Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) has opened a second Oxford hotel under its new brand Voco.
The 181-room Voco Oxford Spires is on Abingdon Road, south of the city centre.
The 20-year-old property was formerly the Oxford Spires Four Pillars hotel, which Business Traveller reviewed in 2009.
Some buildings on the grounds, such as Eastwyke Farmhouse, date to the fifteenth century. The main property features a mix of glass and Cotswold stone.
The hotel has a restaurant called Deacons, which serves locally-inspired dishes, and a lounge bar.
There are 11 meeting rooms, as well as a spa, steam room, jacuzzi, pool and gym.
It joins the Voco Oxford Thames, which is located further south of the city and opened earlier this year after being rebranded from a De Vere.
IHG unveiled the upmarket Voco brand in 2018. The group says it wants hotels to retain their unique character as it signs them up, though common features include a welcome gift on arrival (in Oxford it is an orange marmalade chocolate tart), bedding made from recycled materials, full-sized Aveda toiletries, and touches of yellow decor.
There are currently Voco hotels in Dubai, Australia’s Hunter Valley and Gold Coast, and in the UK – in Solihull and Cardiff as well as Oxford.
IHG is planning to open a 4,200-room new-build Voco in Saudi Arabia early next year, while the Millennium Madejski Hotel in Reading will be reflagged under the brand.
It will also open the first Voco in Sydney in 2020.
