The inspector takes his first look at Oxford’s latest hotel, from where “you can almost touch the dreamy spiers”

You can smell the paint. Everything is fresh, clean and welcoming. It’s day two at The Store, a 101-room hotel in central Oxford, so named because it occupies what was once Boswells, which opened in 1738 and is dedicated to the luggage trade.

Nowadays it sells simple and comfortable rooms, mainly in white, with nothing on the walls, some with balconies from where you can almost touch the “dream needles.” Trinity College is just across the street.

There’s a 15 percent opening discount and, space permitting, everyone gets an upgrade. Still, The Store is expensive, with rooms starting at almost £300.

The fifth floor rooftop bar (where food will soon be served) is a fantastic venue, while the main bar (‘it’s destined to be the longest in Oxford’, says one staff member) is on the ground floor with a comfortable space next to it. it. An Oskia spa hides in the basement, but there is no pool.

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

They give me some sort of morning exercise because the elevators don’t work and I’m on the fourth floor. These hiccups are to be expected at this stage, but it seems there are more builders with power tools than guests.

A surprise awaits you at check-out. The manager on duty says he won’t charge me for dinner because of “the inconvenience caused.” I say this was minimal, but he doesn’t want to hear about it, and I come away expecting The Store to be a huge success.