A Family Weekend at YHA Oxford

Disclaimer – we were given a two night stay at YHA Oxford in return for a review.  All opinions and images are our own

Weekends and short family breaks away can be a brilliant way of exploring the UK and making amazing family memories. But one of the hardest things about travelling as a family of five or six is the cost of hotels.  Most of the budget hotels have family rooms for a maximum of four and this means that booking two rooms makes any trips doubly expensive. Over the years, this has put me off making shorter trips such as weekends away as it can make it really expensive.

I must admit that I wasn’t aware that YHA hostels had family rooms and I was invited to YHA Oxford to try out one of their family rooms for a weekend to see what we thought.

I have stayed in a few YHA hostels when I was younger.  They were always great places to stay, basic but comfortable and some are in the most amazing locations and as part of a group it was always a much cheaper alternative to staying in a hotel. I was really surprised to find out that there were family rooms but it is a great idea as so many families, like us are looking for ways to travel on a budget.

The first thing you notice about YHA Oxford is the location.  If you are travelling by train, it is quite literally next door. It takes about five to ten minutes (depending on how much luggage you have to carry) to walk around but it couldn’t be in a better position.

The second thing is that it looks just like a hotel from the outside and as you walk in.  In fact, my daughter referred to it as ‘the hotel’ the whole weekend as for her, it was no different to any other hotel she had stayed in. As you walk in to check in, there is a large reception room, filled with comfy chairs and there is even a café called The Corner Café offering a good selection of drinks and food.

Check in was simple, you have to remember to bring photo ID for the adults in the party and then you are off to your room.

We were in a room for five and it contains one single bunk bed and one bunk with a single on top and double below.

I was also pleased that there was a small ensuite bathroom too with a toilet, wash basin and shower.  This is ideal for families as you don’t have to keep taking the children out of the room to use the toilet.

The room had a window overlooking a sizeable garden and two big cupboards offering lots of storage space for your belongings.

The rooms were basic but comfortable.  The beds are made up and so comfortable to sleep in and the room was warm and clean. There is only wi-fi on the first floor, we were on the second, but actually I didn’t mind this as the kids were off their screens for a change.  This is something to bear in mind if you are taking teenagers, though as life without wi-fi is a disaster for them.  You can go and sit in reception to access free wi-fi.

If you don’t want to go out to eat, YHA Oxford offers a selection of meals in the dining room throughout the day. We tried out the breakfast on Sunday morning and for two adults and two children, the breakfast cost £20 (under 10s eat for half price).  The breakfast was buffet style with a cooked full English, toast, croissants and pain au chocolat, cereal and fruit along with a selection of hot and cold drinks.  It was a great breakfast and we were certainly full after many trips refilling our plates. The kids were also fascinated by the fact that there was a rowing boat on the ceiling of the dining room.  This was a reference, of course, to the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race and we explained to them why rowing was so important in Oxford.

We had the most amazing weekend in Oxford.  I haven’t been to the city for a few years and it is the most amazing city to explore. Once again, the location of the YHA is amazing, not only is it next to the station, it is a ten-minute walk to get to the theatre, cinema and a range of pubs and restaurants and a few minutes further takes you to the main shopping street.

We were only there from Friday evening until Sunday lunchtime, but we certainly crammed a lot into our short stay.  We mainly ate and shopped with a trip to the cinema to watch Frozen 2 but there is so much to see and do in Oxford that we could have happily stayed longer.

When it comes to eating a drinking in Oxford, you are quite literally spoilt for choice, there are so many different types of restaurant.  With two children with us, we went for Italian restaurants, but we went to The Breakfast Club in the Westgate Shopping Centre for breakfast and it really was amazing.  Right on the rooftop of the shopping centre, The Breakfast Club is an 80s style American diner, very retro and with the most amazing menu. If you like American style pancakes, you will love it, and not only did we have a fantastic breakfast but the view of the Oxford skyline from the rooftop of the Westgate Centre was incredible.

If you love shopping, the shops will not let you down.  We all loved the Westgate Shopping Centre which has an amazing mix of high street shops and we probably spent rather more money than we should.  Out in the main shopping streets, there are more high street names along with some interesting little shops.  If you are a Harry Potter fan, you will love some of the shops.  We are currently reading the Harry Potter books and my daughter happily spent all of her hard-saved pocket money on a variety of Harry Potter merchandise.

OF course, that is only a small snapshot of Oxford which is a city filled with history and culture. If you are a Harry Potter fan, parts of the films were filmed in Oxford, particularly in the university buildings and you can take Harry Potter themed tours to see some of the locations where filming took place.

The University of Oxford is a huge part of the city wherever you go, you will see the impressive university buildings across the city.  We didn’t have time to explore the buildings but there are an impressive 38 buildings that make up the university and with many of the buildings dating back hundreds of years, they are really interesting to explore.

In addition to that, Oxford also has a castle and dungeons which again are a short walk from the YHA Oxford. It is home to the oldest Botanical garden in Britain and even has its own Natural History Museum.  Or maybe you fancy hiring a boat and taking to the water to see the city from a different perspective.

Whatever you do in Oxford, it is a city worth visiting with so much on offer for everyone. If you are considering a trip to Oxford, I can thoroughly recommend staying at  YHA Oxford as somewhere affordable, comfortable and convenient to stay.