Life: Our Stay at The Artist Residence
After we got married we knew that we wanted a couple of nights away to enjoy the newly married buzz, before heading off on honeymoon in November. We booked a couple of nights at the new Artist Residence hotel in Oxford – it only opened in July but we knew it was a good choice as their other hotels are so popular.
The Artist Residence hotels are described as an eccentric bunch of fun and friendly places to eat, sleep and drink. There are four of them around the country with another opening in Bristol. Their Oxfordshire residence is a very traditional country pub with a thatched roof and five bedrooms nestled in the roof. We stayed in the Farmhouse Loft room and it was beautiful – my ideal decor! The bathroom was gorgeous with a roll top bathtub and a big rainfall shower with lovely Bramley toiletries (which I am now absolutely in love with). I also enjoyed the Roberts DAB radio which was playing as we arrived. It’s got everything you could want in a hotel room, including fluffy robes and a great selection of tea. The only negative is that as the rooms are directly above the pub it can be a little noisy, so do take earplugs if you’re a light sleeper!
Now let’s talk about the food. I could talk about it all day; SO GOOD. If you book directly through their website you get complimentary breakfast and get to choose from a great selection of breakfast specials. I had the eggs royale one morning, and the granola the second day. We had dinner at the hotel on both nights. The first night we treated ourselves to the tasting menu in Mr Hanbury’s Dining Room and it was incredible and well worth the price – I still think about it now. The gin cocktail to kick it off was amazing too (they have some great gin!). After a couple of days of barely eating around the wedding I was so full afterwards, and very happy. We ate in the pub on the second night and that was also really good. If you want good food, you won’t be disappointed.
We really loved the Artist Residence and would recommend it to everyone. It’s in a great location, nestled in the countryside but close to some great places (we went to Blenheim Palace during our stay) and the staff are so friendly and welcoming – we felt at home the whole time.
Daisy x
