Architecture, museums, and art galleries are just three of the main reasons why so many tourists make Glasgow a highlight of their Scottish travel itineraries. Throw in an abundance of whisky distilleries, atmospheric pubs, and fine dining opportunities, and you’ve got yourself a top-tier tourist destination to suit anyone’s travel style!
This is Scotland’s most populous city, but the industrial, working-class Glasgow has always played second string to its more fashionable neighbor, Edinburgh. Glasgow is just a one-hour train ride from Edinburgh, but it really couldn’t be more different. Where Edinburgh is known for its medieval castle and royal connections, Glasgow is better known for its 19th-century art nouveau buildings and modern urban regeneration projects.
You’ll love exploring the city’s impressive architectural sights, from the Charles Rennie Mackintosh buildings to the Gothic churches and underground necropolises. There’s the impressive Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, the stylish Zaha-Hadid-designed Riverside Museum of Transport and Travel, and the beautiful Glasgow Cathedral, Glasgow University, and Glasgow Botanic Gardens. Best of all, the city’s best attractions are almost always free to enter!
You can put those hard-earned savings from entrance tickets and tourist sights into your accommodation budget instead because there are some truly unique and luxurious boutique hotels to splurge on in Glasgow. There are so many cool hotels in Glasgow that you might have a hard time choosing the perfect one. So we’ve created a list of the 12 best boutique hotels in Glasgow to help you plan your perfect getaway!
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Where to stay in Glasgow
Glasgow is situated on the banks of the River Clyde, a long waterway that widens as it stretches west toward the Firth of Clyde and the Scottish Isles. The River Clyde turned Glasgow into an industrial hub in the 19th century, and traditionally, visitors would sail or steam up the river on their way to the city center. Now, most people arrive at Glasgow Central Station, but the River Clyde continues to shape the city’s layout and character to this day.
Most of the best boutique hotels in Glasgow are located north of the River Clyde, while to the south, post-industrial landscapes quickly open up into large outdoor parklands where you can find historic country homes that have been turned into luxury hotels.
If you’re looking for convenience, then you’ll be happy to know that the majority of the best hotels in Glasgow are found within a 15-minute walk of either Glasgow Central Station or Glasgow Queen Street Station. You’ll arrive at Glasgow Queen Street Station if you’re traveling from Edinburgh (or many other Scottish cities), while Glasgow Central Station is the hub for trains heading south, across the border to England.
The compact area between the two stations is Glasgow’s city center. Here you’ll find Glasgow’s three major shopping, eating, and drinking streets – Buchanan Street, Argyle Street, and Sauchiehall Street.
On and around these three major thoroughfares are some beautiful boutique hotels offering luxury, heritage, and quirky stays to travelers. To inspire your next trip to Scotland, here are the best boutique hotels in Glasgow!
The 12 Best Boutique Hotels in Glasgow, Scotland
1. Kimpton Blythswood Square
The Kimpton Blythswood Square offers 5-star luxury in a historic Glaswegian location that dates back to 1823. This Georgian-era building has been hosting travelers and road trippers for almost two centuries, as this was once the headquarters of Scotland’s Royal Automobile Club!
Stay at the Kimpton and you’ll love waking up to a beautiful view over Blythswood Square – a green, grassy, and surprisingly tranquil public space. The Kimpton’s location on Blythswood Square offers a much-needed escape from the urban chaos of central Glasgow, while the luxury hotel itself has plenty of extra amenities to keep you entertained throughout your stay in Scotland’s biggest city.
Book your spa treatments at the on-site spa, where you can boost your wellbeing with a 60-minute thermal experience that has you alternating between saunas, steam rooms, and ice baths! After a unique spa experience, head to The Salon, where you can order hand-mixed cocktails as you sit back in a tweed chair surrounded by the classically inspired refinery of the Kimpton’s traditional lounge bar.
The rooms at the Kimpton are just as grand as the hotel’s exterior and public spaces. The 113 luxury rooms all feature bright Georgian windows and freestanding bathtubs.
If you’re looking for a super luxurious stay, then you’ll want to book the Penthouse Suite. With its own private elevator, private steam room, and private rooftop garden, you might never want to leave the top floor of the hotel!
2. Hotel Du Vin Glasgow
If you love wine, whisky, and fine dining, then the luxurious 5-star Hotel Du Vin & Bistro is the Glasgow hotel you’ve been looking for! Hidden away in Glasgow’s West End, Hotel Du Vin is housed in an elegant Victorian-era terraced house that’s been beautifully refurbished into one of the best boutique hotels in Glasgow.
