Spring has sprung!  To celebrate the season, Four Pillars Hotels has some fantastic offers for guests including weekend escapes from just £44 per person, per night (dinner, bed and breakfast) and mid-week breaks from just £35.20 per person per night (dinner, bed and breakfast).  Plus, children stay and eat breakfast for free.*

With the Easter holidays, May half term and bank holiday weekends just around the corner, guests can make the most of this lovely time of year by escaping to the countryside and staying in one of six Four Pillars hotels located in England’s holiday hot spots of Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds.

Choose to stay in either a Grade II* listed Victorian mansion set in beautiful landscaped grounds near Bristol, a contemporary hotel and spa in the heart of the Cotswold Water Park that also offers a range of outdoor pursuits or one of four fantastic properties in and around Oxford including the Oxford Thames Four Pillars Hotel.  Providing the best of both worlds, this hotel combines medieval charm and contemporary elegance and is set in picturesque Oxfordshire parkland yet just three miles from the centre of ‘the city of dreaming spires’.

Additionally, guests preferring a little more privacy can choose to stay at one of the luxury self-catering apartments at the lakeside Cotswold Water Park Four Pillars Hotel. Combing the flexibility of a self-catering holiday with the convenience of the hotel’s facilities on site, these stylish self-catering apartments are perfect for families, groups and couples. Prices start from £160 for a two-night break in a studio apartment and increase to just £1,050 for seven nights in a two-bedroom apartment – representing just £38 per person, per night, based on a group of four people.

A stay with Four Pillars also includes many exclusive discounts at some of the region’s varied attractions including a VIP invitation to gain an extra 10% off at nearby shopping destination Bicester Village, discounted entry for all the family at Cotswold Wildlife Park or exclusive rates to visit Blenheim Palace.

Those seeking a mid-week break will find better value the longer they stay, so families seeking an Easter escape, or a half term holiday, can capitalise on discounted rates for up to five night breaks.  Plus, kids stay and eat breakfast for free.*

For full details and to book, visit: www.four-spring.co.uk or call 0800 374 692

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With spring around the corner, it’s time to make the most of the long weekend and plan an Easter getaway. And with a range of great value offers for all the family, independent hotel group Four Pillars Hotels can help make your Easter celebration even more special.   Weekend breaks in March start at just £42 per person, per night including dinner, bed and breakfast.  Or stay midweek from Sunday to Thursday between 24th March and 12th April and the longer you stay, the less you pay!  Five night breaks start at just £36.80 per person per night for dinner, bed and breakfast.    And children stay and eat breakfast for free*.

Four Pillars Hotels has six predominantly four-star hotels in some of the most beautiful parts of Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds.  Guests can choose between a Grade II listed Victorian mansion with its own arboretum, a contemporary lakeside hotel with extensive spa facilities in the heart of the Cotswold Water Park and four very different properties in and around the historic city of Oxford.  All are within easy distance of local attractions, so whether it’s sightseeing or shopping, country walks or pottering around nearby villages that you choose, there really is something for the whole family to enjoy.

For those who prefer a little more flexibility, the luxury self-catering apartments at the lakeside Cotswold Water Park Four Pillars Hotel are the perfect choice.  With stylish kitchens and dining facilities along with the convenience of the hotel’s restaurants, bars and luxury spa on site, prices start from £190 per apartment, for a two night stay**.  And with the hotel’s location within the Cotswold Water Park, guests can take part in a host of action-packed activities from windsurfing and sailing to horse riding, fishing and cycling.

So why not Egg-scape to the beautiful English countryside this Easter and enjoy Four Pillars Hotels’ warm and friendly hospitality, comfortable accommodation and comprehensive facilities? 

For full details and conditions or to book, please visit www.four-winter.co.uk or call 0800 374 692.

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People can be forgiven for believing that a short break in Oxford is all about visiting all those historic university colleges and Inspector Morse’s favourite pubs. The reality is that there is also a wide variety of other fun activities to be enjoyed in the city and the surrounding area.

Provided the weather is reasonably clement, you just have to take one of those famous punting trips on the 2 rivers with which Oxford is blessed, the Cherwell and the Thames, or the Isis as it is known in the area. Each flat bottomed punt holds up to 5 people including the punter. A bottle of Pimms or Champagne is considered obligatory if the experience is to be optimised. You can hire your punt from Howard C & Sons at Magdalen Bridge or from Salters Boat Hire next to the Head of the River pub on Folly Bridge.

If you are feeling even more adventurous, why not consider hiring a comfortable canal boat and exploring the Thames and the South Oxford Canal which meander through local countryside and through the city itself. College Cruisers are a family firm and their boats are painted in traditional Oxford Blue. They are located at Combe Road Wharf.

