Guest information

The Porters’ Lodge at Tom Gate is the main information point within Christ Church. It is staffed 24 hours a day, so if you have any problems or queries either visit, email porters@chch.ox.ac.uk or phone at any time: 01865 276150 and the porters will be happy to help.

Liddell Building residents: The Porters’ Lodge is located at the main entrance and is available 24 hours a day (01865 276999). If the reception is not staffed, please call the porters’ mobile on 07548 235528, and they will be happy to assist.

Please check out by 1000hrs on the day of departure. Please return the room fob to the Porters’ Lodge. Guests staying in 117 St Aldates Building can leave all items in the drop box, located by the lift on the ground floor. Late check-out and Lost or non-returned fobs may incur a fee.

B&B guests can enjoy a cooked and continental breakfast in the unique setting of the Great Hall with its stunning hammer-beam roof and wonderful oil paintings. Breakfast is self-select but if you have any queries due to an allergy or intolerance, please speak to a member of staff. Please ask at the Lodge for breakfast times.

Liddell Building ROOM ONLY residents: The Liddell Building is a self-catering establishment and there is an equipped kitchen in each flat. Basic utensils, crockery, microwave and fridge as well as tea and coffee-making facilities are provided. Please note: tea and coffee is supplied as a welcome to new arrivals and is not replenished during your stay. Please leave the shared facilities clean and do not leave cooking unattended - see the separate instructions on the kitchen noticeboard. Please keep the fire doors closed at all times. Recycling bins are in the kitchen; the bin in your room is for general waste only. We will replace small items accidently broken without charge unless there are many breakages. If after you leave we find numerous broken items, excessive mess or other damage you may be charged. In nice weather it is possible to have picnics on the grounds, please always respect the needs and privacy of other guests on-site and use the lawn between Staircase 6 and 7 and the first part of the main lawn up to the bird table. Please note: no ball games are to be played in the grounds.

We offer a complimentary WiFi service powered by the Cloud throughout Christ Church. 

Once you have selected ‘The Cloud’ from the list of available connections, a webpage will open. Please follow the on-screen instructions. 

Conference groups will be given a separate WiFi code via the organiser.

The Christ Church Shop is located within the Visitor Centre in Christ Church Meadow.

Christ Church Picture Gallery is undergoing refurbishment and is currently closed.

Service times for the Cathedral can be found on the Christ Church website.

The airline bus to Heathrow stops on Speedwell Street (left out of Christ Church, right at Tesco Express).

The Porters Lodge are able to arrange taxis.

If there are any problems or faults with your room, please report these immediately to the Porters’ Lodge.

Your Scout [room attendant] is the person responsible for looking after your room. They will make your bed and replenish your tea and coffee daily [except Sundays]. Please note that linen and towels are changed twice weekly for long stay guests. Clean towels are provided for each guest on arrival. A blanket and a hairdryer are stored in the room. In some rooms the key fob is needed to activate the electricity, please insert the fob into the box located on the wall.

If you do not wish to be disturbed, please hang your ‘Do Not Disturb’ notice on the outside door handle. If it is displayed, we will respect your privacy and your room will not be serviced. However, in the interests of guest wellbeing, rooms will be checked every 24-hour period by a member of the Housekeeping team and we ask guests to allow the Scout access to clean the room on a regular basis.

Christ Church is a no smoking/vaping institution. This applies to all buildings and outside areas. If you wish to smoke please go off-site.

A complimentary safe is provided in most of our rooms for the storage of small valuable items during your stay. Please follow the instructions for the two different types of safe in our bedrooms:

• Keypad – input a 4-digit code and then press # (lock). To unlock enter your code.
• Fob access – hold your room key fob over the black area at the top. Once the green light has stopped flashing, turn the handle left to lock, and right to unlock.

Please note Christ Church cannot be held responsible for any valuables left unattended or in the bedroom safes provided.

All facilities are self-service and chargeable and include an iron and ironing board. Instructions on how to operate the machines are displayed in each of the laundry rooms. Laundry pods are available from the porters lodge 24/7

Christ Church residents: The four laundries are located in the basement of Peckwater Quad Staircase 8; the basement of Meadow Building Staircase 4; Blue Boar Quad in the tunnel under Blue Boar 1 and St Aldates Quad Staircase 5. 

117 St Aldates residents: The laundry is located in the basement.

Liddell Building residents: The entrance to the laundry room is to the left and adjacent to the undercover entrance into The Handel Davies Common Room. 

The heating season at Christ Church generally runs from 1 October to 1 May subject to outside temperatures. Central heating systems are set to run from 0600 hrs – noon and 1400 – 2200 hrs each day. Hot Water from 0500 hrs – noon and 1300 – 2300. Please find a QR code in your bedroom to access the app to alter the radiator temperature.

Please do not dry clothes or cover the heaters due to the fire risk.

Christ Church takes your security very seriously and to ensure your safety we have a Closed Circuit Television [CCTV] system that monitors the main gates and quads at all times.

For security reasons please do not hold doors open for other guests. 

Please remember that if you have any concerns about your safety or security at any time simply contact the Porters’ Lodge [01865 276150] and they will be more than happy to help you in any way that they can.

Instructions about what to do in the event of a fire are attached to the wall, just inside the door to your room.
Please read these instructions carefully and familiarise yourself with the escape route and the fire assembly point. 

The fire alarm system is monitored by the Porters’ Lodge 24/7; if an alarm sounds in your staircase the Porters will immediately take action. It is important that you respond to all fire alarms; please don’t stop to collect belongings but move quickly to the correct fire assembly point for your staircase so that the Porter can ensure that the staircase is empty and safe.

The Porters are trained in fire safety, so please respond quickly to any instructions that they may give you. Your safety and the safety of others is of paramount importance.

Liddell Building residents: Fire alarms are tested at approx. 1000 hrs every Wednesday.

In an emergency call 999/112. Please then alert the Porters’ Lodge [01865 276150] stating the name of the patient and bedroom location, in order for them to make access arrangements.

For all non-emergency cases please contact the Porters’ Lodge and the Duty Porter will be able to assist you in
making arrangements.

At Christ Church, we take lost property seriously and aim to return lost items to their rightful owners as quickly and efficiently as possible. Please find below our lost property policy:

If you have lost something during your stay with us, please report it to the Lodge as soon as possible at porters@chch.ox.ac.uk with details and a description of the item(s) lost.  We will then check to see if we have or can locate the item.

Lost property will be securely stored at the College and we will do everything possible to safeguard your lost items (toiletries will not be stored and will be disposed of immediately). We will keep lost property for no more than 30 days, after which we will dispose of the items by donating them to charity.

When you come to collect your lost property, please bring some form of identification, such as a passport or driver's license. This is to ensure that we are returning the property to the rightful owner. If you are unable to collect your lost property in person, you can authorise someone else to collect it on your behalf, provided the Lodge has been notified of the person collecting on your behalf.

If you are unable to collect your lost property in person and you would like it shipped to you, we can provide the packaging and give you those details, so you can arrange to collect your lost property by providing the collection labels to the lodge.

Christ Church is not responsible for any lost property, and we do not accept any liability for lost or damaged items. We will make every effort to locate and return lost property to its rightful owner, but we cannot guarantee that all lost items will be found.

Thank you for choosing Christ Church for your stay, and we hope that you have a pleasant and enjoyable time with us.