Randolph Hotel

Stairway with Oxford University college flags - The Randolph Hotel, Oxford’s grand Victorian Gothic landmark, opened in 1866 opposite the Ashmolean Museum. Designed by William Wilkinson, it was named for Dr Francis Randolph, an eighteenth-century benefactor, not Lord Randolph Churchill as often assumed. Its architecture, initially criticized for clashing with Beaumont Street’s classical style, became an Oxford icon. The hotel has hosted distinguished guests, featured in the “Inspector Morse” series, and inspired the famed Morse Bar. After a major fire in 2015, it was restored and later refurbished by Graduate Hotels, blending Oxford’s literary heritage with modern elegance while remaining the city’s premier five-star destination.