AN AMERICAN hotel run by the new owners of the Randolph in Oxford has given a glimpse of what our city institution could end up looking like after a six-month refurbishment.
The US hostelry in Mississippi is even called the Graduate Oxford.
American chain Graduate Hotels, which bought the Randolph last year, confirmed this week that it is planning to close the Oxford hotel for six months from October 17 and make 75 of the 84 staff redundant in order to carry out a massive renovation inside the Grade II-listed building.
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It is even understood the company is planning to change the name of the iconic institution to the The Graduate Oxford.
The firm has not revealed any details about what it is planning, but the website for the company's other Graduate Oxford hotel – in Oxford, Mississippi – could provide some clues.
Graduate Oxford Mississippi
Alongside images of a lounge with garishly bright furniture, exposed brickwork and globes hanging from the ceiling, the website coos: “Cozy up in our 3,000 square foot lobby stacked floor to ceiling with vintage reads, comfy seating and a chic lounge bar, set atop a wash of pink wire-brushed oak stained floors.
“Take in some Oxford elegance at The Coop, our rooftop terrace bar, complete with live blues, light bites and signature craft cocktails or sip a state of the art coffee creation at Cabin 82, a nod to the heart of the county fair.”
The website even has a dedicated page about that Oxford's university – the University of Mississippi.
Randolph regular Stuart Jarvis, 66, who first leaked the news of the closure after having it confirmed to him an email from the general manager, said that if the owners were closing the Randolph for six months 'they must be planning to make major changes inside'.
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Regarding the proposed name change, he added: “If the American owners already have a Graduate Oxford in Mississippi then surely it would make more sense to keep the name the Randolph, which is known worldwide."
Randolph manager Philip Lewis has said the revamp would reference the hotel’s Victorian origins.
The website for Graduate Oxford Mississippi
He said: “The work done so far with the design team and historians is nothing short of breathtaking and the Victorian Gothic designs for the bedrooms and public space will certainly be a talking point, and something which visitors and locals alike can enjoy for years to come.”
The Randolph had a revamp following a fire in 2015 but Mr Lewis claimed the American chain were the first owners in some time to invest the money required to bring it back to its former glory.
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“If the chain is closing for six months they must be planning to make major changes inside.”
There was extensive refurbishment following a major blaze in 2015 but Mr Lewis claimed the American chain were the first owners of this property in some time to invest the money required to bring it back to its former glory.”
John Wauden told oxfordmail.co.uk: “Astonishing claim by the new owners that the hotel has not been refurbished for years because it is in a perfectly excellent condition, having been redecorated and restored inside and out, since the fire. It is perfectly useable as it is.”
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Graduate Oxford Mississippi
The front of house staff at the hotel won an industry award for the work they did on the night of the fire to help guests.
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