DoubleTree by Hilton Oxford Belfry

Had a night away as a treat. We were upgraded to a King Deluxe room as we are Gold members. Nice large room overlooking grass and fields. We had one small problem with the plug in the sink in the bathroom. Had dinner in the restaurant. Really lovely. Staff great. Julie greeted us and Anita was our waitress, who was fantastic. Breakfast was fairly good. No coffee/tea machines only flasks. Danielle on reception was extremely friendly, polite and very helpful. Will definitely go back.

This was our second stay at the Doubletree Oxford Belfry. Three years ago the experience was very good. Unfortunately, the hotel has not maintained the previous standard.
First, the good points. The room was very good with plenty of space and comfortable furnishings. The front desk staff were fantastic. Danielle, who checked us in and seemed to be there most of the time, was professional and helpful. Millie, who had to deal with me when upset about the poor cleaning (see below), was empathetic, offered the best solutions available, and made sure to address the issues.
Now the difficulties. Our room was only cleaned three times during our seven night stay, and that required persistent complaints and follow up with the staff. Otherwise, I don't think the room would have been cleaned or the towels changed at all during our stay. The service in the Bar was abysmal. Tables weren't cleared and even when dirty dishes were removed, the dirty table tops weren't wiped down. This happened on multiple nights. We noted one morning on our way to breakfast that the table were still dirty. Cleanliness is a basic function in a hotel. If you can't get that right, you shouldn't be in the business.
One evening there were six people waiting at the bar for service. Two staff members were across the room speaking with each other and ignoring their customers for some 5-6 minutes. Eventually, one of the reluctantly came over to do their job.
I gave the stay two stars, but this is due to the hard work and dedication of the front desk staff. It wouldn't even rate one otherwise. It's a shame because the rooms are nice and the location is very good. This could be an excellent hotel, but the customer experience was extremely poor.

Our stay at the Oxford Belfry was fantastic! Our room was spacious and spotless! Check in process was very friendly and quick, we were even given complimentary cookies! Had a great sleep in a comfortable and quiet room, the breakfast was also great, fresh hot and regularly maintained and replenished with lots of options for everyone including alternative tea and milk choices. Staff at the hotel were fantastic and friendly. Would highly recommend staying at this hotel and will definitely be returning!

My partner and I booked a two night stay at the hotel. The hotel, Spa and pool were great on the surface. The pool area was in desperate need of a deep clean. The staff in the Spa were great however the hotel/bar/restaurant staff and the cleanliness of the hotel were poor. The bar/restaurant had constant dirty tables, plates and glasses everywhere, all day long, as did the outside space at the venue. On the first night we had a drink outside and our glasses were still there the next afternoon. The communal areas of the hotel were not much better. Two trolleys full of dirty plates (which still had food on them) and glasses were left in the corridor for the majority of our stay. The majority of the staff appeared inexperienced and disinterested. On one occasion another guest asked for a recommendation of a Whiskey from the staff member behind the bar and his reply was “I don’t know which one Whiskey is”. When our room was “cleaned” during our stay all that was done was our pillows were propped up. Nothing was refilled and dirty glasses were left behind. We had to ask for more teabags, milk and toilet roll. I would expect better for the amount of money they charge! When checking out I wasn’t even offered a receipt. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

Room nice but basic.
Very small desk.
Shower, no bath.
Not provided with any water even though gold honours member.
No secondary locking mechanism on the door.
No air conditioning.
Large radiator, but no thermostat or way of switching it off or on.
Nowhere to hang any full length clothes.
Room gloomy with a solitary spotlight near the bathroom plus lamps.
On the upside staff were friendly, bed is fine, and room appears clean and in good repair.

Lot of foreign families staying there long term with children running up and down the corridors. Had to change rooms because of the noise. Would have been nice to have been informed of the situation prior to arrival. Quite good food and good staff.
More signs required in the corridors showing directions of room numbers. A bit of a rabbit warren. Modern layout, obviously a fairly new hotel.

Nice hotel. Room was spacious, clean and warm. The huge stain on the ceiling however, I assume from a leak above, is not a good look. Bed was comfy. Nice fluffy pillows. Food was ok. Breakfast service was a little hit and miss. There was an odd smell on the ground floor in the corridors as you walk towards reception.
This hotel is being used to house immigrants and the loud unsupervised children are an issue. Coming across men randomly sitting under stair cases and sitting in corners of corridors is quite unnerving, no matter who they are, and not something I am used to when I travel. As a woman this alone puts me off staying again.

As reception staff go, Millie is up there with the best of them. She was calm, professional and empathetic towards a frustrated customer when I booked in, many people would have got flustered but she didn’t and was a credit to the Hilton brand as far as I could tell. My check in experience was smooth and issue free, with me in my room within minutes of arrival.