Overwhelmed by Glasgow lodging options:)

Hey, Jenbrer. I can't answer your questions, but as another Philly girl interested in travelling to Glasgow, I look forward to the info you get and maybe a trip report you write after.

I think of central Glasgow as the area between and around the two main train stations, Glasgow Central and Queen Street. We stayed at the Grasshopper, a modern mid-level hotel adjacent to Glasgow Central, and found that a perfect location for walking just about everywhere we wanted to go. I chose it on the basis of recommendations and price (very reasonable). I see it gets a 9.0 on Booking.com which is a very high rating, and is still a great price. But for a 4-night stay I would probably choose a studio apartment in the Native aparthotel, to have more space and a small kitchen:

https://nativeplaces.com/property/native-glasgow/

This gets a 9.2 on Booking.com (but you should book direct) and is only slightly more expensive than a room at the Grasshopper. We have stayed at Native properties in London and can confirm that they are nicely furnished, well-managed, and reasonably proced.

It would be helpful to have some idea of your budget and what kind of accommodation you are looking for.

A lot of the more budget end independently run options are in the West End- in between bus, the Subway (it is called the Subway in Glasgow) and main line rail access is easy.

But the city centre has many of the chain hotels for all budgets.

Likewise getting to all the tourist attractions is easy by the same mix of transport and the HoHo bus which works far better than in many cities, not having the same traffic related problems.

If you are wanting to do day trips out of the City then staying in the Centre, wherever you choose, makes more logical sense.

I stayed at a b&b just across the park from the university and it was a nice location. Quiet, but an easy walk to George Square and Sauchihall St.

Debbie - Go Birds:) Planning a 2 week trip flying into London and staying briefly, then Manchester & Liverpool, Edinburgh and ending in Glasgow. For some reason Glasgow seems like the trickiest part to figure out but I think it is because there are just so many good options.

Lola - so helpful - thank you! I looked into the Grasshopper but was just wondering if we would be better off with some more space for a longer stay. I will definitely check out the Native - thank you again!

isn31c: good questions - sorry I left details out. We prefer to avoid the major chain hotels - or at least the ones we know of being from the U.S.:) Don't necessarily need fancy but this will be the last leg of our trip and our anniversary falls during this portion, so if we decide to splurge more this will be the place. Would like to keep it under $350 USD/night, and all the better if we don't have to go that high. Want to be comfortable, able to access things, and also have staff available most of the time to help with suggestions/transportation, etc., so would prefer to avoid an AirBnb for this portion of the trip. Thanks for all the transport info!

Anita - thanks will check that area out as well!

We enjoyed our stay at the Carlton George Hotel, immediately adjacent to Queen Street Station. Obviously very central, and while part of a chain it did not feel that way to us. It should be within your budget range too.

My vote would be the city centre. It's very walkable and an easy subway ride to the west end. We stayed at Motel One and were pleased, but from what I'm reading it may not be what you're looking for.

We stayed near the Kelvingrove Museum, and restaurants/pubs (and the museum!) were within easy walking distance. We did want a kitchen, so a rental on the west side worked well for us.

$350 a night in Glasgow is an extremely healthy budget. That makes the choice harder as very hotels will top that, unless there is an event on. You totally don't need to be out in the West End with such a budget.
I was just looking at the Grand Central, Glasgow (which is actually built into Central Station, being a former Railway Hotel), so couldn't be handier for everything. Their top suite is effectively within or very close to that. That is just one for instance.

That is way beyond my budget for Glasgow, by many leagues, so can't personally recommend anywhere in that price bracket, but I do like the Grand Central and I've been in much more modest rooms there. I know it's an IHG group hotel, but far removed from corporate bland.

Looking on booking.com I can see lots of apartments as well which suit your budget.

Thanks so much everyone - this has been so helpful. I clearly was given misinformation in the beginning and thought Glasgow was more expensive than it seems. We are being very budget -conscious the rest of the trip so again if we splurge it will be here, but really only want to spend that much of the place eas absolutely perfect and options were limited, which doesn't seem to be the case. I appreciate all of you sharing your suggestions and looking into all of these places.

@Steve if you happen to see this and don't mind sharing, did you get one of the rooms with lounge access, and if so do you think it was worth it?

Hi, jenbrer! I too will be spending 4 nights in Glasgow next May, and I chose to stay in the city center. That made sense to me because I’ll be arriving by bus from the Edinburgh airport, taking a 1-day Rabbie’s trip, and traveling to Edinburgh for the next 5 nights of my trip. I wanted to stay close to Buchanan Bus Station and Queen Street Station for maximum convenience.

