The best cheap hotels in Oxford

This guesthouse is located on the edge of one of Brasenose College’s playing fields, and what the 15 rooms at lack in size they make up for by being good value, with doubles starting at around £80. All rooms come with en suite shower rooms, TVs and free wifi, and there’s also free (first come, first served) parking downstairs. A full English breakfast is cooked to order every morning – ideal for fortifying yourself before the ten-minute walk into the centre of town or a morning stroll around the adjacent Hinksey Park or Christchurch Meadow.

If you’re keen to get out on the river, try this converted boatyard-cum-pub with 20 en suite rooms (from £89 a night). Each is themed after renowned Oxford University alumni and there’s a courtyard that’s busy with drinkers and diners in summer, though rest assured: rooms are well insulated from the chatter. If the views out over the Thames leave you inspired, you can hire a boat from Oxford River Cruises opposite.

Another Victorian guesthouse in a leafy, residential part of town, the Galaxie is actually two houses cobbled together to provide 32 modern en suite rooms, all of which come with TVs and free wifi. A continental and English buffet breakfast with fresh pastries from a local bakery is served every morning in a bright conservatory that leads out onto peaceful sculpture garden and koi carp pond. The bus stop outside will take you to the centre of town in 15 minutes.

As well as offering some of the best-value beds in town (from around £20), this branch of the YHA chain is conveniently located for Oxford train station, which is a few minutes' walk away. Sleeping options vary from bunk beds in mixed dormitories with shared bathrooms to private en suite rooms. There’s a lounge room with a TV and a pool table, a communal kitchen, a bar and café, and bike storage for those who arrive on two wheels.

Another budget option popular with independent travellers is this central backpacker hostel offering bunk beds in dorm rooms from under £20. As well as a self-catering kitchen and a late-night bar with a pool table, there are free lockers, wifi and towels. Also, the building and all rooms are entered using a keypad – handy when you stumble in at 3am a little worse for wear (assuming you haven’t forgotten the codes of course). Oh, and there’s no curfew.

This three-star bed and breakfast has free parking for guests as well as free wifi and, of course, breakfast. There are 14 contemporary rooms, which come in a variety of sizes, from twins to family rooms, all with en suite shower rooms, tea- and coffee-making facilities and TVs. The location is ideal if you like fresh air: you’re a short walk from the centre of Oxford but surrounded by parks, meadows and college playing fields.

The 49 en-suite rooms in this Victorian conversion lean towards the traditional, albeit tasteful and up-to-date – think floral wallpaper along with free wifi, TVs and tea- and coffee-making facilities. If you’re looking to push the boat out, plump for one of the ten feature rooms, which come with marble bathrooms and half tester beds (halfway to a four poster). There’s a restaurant, 66a, and a lounge café with a pretty courtyard. If you’re after more choice, the centre of town with its abundance of eating options is just over ten minutes' walk away.

If you’re here to explore the university, one of the city’s most appealing budget options is this 35-room campus-based hotel, which offers a range of rooms from singles to an apartment, right next to the Ashmolean Museum, surrounded by historic sites and colleges. There’s free wifi, a reading room and a library, as well as a bar, a restaurant and – appropriate if you’re here on uni business – a lecture theatre.

This hotel in the heart of the city is perfect if you can’t bear missing a match while you’re away: the downstairs sports bar has eight screens, a projector and all the sports channels you could ever need. It’s also useful if you’ve come by bus as the coach station is next door. Rooms are basic but have free wifi and a continental breakfast – as well as, occasionally – a little of the din from the bar downstairs. Something light sleepers might consider.

This two-star, family-run converted coaching inn a stone’s throw from the station is one of the cheapest hotels in town. It offers a variety of rooms across its two buildings, from singles with shared bathrooms (in the annexe) to en suite family rooms, all of which have TVs, tea- and coffee-making facilities and desks. There’s also (limited) free parking, and in the morning, if the sun is out, breakfast is served in the conservatory and the garden.