AN INSPECTOR CALLS

He pays his way... and tells it like it is

YOU can smell the paint. Everything is fresh, clean, inviting. It’s day two at The Store, a 101room hotel in central Oxford, so-named as it occupies what was Boswells, which opened in 1738, trading in luggage.

Today it sells pared-back, comfortable rooms, mainly in white with nothing on the walls, some with balconies from where you can almost touch the ‘dreaming spires’. Trinity College is just across the road.

There’s a 15 per cent opening discount and, space permitting, everyone is upgraded. Even so, The Store is pricey, with rooms starting at nearly £300.

The fifth floor roof-top bar (where food will be served soon) is a terrific spot, while the main bar (‘it’s meant to be the longest in Oxford,’ says a staff member) is on the ground floor with a snug next to it. An Oskia spa lurks in the basement — but there’s no pool.

Treadwell is the cheerful restaurant at the back of the building, with a separate entrance from the pedestrian precinct. The chef likes his burnt chilli and crispy shallots. They feature in my delicious asparagus starter and the tuna steak — and appear again at breakfast with my scrambled eggs and bacon muffin.

I’m given something of a morning workout as the lifts aren’t working and I’m on the fourth floor. Such hiccups are to be expected at this stage — but there seems to be more builders carrying power tools than there are guests.

A surprise awaits at check-out. The duty manager says he won’t charge me for dinner due to ‘the inconvenience caused’. I say this was minimal, but he won’t hear of it — and I come away hoping The Store will be a big success.

The Store 1-5 Broad Street Oxford OX1 3AG 01865 950666, thestoreoxford.com

Doubles from £285 b&b