Fwiw, I’ve booked the Apex City of Glasgow. Haven’t stayed at this property yet, but I was well pleased with my stay this past June at its sister property the Apex Waterloo Place in Edinburgh and will be staying there again in May.

I'm very much a west end person. That's where I spent most of my time when I lived in the Glasgow area.

When you mentioned your budget, the first place that sprang to mind was One Devonshire Gardens. It's been top of the heap for classy places to stay in Glasgow for many years. Beautiful exterior, beautiful period interiors and a great location. Rooms in May next year are coming in (just about) under your budget. When I worked in wedding photography many years ago that was the place where Scottish celebrities and the top sportspeople would have their wedding receptions.

The west end is where you'll get the Glasgow vibe. There's so many places to eat, drink, see bands and take in the atmosphere. If you're at One Devonshire Gardens, Ashton Lane and Byres Road are close at hand. As is the Botanic Gardens.

If you're researching other hotels, areas to look for may include Finnieston, where there's many great pubs with live traditional music, Kelvingrove and Kelvinhaugh, right by the park, university and Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, or the areas immediately off Great Western Road, the major thoroughfare in the west end.

If I were to stay in the city centre, I'd be looking at where fits my budget in the Merchant City. I don't have any particular recommendations but you should have plenty of options in your budget range.

My husband and I stayed at the Dakota in 2022 and it is a lovely, small hotel walking distance to Kelvingrove park and University of Glasgow. We are returning to Scotland in March and booked the Dakota again for our single night in Glasgow if that means anything! Good luck and have an amazing trip!

hey jenbrer! go birds! fishtownie here, just did 2 weeks in scotland in september and glasgow was my start & end point. mid 30s hiker/drinks/music enthusiast as well.

i stayed in city centre at citizen m hotel and LOVED it, and it was budget friendly, clean, and i could walk to both west end and the other way to glasgow green and other fun things without feeling stuck. the train system is dead easy... literally a loop.

would be happy to share allllll kinds of recs for glasgow as it's one of my favorite places in scotland! let me know how much info you want!
i wasn't there 4 days but used it as a landing point to recover after arriving before i set out to islands, and before flying home, but i have been before & have favorite spots. you'll have a great time no matter what you do!

Here's a vote for Grasshoppers. I absolutely loved my stay there (I was there for 3 nights). The hotel is located right next to the train station - in fact, there is a shortcut through the station to get there. Once you walk through the station to Union Street, look to your right and then up and you will see the Hotel Grasshoppers sign above the door. Go to the front door, press the buzzer, and they will give you a passcode to enter. Take the elevator up to the 6th floor.

The rooms are very nice with a desk area and lots of room and a comfy bed. They have an amazing selection of homemade cupcakes and ice cream (with vegan options) in the hallway that are always available (gratis!) for guests. There is a lounge with coffee and tea makings available for guests and wine and beer is available for purchase. Wine was €4 for a glass and it’s based on the honor system - you pour a glass and let them know. The lounge was a wonderful place to meet people as everyone gravitated there.

Breakfast is included and is served buffet style with cooked options as well as cereals, yogurt and so on. The staff went out of their way to be helpful. The price is reasonable as well. Seriously, I really enjoyed staying here and the location can't be beat. Plus I met so many interesting people there because of the lounge. I would definitely stay here again.

Thanks everyone for all of the suggestions - sorry not sure what happened but I stopped receiving notifications for a while so I initially missed the responses. I 'm not sure if something is going on during that time period (May 3 - 7th), but hotel prices are high! $350 a night is not covering some of the places I was initially looking at, or if it is just that trying to travel anywhere right now seems almost impossible to do without spending a fortune:( So I will be looking into all of these suggestions - thanks again so much!

@carolineandcats - go birds!!!!! Fingers crossed for tonight hahaha. And thanks so much for your info - would be open to anything you have the time to share!

@jenbrer, Monday, May 6 is a bank holiday in the UK--the "early May bank holiday"--so it's a long weekend for many. Thus, higher demand for hotels, and accordingly higher rates.
https://www.gov.uk/bank-holidays#scotland

@NancyG - again sorry for the delay but thanks for this info - it helps it make sense bc everyone was telling me to expect cheaper rates. I had no idea about the holiday. I will stop assuming I will get a great deal now:)