As well as the administrative home of the Rhodes Scholarships, the rather beautiful Rhodes House is also a base for the Rhodes Scholars, although they also belong to colleges. Rhodes himself cut a controversial figure, and protests about various aspects of the scholarships surface from time to time, including its original exclusion of women, its original exclusion of anyone of colour, the source of Rhodes' money, and his views on colonialism and imperialism. For now his statue remains at Oriel, and changes to the Scholarship program have attempted to address these problems. There has also been criticism of the scholars themselves, including that many now go into private law or business rather than public service, as was originally intended. Despite its problems, the Scholarships remain one of the flagship schemes to enable international study and an attempt to create a community of students from around the world.

The beautiful buildings and grounds of Rhodes House are available for hire, for meetings, conferences and also for weddings and corporate events.