Help us run our guesthouse in Oxford

The experience

We are a 5* guesthouse with facilities including indoor pool, jacuzzi, sauna & tennis court that volunteers are able to use (Volunteers have their own private jacuzzi). We are a 30 minute cycle from the beautiful city of Oxford. We are in our own 12 acres of woodlands. Chores will include working with our full time staff to clean the rentals, check-in guests, run the facilities, make breakfast and making home made chocolates.

What you offer

25 hours of help per week

Reception: Help with check-ins, check-outs and guest assistance.

Kitchen Hand: Help prepare, finish and serve meals.

Cleaning: Help clean the kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms and common areas.

Housekeeping: Help with changing the bed linens and general housekeeping.

What you get

3 days off per week

Private Room: You will have a bed in a private room. In other words, a room just for you.

Breakfast: You are entitled to a free breakfast, every day of your stay.

Lunch: You are entitled to a free lunch, every day of your stay.

Dinner: You are entitled to a free dinner, every day of your stay.

Free Laundry: You can use our laundry room freely.

Bikes at your disposal: You can use our bikes any time you want.

Pick Up: We will pick you up when you arrive, and take you to our property.

Use our equipped kitchen: Feel free to use our kitchen and make your own delicious food.

Fast Internet Access: High-speed internet for you to work remotely

Dedicated Workspace: Specific space for you to work remotely

Requirements

Intermediate English

Between 18 and 35 years old

Only hosts solo volunteers (doesn’t accept couples or partners)

What's not included

Flights, Travel Insurance, Internal Transportation and Visa

Program Details

We love welcoming volunteers from around the world to share in the magic of The Oaks — a unique, storybook guesthouse filled with illusions, hidden surprises, and nature’s wonders.

I’m a magician and illusionist, and our property is full of interactive magic props and installations for guests to explore — from a Trail of Illusions to our very own Bee Museum!

🪄 Your Role

You’ll help us make The Oaks sparkle — from:

* Welcoming guests
* Preparing and deep cleaning rooms & facilities in between bookings
* Assisting with breakfast service (you’ll receive Food Hygiene & Health & Safety training)
* Helping with our chocolate-making sessions using honey from our own hives 🍯
* Running guest facilities such as the outdoor cinema and wood-fired hot tub
* Giving guests tours of the Bee Museum and the Illusion Trail

🏡 Accommodation

You’ll live in your own private 5-bedroom volunteers’ bungalow on-site, featuring:
* 2 twin rooms, 2 single rooms, 1 single room with a partition
* 2 bathrooms and your own wood-fired jacuzzi 💫
* The Quad: A separate common area (separate bungalow next door) including a shared kitchen, and TV room with a 75-inch screen
* We also give our volunteers a weekly food budget to stock their kitchen.

Note the main bungalow living room is used as a storage facility for everything needed to run the site and includes the commercial kitchen used to prepare room service for guests (separate from the volunteer kitchen in the quad)

🌳 Community & Perks

Once a week, we host an optional family night — we share takeout or a BBQ, play board games, or watch a film together.

And on your days off, you’re welcome to stay in our apartment in Central London (near Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre!) when exploring the city.

Activities & Shift

🌿 Work Schedule

You’ll work 4 days per week, with 3 full days off to rest or explore the region.
We do our best to make your days off consecutive so you can travel, though this depends on bookings.
Weekends are our busiest times, so your days off will usually fall during the week — but this varies.

🕰️ Typical Tasks

You’ll work alongside our full-time staff to help create a magical guest experience.
Your rota will include:
✨ Cleaning guest rooms between stays
✨ Answering guest queries while on-call
✨ Laundry
✨ Chocolate making 🍫
✨ Preparing and serving homemade breakfasts
✨ Assisting with small events, catering, or deliveries
✨ Helping run on-site experiences (Bee Museum tours, Illusion Trail, outdoor cinema, etc.)

⏰ Shifts

We divide the day into four possible shifts:
* Morning (7:30am–11am): Breakfast prep, guest assistance, facilities clean
* Midday (11am–3pm): Cleaning between check-outs and check-ins
* Afternoon (3pm–6pm): Chocolate making, laundry, guest support, tours
* Evening (6pm–9pm): On-call for guests, light duties, chocolate making

You’ll typically do two shifts per day over your four working days.

🍫 Learn New Skills

We’ll teach you basic chocolate making, so by the end of your stay you’ll be a budding chocolatier! We'll teach you all about the lifecycle of bees and everything you ever wanted to know :-)

Our breakfasts are lovingly homemade — from the jam, bread, and yoghurt to the honey harvested from our own hives 🐝

Rules

This is a strictly no smoking property anywhere on site. Any use of smoking, drugs or alcohol abuse will result in immediate cessation of collaboration.