Rooms at Hotel Du Vin are decidedly modern in tone and brightened up with floral curtains and colorful sofas. The spacious bathrooms have both rain showers and freestanding roll-top bathtubs. In contrast, the public spaces, bar, and restaurant feature darker oak paneling, classic tweed furnishings, and cozy open fireplaces.
You’ll love how the hotel’s renowned bistro uses the same food suppliers that the Queen contracts for her estates in Scotland. The dinner menu makes heavy use of fresh, seasonal Scottish produce, but there’s a distinctly international feel to the dishes.
You can order Scottish langoustine-stuffed ravioli, cured halibut with avocado and quinoa, or pork cheek and belly with a potato roulade. This is a Hotel du Vin restaurant, so your personal sommelier has over 300 wines to suggest from the extensive wine cellar. After dinner, you’ll also have a choice of over 300 Scotch whiskeys to sample.
Hotel Du Vin might not be located in Glasgow’s buzzing city center, but it is located right next to the city’s beautiful botanic gardens. This is the trendy West End, and we think it’s the perfect location for anyone looking to experience urban life and nature in Scotland. In fact, you can be on the shores of Loch Lomond in just half an hour, while Glasgow’s subway system will have you on Buchanan Street in just 20 minutes.
3. voco Grand Central Glasgow
The voco Grand Central is a luxury landmark hotel that isn’t short on history. Walk through the subtle entranceway of this late 19th-century building and you’ll be following in the footsteps of famous stars from the past, including Charlie Chaplin. The hotel even has a unique place in television history, as the world’s first long-distance television pictures were transmitted to the hotel in 1927!
Move into the lobby and things are far from subtle, as the entranceway opens up into a grand Victorian lobby complete with an even grander central staircase that leads to your luxury room. But while the exterior is magnificently Victorian in look, the hotel rooms are contrastingly modern.
Boutique rooms feature unique artwork above the soft headboards of the comfy beds, with dark blues and bright white colors adding to the stylish decor. Bathrooms are beautifully tiled, and all of the bedrooms feature a wooden work desk where you can catch up on your emails.
Once you’ve settled in, make your way to the Champagne Central Bar, an original feature of the historic building that dates back to 1883. Admire the marble floor and extravagant domed ceiling before ordering Champagne cocktails and locally distilled Scottish gins at the bar.
After you’ve enjoyed a few pre-dinner drinks, head to your table at the Tempus Restaurant, where you’ll revel in the flavors of a three-course fine dining menu.
4. Malmaison Glasgow
The Malmaison is one of the most unique boutique hotels in Glasgow. This 4-star hotel is located within a completely repurposed church that used to be the primary place of worship for the city’s Orthodox Greek Community! The historic Grecian facade remains on the outside, but the interior is far from orthodox.
You’ll love the bright turquoise seats and yellow stools in Malmaison’s Chez Mal Bar, where you can order an old fashioned or espresso martini from the signature Malchemy cocktail menu. After a few handcrafted cocktails, head to the Chez Mal Brasserie, where you can order from a delectable menu that has a seriously international feel. You’ll have a hard time choosing between the chicken katsu curry and the 28-day-aged cote de boeuf.
After dinner, you can retire to your chic hotel room. Each of the 72 individually styled bedrooms at the Malmaison is decorated with unique contemporary artwork and bright, contrasting color schemes. Enjoy a coffee from the in-room Nespresso machine or sit back on the leather couch and have a relaxing night of Netflix with the HDTV.
5. citizenM Glasgow
The citizenM Glasgow is a city center favorite that’s packed with both style and high-tech features. Download the citizenM mobile phone app before your arrival and you can enjoy a seamless self-check-in while you order a hot coffee or cold beer at the canteenM bar. The canteenM is open 24 hours a day, so there’s no rush at the citizenM Glasgow!
After a long day exploring Glasgow, you’ll love the spacious, extra-large king beds in your hotel room. Get cozy on the luxurious linens and cushy pillows and use the citizenM app to keep the temperature cool, turn the lights on or off, open or close the blinds, and browse through the television channels.
If you’re not out sightseeing in central Glasgow, then you can lounge around in the Designer Living Room, where you’ll find colorful modern artwork, communal workstations, and long sofas. If you’re in town on business, you can book one of the hotel’s six well-appointed meeting rooms to meet with your Glaswegian clients.
6. Hotel Indigo Glasgow
Glasgow is very much a post-industrial city, and you can immerse yourself in 19th-century heritage and history with a stay at the boutique Hotel Indigo. Much of the city center has been redeveloped through impressive regeneration projects in recent years. A prime example, Hotel Indigo is located within a repurposed power station that was built in 1892!