For really sensational views of the City of Dreaming Spires and Blenheim Palace, why not book a balloon flight from adventureballoons.co.uk ?  Lift off is from Oxford’s South Park.

If you have children aged over 8 or are just simply young at heart yourself, Outdoor Lasertag is a fun way to exercise and the harmless infrared guns they use cater for all levels of fitness and are sturdily built with life-like sound effects, realistic weights and real scopes. This is just one of the novel activities available at the Culham Adventure Park, a few miles outside the city.

The park also boasts Oxfordshire’s first ever Tree-Top High Ropes course with Rope Bridges, Tarzan Swings and Zip Slides set high in the trees in 50 acres of woodland. There is full safety training for all new participants and this is a great way of kicking off birthday, stag and hen parties (ideally before anyone starts drinking).

For anyone with any energy left, Oxford has its own ice-rink and is one of the few locations where speedway and greyhound racing take place. Both are staged at the Greyhound Stadium in Sandy Lane and are well worth trying once if you’ve never been before.

Visit hotels in Oxford and explore this beautiful city.

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Oxford has been home to some of Britain’s most famous writers, poets and novelists and there’s no better time to visit this historic city than to coincide with the UK film release of The Hobbit and January’s 200^th anniversary of the first publication of Pride and Prejudice.  Both J. R. R. Tolkien and Jane Austen have links to the city, and local hotel group Four Pillars Hotels is offering a range of amazing offers on winter breaks from December through to March 2013 starting at just £59 per person per night including dinner, bed and breakfast.  And children stay and eat breakfast for free*.

The four-star Oxford Spires Four Pillars Hotel is located less than half a mile from the centre of Oxford, where both Tolkien and his great friend C S Lewis – author of The Chronicles of Narnia – were professors, at Pembroke College and Magdalen College respectively.     Jane Austen was tutored in Oxford by the widow of a former Principal of Brasenose College, and her father and brother became Fellows of St John’s College. The perfect location for your literary explorations, Oxford Spires Four Pillars Hotel is set in acres of tranquil parkland and features 170 stylish bedrooms and suites, a full-service restaurant and bar, as well as recreational facilities including an indoor swimming pool, sauna, steam-room and gymnasium.

Four Pillars also have three other hotels in and around the Oxford, the picturesque riverside Oxford Thames Four Pillars Hotel, Oxford Whitney Four Pillars Hotel and Oxford Abingdon Four Pillars Hotel.  Prices at Oxford Abingdon Four Pillars Hotel start at just £42 per person per night.

For full details and conditions on Four Pillars Hotels’ winter offers, or to book, please visit www.four-winter.co.uk or call 0800 374 692.

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As Christmas approaches once again, people are gripped by the usual mixture of warm anticipation and sheer panic. Christmas Day itself is always a time for celebration and family get-togethers and the subsequent days leading up to New Year’s Eve are an opportunity for restful recovery and socialising with friends and relatives. The problem is in getting from here to there without getting too stressed out. This is particularly applicable to the fairer sex as they seem to be the ones lumbered with most of the work.

Considerate husbands and partners can help by either doing more of the work themselves and / or arranging a short break away from it all in either November or early in December. The beauty of the latter is that this time of year is classed as low season and there are some really tempting deals on offer from well- appointed hotels which have every facility on hand including swimming pools and relaxing spa treatment rooms.

Having someone else take care of the cooking, cleaning and bed-making somehow makes Christmas shopping less of a strain and can actually make the exercise an enjoyable experience. Those taking such a pre-Xmas break in the Oxford area will find all the big name shops that they are likely to need together with the unique seasonal ambiance of the City of Spires.

The Christmas atmosphere in Oxford is brought vividly to life in the city on Friday November 23^rd when the Christmas Light Night is staged. Centred on the famous lantern procession this evening event features light, dance, art, live music and performance, all thrown together with a generous helping of festive cheer. Oxford’s museums, Castle Quarter, Town Hall and Museum of Oxford, theatres and galleries throw open their doors to the public for one-off late night viewings of their exhibitions and displays enhanced by special performances.

This kicks off the build-up to Christmas in style and sets the tone for what visitors can expect during the run-up to the big day itself. 2012’s events include the ever popular Christmas choral concert at Christchurch Cathedral on Friday 14^th and Thursday 20^th of December at 8pm. Recent readers of Christmas writing at this perennial favourite include Jeremy Irons and Robert Hardy and it is a closely guarded secret which star is booked for this year.

For a complete contrast, it is well worth making the short journey to Blenheim Palace, arguably Britain’s finest.  This year from 10^th November – 14^th December (Wednesday to Sunday inclusive) the Palace will be decorated in a very special theme telling the Christmas story of the Three Kings.

