牛津麥克唐納德魯道夫度假酒店
MacDonald Randolph Hotel
www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk/our-hotels/south-england/oxford/macdonald-randolph-hotel
哥特老店 精益求精
在知識界， 無人不曉牛津大學； 來過牛津大學的人， 也無人不知麥克唐納德魯道夫酒店（MacDonald Randolph Hotel）。說來話長，我在牛津上學的時候，就一直向往著有一天能夠入住魯道夫，倒不是因為這家酒店夠貴氣，而是因為這間酒店獨特的歷史。
牛津北部現在是中產階級的聚集區。20世紀中葉，緬甸的反對派領導人昂山
素季就和在牛津大學任教的丈夫麥克爾住在這一帶。當時，一位名叫威爾克森
（William Wilkinson）的建筑師開始小有名氣。
威爾克森后來被相中，到今天的牛津市中心來設計一間酒店。不過，牛津人向
來矯情，喜歡就外觀風格和內在裝飾結構的合理性與可行性進行辯論。維多利亞時代主要的藝術評論家之一拉斯金（John Ruskin）認為哥特式的建筑甚為美觀，正如魯道夫旁邊的陣亡烈士紀念碑那樣。但哪怕是這么有名的一位藝術評論家，也無法一錘定音。牛津城市管理者說，根據城市規劃，這間酒店應當是古典式，因為其所在的Beaumont街其他建筑是19世紀經典的攝政風格。
對話和交鋒愈演愈烈。最終，雙方都做出妥協：外觀用簡單的哥特式建筑，與
牛津大學博物館和牛津學聯相似，但以磚砌。至于內在裝飾如何定局，現在已無從考證，因為幾經轉手后，無論格局還是裝飾均改變了不少。
An Everimproving Old Gothic Hotel
In the intellectual circles, Oxford University is known to everybody, and for those who have been to Oxford University, MacDonald Randolph Hotel is known to everyone. In fact, I have been longing to stay in MacDonald Randolph Hotel since I was studying in Oxford. It is not because of the luxury it exhibits, but the unique history it conveys.
The middle class now live in the northern part of Oxford. In 20th century, Myanmar‘ s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi lived in this area with her husband Michael who taught at Oxford University. At that time, an architect named William Wilkinson began to become famous.
Wilkerson was later spotted and invited to design a hotel in today‘s Oxford city center. The Oxford people enjoyed the debate on the rationality and feasibility of the external style and the structure of the internal decoration. The major Victorian art critic John Ruskin was in favour of Sir George Gilbert Smiths‘ gothic revivial, e.g. the martyrs‘ memorial. But even such a famous art critic cannot give the final word. The city council advocated the classical design and did not want to see the neogothic style extended into Georgian Beaumont Street.
At the same time there was much debate over the design of the building. Eventually, a compromise was reached and a simplified gothic design was accepted, described as ”Scottish Early English” , following the example of the University Museum and the Union Debating Society. It is now difficult to trace how the internal decoration was decided, since after changing hands several times, the layout and decoration have changed greatly still.