You’ll appreciate how Hotel Indigo has preserved much of the building’s original features, but the designers have also added their own contemporary touches. Look up in the lobby and you’ll see a large mural dedicated to Glasgow’s most famous citizens, while the corridors and public spaces in the hotel feature lovely artwork from modern Glaswegian artists.
Rooms have everything you need for a comfortable stay, with Egyptian cotton bedding, walk-in rainfall showers, and a fine selection of luxury toiletries. If you’re finding the bed too comfortable to get out of, you can order dinner and drinks straight to your room!
Choose from a selection of steaks, fish, and tasty meats cooked to perfection by the chefs at Hotel Indigo Grill, and wash it all down with a fine glass of wine or a dram of the local Scotch.
7. Moxy Glasgow Merchant City
You’ll spot the bright pink, signature neon sign of the Moxy Glasgow from a mile away when you’re walking through the streets of the Merchant City district. Your Moxy Glasgow experience begins when you walk into the buzzing lobby of this seriously modern hotel. You’ll love the hip noir mood lighting and the complimentary Moxy cocktail at check-in. 7.
Moxy’s rooms are ultra-luxe, with smooth wooden paneling, sophisticated leather swivel chairs, and HDTVs. The rooms are ultra-ambient, with motion-activated guide lights below the comfortable beds and unique, modern artwork on the walls.
You’ll appreciate Moxy’s neon style throughout the hotel, with ambient lighting and bright pink punching bags adorning the one-of-a-kind gym. The bar features retro lighting, a full-sized pool table, and large screens that show football games on weeknights and weekends. If you want to stay in one of the coolest hotels in Glasgow, Moxy is the perfect pick!
8. YOTEL Glasgow
YOTEL Glasgow is one of the city’s most striking hotels. The bright lobby is surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows and lit up with neon-purple lighting that creates a distinctly post-modernist atmosphere.
YOTEL doesn’t have traditional rooms but provides you with a spacious “cabin.” Choose between the Queen Cabin, Premium Plus Cabin, First Class Cabin, or VIP Suite, each of which has an increasingly larger amount of space for you to relax in. You’ll particularly enjoy the fully adjustable smart bed, which is technologically engineered to provide you with the comfiest night’s sleep possible.
All of YOTEL’s cabins have bright purple flooring, minimalist white walls, and signature floor-to-ceiling windows – just like the hotel lobby where you checked in. The purple color scheme extends to the top floor of the hotel, where you’ll find a four-lane bowling alley and the stylish Vega bar.
9. The Pipers’ Tryst Hotel
The coolest Glasgow hotels don’t need to be the most modern, and we know that you’ll quickly fall in love with the traditional Scottish charm of The Pipers’ Tryst Hotel. This unique hotel in central Glasgow has just eight cozy rooms with colorful tartan bedding and matching tartan curtains.
You’ll be intrigued to learn that the Pipers’ Tryst Hotel is part of the National Piping Centre, where budding musicians from all over the world learn how to play traditional Scottish bagpipes! During your stay, you can even sign up for one-on-one bagpipe lessons if you’re musically minded, or you can just learn more about the instrument’s unique history at the Museum of Piping.
Breakfast is served in the National Piping Centre’s restaurant, where traditional Scot’s porridge is served with a dollop of cream and a dram of whisky in the mornings! For lunch and dinner, you’ll have a hearty choice of classic Scottish pub dishes to choose from.
There’s the Pipers’ Tryst mac ‘n’ cheese, beer-battered fish finger sandwiches, haggis served with neeps (turnips), tatties (mashed potatoes), and a whisky and cream sauce. Top it all off with homemade sticky toffee pudding for dessert. If you’re not a meat-eater, the Pipers’ Tryst Restaurant has a full vegan menu, which includes a lentil and bean haggis.
10. Native Glasgow
Native Glasgow is one of the most unique boutique hotels in Glasgow because these luxury apartments are inspired by the glitz and glamour of the golden age of cruise liners. Glasgow was once a hub for transatlantic ocean liners, and Native Glasgow has repurposed the former headquarters of the Anchor Line Shipping Company into a masterfully designed hotel.
Native Glasgow is inspired by 1920s-style ships. The building’s facade even boasts many of the nautical and art deco features that were built in the early 20th century.
The modern apartments are seriously luxurious and all have fully equipped kitchens. But you might find it hard to pull yourself away from the hotel’s two gourmet restaurants to cook for yourself!
