Look at the photo of the hotel exterior on the Old Parsonage website, and you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s in a Gloucestershire village. The Cotswold stone and trailing ivy that borders the lead windows smack of rural idyll, but pan back a bit and the dreaming spires of historic Oxford offer a picturesque backdrop.

The Old Parsonage is at the end of St Giles, a broad street of proper English pubs and those tiny wooden doors within huge wooden doors that open onto the green quads of Oxford colleges. It’s a five-minute walk to The Ashmolean art gallery and the shops, and the same distance in the other direction to Jericho, the city’s chi chi district of cafes, restaurants, arty cinemas and bohemian students.

It was a sunny day when I arrived at The Old Parsonage and the tables on the terrace were occupied by graduates in their university “sub fusc”, the academic dress worn for exams and degree ceremonies among other university occasions – a picture postcard image for tourists.

Among the parents of Oxford University undergraduates The Old Parsonage is an institution – if it’s not Gee’s or Browns restaurant for lunch, then this is the place to take your pride and joy and celebrate their academic achievements.

Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Great Milton, Oxfordshire

The Manoir is pure Blanc - decadent and flawless; it's worth saving up for, says Ginny McGrath

BACKGROUND

• Hotel du Vin, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire

• Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Great Milton, Oxfordshire

• Old Bank Hotel, Oxford

• The Plough, Clanfield, Oxfordshire

• The White Hart, Nettlebed, Oxfordshire

BACKGROUND

• Malmaison Oxford

• The Lamb, Burford, Oxfordshire

• The Old Parsonage Hotel, Oxford

• Randolph Hotel, Oxford

Related Internet Links

• More reviews of hotels Oxfordshire hotels

Related Links

• Randolph Hotel, Oxford

The hotel’s Graduate Tea is worthy of its reputation. I didn’t have it on this occasion but have in the past – for £18.95 per person you’re given finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, homemade cakes, tea or coffee and a glass of champagne.

My only meal at the hotel was breakfast (£12 continental and £14 for Full English) – which I would probably rate in my top five hotel breakfasts, were I to keep a tally. The homemade granola of nuts and seeds was delicious, which I topped with vanilla yoghurt and berries from a vast fresh fruit platter. I followed this with a faultless dish of smoked salmon and scrambled egg. The lunch and dinner menu looked appetising – hearty dishes using fresh ingredients, including meat from the nearby farm owned by Jeremy Mogford, the hotel’s owner. The two-course weekday lunch is good value at £12.95, or three courses for £15.95; Sunday lunch is £25, or there’s an a la carte menu which costs about £28 for three courses without wine.

Like the rest of the hotel the restaurant and bar area is cosy, rather than spacious, and although the windows let plenty of light in during the summer, I imagine these rooms come into their own on a chilly winter evening when the fire is lit. For sunny days though, there’s the terrace, which hosts a barbeque on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings during the summer. The terrace has space heaters to keep diners warm on chilly days, although when I stayed only one of these was working.

My room was up a Kafkaesque winding staircase and I was told it was one of four deluxe bedrooms in the oldest part of the hotel that dates to 400 years old. The views over a churchyard on one side did nothing to dispel the Cotswold image and although we overlooked the terrace and Banbury Road at the front there was no noise.

Antique furniture, a huge bed and country house furnishings were cosy and everything worked well – the hairdryer, shower, kettle, television (no satellite channels though). I also liked the Molton Brown toiletries, which though ubiquitous in hotels are always a winner in my book.

TripAdvisor.com users give the hotel an average four out of five rating, and most rave about its city centre location, historic attributes and traditional English cuisine – the Full English and afternoon teas are a hit. But these attributes bring their problems – a city centre location means parking space is at a premium. The hotel does its best to accommodate cars, but its car park is small and it has limited visitor permits, after which its an expensive pay car park. Then there’s the size of the rooms – some are small, but most guests, including those who commented on Trip Advisor accept that the building’s age means this is inevitable, and regard it as secondary to the hotel’s charm.

Additional services that are of note include in-room treatments using Maria Galland products. Facials cost from £59 for 50 minutes; massages from £35 for 25 minutes; plus there’s reflexology, manicures, pedicures, self-tanning and make-overs. The hotel owns a punt at Cherwell Boathouse, which is an attractive riverside restaurant five minute’s away by car. Guests can use the punt free of charge. Additionally the hotel has three bikes that can be used free of charge and also offers day passes to a nearby sports centre.

Bottom line: Rooms cost from £160 per night

Best thing: breakfast

Worst thing: parking

Access all areas: the hotel is wheelchair accessible and although one guestroom has a wider door for wheelchair users, the bathroom has not been adapted.

Need to know: The Old Parsonage Hotel, 1 Banbury Rd, Oxford OX2 6NN; tel. 01865 310210; www.oldparsonage-hotel.co.uk; info@oldparsonage-hotel.co.uk

Food: 9 out of 10

Service: 9 out of 10

Room: 8 out of 10

Value: 7 out of 10

Times recommends

• Oasis of the Seas: the Times review
• The 20 best new year party places to stay
• Green Spaces 2009: are you the winning writer?