Our Story

We bought number 33 in 2001 when we moved to Oxford for David to study as part of a career change. Although work would later take us into accommodation tied to the role, we held on to number 33 because it quickly became our family home in the city.

For us it is more than an address — it is our Observatory Retreat: a place we return to for space, comfort and calm in the middle of Oxford. It’s a retreat for us, and we hope it becomes the same for others who stay.

For many years we long-let the property, returning regularly to maintain, decorate and care for it between tenants. Those visits were often busy, but we always loved coming back. In 2008 we began short letting what was then a two-bedroom workers’ cottage, which also gave us the opportunity to stay there ourselves (something we still do).

In 2010 we invested an inheritance to extend and renovate the house: adding bedrooms, digging out the basement to create additional space, and adding another bathroom. It was an investment in our future — creating a genuine home-from-home, designed around how we live when we stay ourselves.

That’s why we added the garden studio office: a quiet, light-filled space for reading, writing, and remote work. We don’t compromise on quality. We want the house to feel effortless and comfortable — well-thought-through spaces, high-quality beds, and the kind of details that make a stay easy.

We don’t take any of this for granted. We very nearly bought a flat in Oxford (see blog), so the garden feels especially precious to us. There’s nothing quite like a warm summer evening here — hearing the Oxford University Press bells chime, with the gentle hum of city life in the background.

Over the years we’ve also watched the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter develop just behind us — from the Mathematical Institute and the Blavatnik School of Government to the new Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities. It’s an amazing place to be, right at the heart of a city that continues to grow and change.

Oxford is an extraordinary city, and we love welcoming guests from all over the world: people coming to write or teach, those visiting family, and those simply wanting to spend time in a city we love. It matters to us that guests have a consistently excellent experience, because this is our home too.

It gives us great pleasure to share the city home we’ve made and return to ourselves. We’d love to host you at Observatory Retreat — and we hope you feel at home from the moment you arrive.

Rosie & David