The aparthotel’s Anchor Line Bar and Restaurant is an opulent place where you can enjoy a whisky. The bar boasts marble floors, marble pillars, and plenty of nautical memorabilia drawing on the building’s distinguished cruising past. The dinner menu is nautical too, with fresh lobster, oysters, and scallops served alongside meaty Aberdeen Angus burgers.
The Atlantic Bar and Brasserie also has a nautical theme. The menu here, though, is inspired by French coastal cuisine. You can order moules mariniere served with French fries, alongside French onion soup and escargot.
11. ABode Glasgow
ABode Glasgow features stylish Scotch designs in an elegantly refurbished Victorian townhouse on Bath Street. You’ll love the tartan-themed furnishings, the original 19th-century wooden paneling, and the spacious free-standing bathtubs. In fact, we think you’ll love everything about the stylish rooms at ABode Glasgow, no matter if you choose the standard Comfortable Room or upgrade to the high-end Fabulous Suite!
All of the rooms feature blackout curtains, luxury linens, and an indulgent Tuck Box full of tea and biscuits. The largest rooms have spacious lounging areas, where you can kick back and relax on the couch while enjoying the comforts of the Waffle-brand bathrobes and slippers.
Breakfast is a luxurious in-room affair. You’ll love being served a tantalizingly tasty breakfast hamper that’s packed with all sorts of local goodies. Start the day with a fresh coffee and orange juice before digging into the ham and cheese croissants or muesli and yogurt.
12. Sherbrooke Castle Hotel
If you’ve ever dreamed of spending the night in a Scottish castle, Sherbrooke Castle Hotel is the perfect pick. Offering weary travelers 4-star accommodation in the leafy suburbs south of the River Clyde, this is one of the most unique boutique hotels in Glasgow.
This isn’t a medieval castle, but the Sherbrooke Castle Hotel does date back to 1896 when it was designed and built as a baronial villa for one of Glasgow’s wealthiest merchants. Romantic towers rise high above the castle grounds, while red tartan carpets lead to magnificent wooden staircases in the grand entrance hall.
There are 18 boutique rooms and suites to choose from. Our favorite is the impressive Tower Suite, which has wonderful views over the surrounding estate. Once you’ve settled in, take a stroll through the castle’s gardens, then enjoy a traditional afternoon tea with a glass of sparkling Champagne on the terrace.
The hotel’s Morrison Restaurant is named after John Morrison, the castle’s founder. The fine-dining restaurant boasts a seasonal Scottish menu that includes steamed Scottish mussels in a white wine sauce, haggis with neeps and tatties in a whisky sauce, and grilled Perthshire venison sausages with creamed potatoes.
That completes our list of the 12 best Glasgow hotels! Did we miss any cool boutique hotels in Glasgow? Comment below so we can add them to the list!
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Frequently Asked Questions
If you love wine, whisky, and fine dining, then the luxurious 5-star Hotel Du Vin & Bistro is the Glasgow hotel you’ve been looking for! You’ll love how the hotel’s renowned bistro uses the same food suppliers that the Queen contracts for her estates in Scotland. The dinner menu makes heavy use of fresh, seasonal Scottish produce, but there’s a distinctly international feel to the dishes. This is a Hotel du Vin restaurant, so your personal sommelier has over 300 wines to suggest from the extensive wine cellar. After dinner, you’ll also have a choice of over 300 Scotch whiskeys to sample.
The citizenM Glasgow is a city center favorite that’s packed with both style and high-tech features. Download the citizenM mobile phone app before your arrival and you can enjoy a seamless self-check-in while you order a hot coffee or cold beer at the canteenM bar. The canteenM is open 24 hours a day, so there’s no rush at the citizenM Glasgow!
If you’ve ever dreamed of spending the night in a Scottish castle, Sherbrooke Castle Hotel is the perfect pick. Offering weary travelers 4-star accommodation in the leafy suburbs south of the River Clyde, this is one of the most unique boutique hotels in Glasgow.
The Kimpton Blythswood Square offers 5-star luxury in a historic Glaswegian location that dates back to 1823. This Georgian-era building has been hosting travelers and road trippers for almost two centuries, as this was once the headquarters of Scotland’s Royal Automobile Club!
The Kimpton Blythswood Square offers 5-star luxury in a historic Glaswegian location that dates back to 1823. This luxury hotel has plenty of extra amenities to keep you entertained throughout your stay in Scotland’s biggest city. Book your spa treatments at the on-site spa, where you can boost your wellbeing with a 60-minute thermal experience that has you alternating between saunas, steam rooms, and ice baths! After a unique spa experience, head to The Salon, where you can order hand-mixed cocktails as you sit back in a tweed chair surrounded by the classically inspired refinery of the Kimpton’s traditional lounge bar.