Hotel Review: Mollie’s Motel & Diner, Oxfordshire
Last week I had the pleasure of staying at Mollie’s Motel, a brand new motel and diner complex in Buckland, Oxfordshire. Located just off the a420, with direct links to nearby Oxford and Swindon, Mollie’s Motel is perfectly positioned to enjoy a short stopover in pretty Oxfordshire. I was invited, along with my friend Steph who came as my plus one, to stay over at the motel and check out the diner last Thursday. Steph and I had a great time during our visit and loved everything about it. Here’s my full review on Mollie’s, and why I think you’ll love it too!
The Motel Rooms
Created by the brand behind Soho Farmhouse, Mollie’s Motel has an exclusive, luxury feel to it but without the expensive price tag. The motel boasts 79 cosy, comfortable rooms varying in size and space and you can choose from double, accessible, bunk or interconnecting rooms. With an enormous double bed, ample storage space, a rainforest shower and Cowshed toiletry products, our room had everything we would need and more for our short stay.
The TV doubled up as a room service style menu from which we could easily see what items were stocked in the general store/reception and there was info about the room as well as the rest of the motel and the diner too. Our room was located on the second floor overlooking the neon Mollie’s Motel sign below and we could see the courtyard garden slightly to the left. We got a great nights sleep and had the most amazing shower the next morning! With rooms starting from as little as £50 per night, a stay at Mollie’s is an absolute steal!
The Diner
With its retro decor, neon lights and classic menu, the diner is a flashback to 1950s America and will instantly transport you back to that era. There’s music playing in the background, the smell of burgers and fries in the air, and enormous milkshakes brought right to your table. Mollie’s diner is the real star of the show, and the main reason this place is so popular. Guests aren’t able to book so mealtimes get extremely busy with queues for walk ins, but there’s also a drive-thru service for those who don’t have time to queue for table service. For dinner I opted for the buttermilk chicken sandwich with sweet potato fries whilst Steph chose the dirty double bacon burger with sweet potato fries too.
If you choose the Dirty Deals package you get fries and a drink added to selected dishes at a small extra charge, and a selection of soft drinks are refillable which makes it great value for money. The next morning for breakfast I chose the veggie breakfast, swapping the avocado for an extra hash brown just because I fancied it, whilst Steph went for the maple syrup and bacon waffles which looked AMAZING!
The Location
As I’ve mentioned, Mollie’s is situated just off the a420, the road that links Swindon to Oxford and plenty of other towns and villages in between. There’s a BP petrol station just next to the car park and the motel and diner are right opposite each other, with plenty of free parking. If you want to explore nearby Oxford you can reach the city in just over half an hour by car, or the pretty Cotswolds towns of Bampton, Witney and Faringdon are around a 10-15 minute drive away. The staff on reception at the general store will be more than happy to help with any sightseeing recommendations, and it’s a great place to relax if you prefer not to be holed up in your room, with lounge areas, charging stations, free wifi and complimentary tea and coffee too!
The Staff
Photo courtesy of Mollie’s Instagram Page
I always say that the staff are such an important part of a hotel or restaurant and for Mollie’s this couldn’t be more true. Natalie on reception checked us in and was on hand to answer any queries that we had. She recommended a fab cocktail for us to try on the bar menu and was so lovely and friendly, just the kind of person you would want to see at check in! Brandon & Dave both worked in the diner and looked after us so well during dinner. Nothing was too much trouble, even when we asked for a couple of cocktails that weren’t even on the menu! They recommended food and drinks to us and seemed to know the menu inside out. At breakfast the next morning we were looked after by Dave again and a couple of different waitresses who were absolutely lovely and couldn’t have done more for us. The staff at Mollie’s really went above and beyond to make our stay that extra bit special and they were absolutely brilliant – I couldn’t fault their service one bit!
The App
Despite its 1950s theme and old fashioned retro touches, Mollie’s is right on trend with their brand new app which is available on both Apple and Android. Guests are encouraged to download and book rooms through the app in order to make check in as smooth as possible. Upon arrival, guests who have booked through the app will automatically be connected to the wifi which then tells them which room number they’re in and enables their phones to be used as their room key. The keyless system brings a futuristic feel and I think it’s a real standout feature of Mollie’s, but with the general store/reception being manned 24/7, there’s always a friendly face to speak to as well should you have any problems with the app, or if you just want to speak to an actual human upon check in!
As you can see, my plus one and I had SUCH a lovely time visiting Mollie’s last week! I can see why Mollie’s has been so successful since its launch, with its modern motel rooms and its great value diner food, there’s something to appeal to all ages. I’m a local girl who lives just a 20 minute drive away, so it’s very close to home for me and I know I’ll definitely be back at Mollie’s with some of my friends again soon!
NB. I was a guest of Mollie’s for the purpose of this review, but all thoughts and words are of course my own.
