#PRTRIP #AD As a family we haven’t really had chance to get away at all since the start of the pandemic, so I was thrilled when we were invited to Oxford for a weekend staycation!!!

There were a lot of things that concerned me as a mum about going away, the travel, sleeping arrangements, nearest toilets, food and of course the dreaded Covid!

We were invited to Jurys Inn which is just on the outskirts of Oxford. For me this was perfect, a nice central location with the main Oxford Bus route right on your doorstep. The buses were amazing by the way, cheap and super easy to track on the Oxford bus app!!

It was around a 2-hour journey from Sussex so you can imagine after that length of time in a car with 2 years old I was ready to have a lie down. My tips, lots of snacks, drink and don’t forget to charge the tablet……..I ended up sacrificing my phone to Disney plus and a non-screaming toddler!

The hotel was directly off the main road, so it was super easy to find. There is plenty of parking and you just pay a small parking charge at reception for the car park.

On arrival I was so excited to get in and the check in process was fast! They receptionist was lovely and gave Belle a farmyard activity pack, which made her very happy. To be fair every single member of staff from the cleaners, waiters, leisure staff to the costa team were all lovely!

All around the hotel are stay safe, stay happy signs directing you to wear a face covering in public areas. Their five-point plan is:

• Hygiene
• Social Distancing
• Cashless
• Food and Drink Delivery
• Training

I felt completely safe within the hotel and never felt at risk in the slightest!

My favourite part of the plan was…..Food delivery! Every morning you wake up to a CRUSH Continental Breakfast delivered straight to the door, I’ve tagged a photo in so you can see how yummy it was!! You also had the opportunity to pick up a bacon / sausage bap from Costa! I ate like a queen!

As well as that you also had the opportunity to order room service. We chose to go to the restaurant on the second night. The food was reasonably priced for Oxford and again the staff were so lovely. Belle got a circus activity pack in the restaurant which kept her busy! The food was lovely, I had a chicken tikka curry, Belle had a burger and Richard had a Gigantic burger with Onion Rings!

Back to our staycation. We were only staying for 2 nights but we wanted to make the most of it! On the first night we went out for a lovely meal at a pub by the canal in oxford which was only 4 minutes from the hotel by car. The Plough Wolvercote had inside and outside seating and was very peaceful. After filling my Belly with chilli nachos and halloumi I was ready for Bed!

Belle has never slept in a big girl bed, so we were slightly worried to have her up on her own single. Luckily the room was so big we were able to transfer her mattress onto the floor and for the first time ever she slept without bars. It did mean at 6am the next day she crawled into mummy and daddy’s bed for a cuddler.

The next day after our breakfast we headed into oxford for a day of sightseeing. We just walked around for 5 hours taking the in the sights. We went to the Westgate centre. Some of the shops I could only dream of buying from!!! 

After an ice-cream outside the centre we went to the story museum for a spot of lunch. The museum is a kid’s imagination centre and we were there for Alice in Wonderland Week! There were lots of activities for older children including flower making. We booked Belle into the story time exhibit which was an area full of play zones like space, underwater and the bedtime zone. The story tellers entertain the kids with different stories (see pictures) to be honest I think I could have walked away, and belle wouldn’t have noticed. Handily they have buggy parks and lockers there too.

It had been a long day and before dinner we had booked a family swim at the hotel. You had to book allocated time slots. This was to ensure the capacity of the pool was reduced. It was the first time daddy has seen Belle swim since she was a baby so I was glad that they had plenty of availability! he opening hours or children to the pool were great too – Saturday and Sunday: 7am to 8pm

They also had a fitness suite and lots of classes, but I was on holiday so didn’t try them!! I wanted to be lazy 😊 

On the final day we checked out – again super simple – and headed on our way to Crocodiles of the world. It was a last-minute booking, but Belle was ecstatic! The pictures show how amazing the centre was a social distancing was easy with their one-way system. Lots of crocodile, alligators, lizards, and small mammals! The Café sells the best hot chocolate too. What more can you want!!!

I would highly recommend Jurys Inn if you are planning to travel to Oxford as a family. They currently have a staycation offer on too. You get 20% off when you book 2 nights or more. You also have free cancellation up to 48 hours before! Our package came in at only £153 for the whole weekend! So, give yourself a break and head to Jurys Inn to be looked after for a weekend!