This hotel across the road from Balliol College is best known for the paneled Morse Bar, where they ‘served a decent pint’ to the great inspector, invariably paid for by his sidekick, Lewis. Key employees are full of character. Ask for a room with a view: Martyr’s Memorial of Ashmolean. At dinner, expect a salmon cart, followed by a meat cart, followed by a flambé cart, from which whole bananas are delivered in a surprising whooshing blue flame. It is conveniently located near the Ashmolean Museum and within easy reach of St John’s College, Trinity College and the Bodleian Library.