Visitors to the Palace will be able to follow the journey of the Three Kings through the State Rooms decorated in glittering gold and festooned in silk. Two magnificent Christmas trees will stand in splendour in the Great Hall, surrounded by palm trees in pots bejewelled in the colours of the Far East. From the balcony above the Great Hall, the Star of Bethlehem will shine out to guide the Three Kings on their way. Baubles and crystals on lush ribbons, shining golden leaves, clusters of peacock feathers and striking turquoise and emerald green marabou fans will provide an exotic welcome to the Palace.

http://www.four-pillars.co.uk/

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The impressive buildings combined with winding rivers and hidden nooks all work to create a romantic and inspiring atmosphere that many experience when visiting Oxford.

If you haven’t visited before, there are many sights you can admire, the architecture of Oxford being some of the biggest highlights.

Oxford University Buildings

With over 39 college buildings dotted around the city that make up the university, you may not get time to visit them all; here are a couple of the best picks well worth a visit…

All Souls College

This is at the heart of the university, and was founded in 1437 by Henry Chichele for the clergy as a centre for prayer and learning. This is the most prestigious of all the colleges.

The college boasts a four-storey gate tower and two-storey ranges either side, when you pass inside the gate house you enter the Great Quad, here you will be able to view the medieval buildings and spectacular twin gothic towers.

The quadrangle still houses fellows’ bedrooms and studies; additionally the Chapel sits in the whole north quarter and is well worth a visit.

On your visit, don’t miss out on taking a look at the sundial made by Wren and the mallards (the college symbol) that can be spotted all over the college.

Brasenose College

College of Brasenose and the King’s Hall is situated in Radcliffe Square in the heart of the University. It was founded in 1509 by William Smythe, Bishop of Lincoln, and Sir Richard Sutton.

The unique name of the college is thought of have come from a 13^th century knocker with a lion face that decorated the original academic hall.

Brasenose College has an intimate and romantic feel, typical of smaller medieval buildings. As you pass through the entrance on Radcliffe Square you will be led through to the Old Quadrangle, from here you can browse the beautiful buildings located inside.

Well worth a look is the Chapel Quadrangle, known also as Deer Park, it is home to the library and chapel – both were built in 1656-63 and were designed by mason John Jackson in an unusual Gothic-Classical hybrid.

The Chapel was the last to be designed and built in the traditional T plan, with a crossing antechapel, and replaced an earlier chapel that was located alongside the Hall.

Go inside the Chapel and take a look at the impressive antechapel, it comprises a memorial to Walter Pater a Fellow 1864-94, flanked by figures of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Plato and Dante.

You also won’t be able to miss the stained glass of the west window; it is by James Pearson to designs by J.R. Mortimer, from 1776.

Bodleian Library

The Bodleian Library is the main research centre for the university. It was founded in 1602 and opened with about 2000 books collected by Thomas Bodley. It is considered to be one of the great masterpieces of Gothic architecture in the UK.

The collection of books grew fast as Bodley made an arrangement with the Stationers’ Company in London to include a copy of every book registered with them, in the Bodleian library in 1610.

As the collections grew, the library was extended in both 1610-1612 and again in 1634-1637. Then, in the 1930’s the New Bodleian building was constructed – a tunnel under Broad Street connects the Old and New library buildings and contains a walkway, , a mechanical book conveyor and a pneumatic Lamson tube system for book orders.

Other places in Oxford well worth a visit include:

-          Christ Church Cathedral

-          University Church of St. Mary the Virgin

-          Harris Manchester College

-          House of C.S.Lewis

-          Eagle and Child Pub – patrons included C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien

This is just a snippet of what you can see on your Oxford break, all that’s left to do now is discover the city for yourselves!

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We’re delighted to be celebrating all things British this June, July and August with the launch of Four Summer, a range of great value breaks and getaways.   Packed with fantastic offers and value added deals, not to mention a string of fun festivities, Four Summer provides the perfect excuse to escape and explore some of Britain’s most beautiful countryside at affordable prices.

Whether it’s Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire or the Cotswolds that you choose, Four Pillars Hotel provides the perfect base for a relaxing summer getaway.

Take advantage of a summer weekend escape from just £46 per person, per night (dinner, bed and breakfast) or make the most of a mid-week break and capitalise on a 15% discount, with rates starting from just £39.95 per person per night (dinner, bed and breakfast). Those seeking an extended stay can enjoy a 20% discount from just £37.60 per person (dinner, bed and breakfast) on all five night stays – meaning the longer you stay, the less you pay!* All this, PLUS children stay and eat breakfast for free**; there’s little excuse to leave British soil and plenty of cause for a traditional summer celebration this year!

For full T&Cs or to book, call 0800 374 692 or visit www.four-summer.co.uk

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