SAY hello to a stylish sleepover in one of the UK’s prettiest cities, says writer Caroline White. From stylish interiors to a rooftop bar offering breathtaking views, The Store Oxford is perfect for a romantic weekend. A Georgian department store has been transformed into a contemporary hotel, where you’ll find Scandi-chic interiors filled with curved furniture and muted tones, smack-bang in the middle of Oxford.
This is one cool bolthole for a romantic weekend exploring the city of dreaming spires. Oxford has scant (and pretty dated) hotel offerings, so The Store is a very welcome addition. Once the much-loved Boswells department store (where my husband spent his pocket money on marbles as a kid), the original windows now flood bedrooms with light – minus any traffic noise, thanks to slick soundproofing.
Our Balliol suite had a sage-green velvet headboard, cream panelling and a marble bathroom with bronze art-deco fittings. The rooftop bar serves the best views in town alongside cocktails inspired by local literature. Try a Modern Education, £16 – a quote from Brideshead Revisited and a summery mix of gin, strawberry, mint, lime and sparkling wine .
Soak up the bubbles with dinner downstairs at Treadwell – order the spicy Ruby Murray chicken pie and gunpowder new potatoes, £24. Come morning, top up your radiance with a 30-minute Glow On The Go facial, £65, in the low-lit sanctuary of the Oskia spa. The bathrooms are beautiful, but there was no close-up mirror fo.