dentist's office chairs to read. And the walls were gray. Closet space was inadequate. I think the decorators ruined this place. One leaves a light gray room to go into a light gray corridor to the dark gray dining room and dark gray lobby. It looks nothing like the cheery picture shown below. There is another safety issue. They removed the staircase bannisters and put in some shallow rails that blend into the walls so one can't grasp them. We are very ambivalent and may not come back. So many Oxford days are dull and gloomy we needn't spend a lot of money to go to a grayer hotel and be uncomfortable to boot!

There are really only four things that define a hotel experience: location, property, service and cost. The Old Parsonage is perfectly located and the property is excellent--not outstanding--but excellent. For example: two single beds pushed together to make a queen??!!--fine for a parochial hotel in the U.K. 20 years ago, but aren't we in a different league now? As it we would come to learn: no. This is their turf, not yours. In any other situation a hotel that intended to present as the luxury hotel experience in Oxford and charge Central London rates, could not deliver "I-don't-give-a-shit" service and hope to succeed. At one stage the front desk staff actually uttered the words "that's not my responsibility..." which served as an express (Freudian slip?) articulation of what had been evident throughout our stay: they don't care because they don't have to. They don't. They can rest on their laurels until competition displaces them and when that happens we will all be better off. For now, we pay their extortionate rates and manage our needs on our own....

Afternoon tea review: The afternoon tea was a true delight! The fabulous decor and comfortable seating almost made you feel like you were in someone's sumptuous library. It is not a very large place so it feels intimate, but due to this I recommend making reservations. Also, they have a wonderful outdoor space for those warmer days. The staff was very helpful and explained their offerings very well. Their house blend tea was delicious if you like strong tea. The scones, cream and jam were truly worth it. I would absolutely recommend this place to anyone who wants a relaxing and delicious experience.