My husband and I recently stayed at the Oxford for a little close-to-home anniversary getaway. First, the good: the hotel is absolutely beautiful. The details in all the antique furnishings-from the carved wood credenzas that decorate the hallways to the intricate scrolling on the brass door hinges, it's a reminder of an era when people took pride in the things they made with their hands. You definitely won't find sterile, cookie-cutter, mass produced furniture or decor here. The service was fabulous-everyone was very polite, soft-spoken, and very attentive. They really do go out of their way to welcome you. The room was well-appointed, with plenty of storage in the large armoire, and they even offer a "pillow menu" with choices of down, foam, memory foam, water-filled, or buckwheat. We were surprised not to find a coffee maker in our room, but instead there was coffee service on our floor just near the elevators. There was also coffee and a selection of teas in the lobby. It was very nice not to have to make the coffee ourselves, we only had to pad a few steps out into the hall for our "fix".
Now, the not-so-good. The mattress in our room was clearly past it's useful life. It was actually less comfortable than the nearly 10-year old mattress we just replaced in our room at home. The walls and windows are paper thin. We could hear word-for-word the conversation going on in the room next door to us, and the guests were speaking in a normal voice. We could also hear conversations taking place outside at street level, though we were on the fourth floor. Pulling the thick, insulated drapes lessened the outside noise, but there was no way to shut out our next-door neighbors. I imagine they heard all of our conversations as well. Also, the room was freezing. No matter how high we adjusted the thermostat, the vent blew nothing but ice cold air. I finally gave up and shut it off completely, wishing I'd packed sweats to sleep in instead of a thin nightgown.
I'm aware of the quirks that old buildings posses, and I can forgive some of the negatives because it was a short, one-night stay. But had we been staying longer, I'd have moved elsewhere, probably to a hotel in a newer building, because sleeping was nearly impossible here. I'm sorry to say this, because I really wanted to love the Oxford.
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