Witney is a practical base for the Oxfordshire Cotswolds. It sits just off the A40, 12 miles west of Oxford and 8 from Burford, with frequent buses into Oxford, so you can be among the honey-stone villages or in the city inside half an hour.
Rather than list every hotel within ten miles, here are a few worth booking across the range: in the town, out in the country and at the top end, with an option to search for everything else at the end.
The Blue Boar, Witney
A 17th century former coaching inn right on Witney’s market square, the Blue Boar puts you in the middle of the town, a few steps from the shops and the Buttercross, with the Thursday and Saturday markets on the doorstep.
Known as the Marlborough for over 200 years, in honour of the Duke, it was returned to its original name upon reopening in 2011.
It’s run by Acorn Pubs and was recently refurbished, so it is a pub with rooms above rather than a hotel: food, a bar and a courtyard downstairs, twenty refurbished rooms upstairs. The one to pick if you want to walk to dinner and leave the car where it is.
Click here for more information or to make a booking.
The Bird in Hand Inn, Whiteoak Green
A couple of miles north of Witney at Whiteoak Green, near Hailey, the Bird in Hand is a Grade II listed Cotswold-stone country inn with sixteen en-suite rooms, a bar and a restaurant, out in open countryside rather than in the town.
The building is 17th century, with the stone and heavy beams to match. It suits people who want fields on the doorstep and don’t mind the short drive into Witney. It also makes an easy base for the northern villages and Blenheim.
Click here for more information or to make a booking.
The Old Swan & Minster Mill, Minster Lovell
About three miles west at Minster Lovell, the Old Swan & Minster Mill is really two hotels on one estate along the River Windrush.
The Old Swan is the older half, a beamed former inn; the Minster Mill side is the spa, with grounds running down to the water. This is the upmarket choice near Witney, better suited to a special stay than a quick overnight, and the romantic ruin of Minster Lovell Hall is a short walk along the same river.
Enquire about booking at the Minster Mill and Old Swan.
The Harcourt Arms, Stanton Harcourt
Four or five miles east of Witney in the village of Stanton Harcourt, on the road towards Oxford, the Harcourt Arms is a dining pub with twelve bedrooms, two of them suites.
The kitchen is the draw: a menu that changes through the week, a Wednesday steak night and a Sunday roast, with open fires in the bar to sit by afterwards. It is one of the best-reviewed places to stay near Witney, and the one to book when the meal matters as much as the bed and you would rather be out towards Oxford than in the town.
Check availability at the Harcourt Arms
Corncroft Guest House, Witney
For a smaller and better-value stay, Corncroft Guest House is a long-running, well-reviewed guest house in Witney itself.
If you want a room and a cooked breakfast without hotel prices, handy for the town and the A40, this is the one to look at.
Check availability at Corncroft Guest House
Find and book a place to stay
These are our picks. There’s more choice in and around Witney, from budget chains to self-catering cottages. Search live availability and prices for hotels and B&Bs in Witney:
For the town itself, see our guide to Witney, and for where else to base yourself across the region, where to stay in the Cotswolds and our complete Cotswolds visitor guide.