13 Best Hotels in Glasgow, Scotland

Stylish and modern, this boutique hotel in an Edwardian building was once the grand home of a prime minister, hence the high ceilings and huge windows. The hotel retains architectural features like the wrought-iron elevator and walls lined with 2,000 gold-leaf lions. In the guest rooms traditional touches are married to modern design, and bathrooms are spacious, too. The Brasserie Abode serves everything from breakfast to dinner, with good-value prix-fixe menus for lunch and early evening.

The extraordinary floor-to-ceiling windows here set this modern chain hotel apart, providing a panoramic view over Glasgow and beyond from the upper floors (sixth and seventh). These "city view" rooms cost a bit more, but are worth asking for. Guest rooms are low-key and sleekly minimalist in design; light woods and white prevail, with touches of yellow. All beds are king-size, and the bathrooms (with showers only) are in muted colors. The downstairs bar and restaurant area (where breakfast is served) maintain the style.

A narrow revolving doorway, a step back from busy West George Street, creates the illusion of a secret passageway leading into this lavish boutique hotel. Guest rooms are tastefully decorated and quite spacious, with some done up in slightly racier tartan tones. The comfortable lounge offers complimentary drinks to guests in the more expensive executive rooms. Crystal decanters of gin, sherry, and whisky are in every room, as well as minibars and bathrobes. Windows, the top-floor restaurant, has a sweeping view of Glasgow's rooftops. The location couldn't be better: minutes away from Buchanan Street and George Square.

There's no lobby at the futuristic citizenM—no reception area at all, because you can only book online—but there are chic "living spaces" with ultramodern furnishings where guests can congregate and streamlined rooms that are smartly designed. Each has a square bed with storage space beneath and wall-to-wall windows with shutters and blinds that are opened and closed with a touch pad that also adjusts the lighting and air-conditioning. Wi-Fi is free, as are on-demand movies on the LCD TVs. Bathrooms are compact, but clean and efficient. The bar-restaurant offers food around the clock, from sushi to sandwiches, via automatic vending machines. Though the bar is staffed, this is a futuristic establishment with most things arranged via computer. Breakfast is not included, but you can book it ahead for £14.95.

At this extremely stylish addition to Glasgow's hotel scene, the textured, neutral decor creates a restful, subdued atmosphere. That feeling continues in guest rooms that are beautifully decorated in soft browns and white. Bathrooms merit special mention for their comfort and size. The downstairs bar and grill have a sophisticated, very modern air, but the lighting allows intimacy, too. Although the location is toward the outer edge of the City Centre, it's close to Blythswood Square and a few minutes' walk from the center's amenities. It's a popular spot with celebrities when they visit the city. 

Not visible from the street, this hotel occupies a sixth floor above Central station; guest rooms are on the small side but have expansive windows overlooking the glass roof of the station on one side and across the rooftops of Glasgow on the other. All are decorated with different hand-painted wallpapers; beds are comfortable, and the powerful showers provoke special comment. The kitchen where breakfast is served feels a little like someone's home. There is also a small sitting room for guests. To find the hotel, just look for the door marked "Caledonian Chambers" on Union Street and take the elevator.

In the center of the city, the fashionable Indigo is awash with bold colors and modern designs that emphasize comfort and calm. You can choose the hues you prefer for your room—green, blue, or pink, perhaps? The lounge and bar areas are open and airy, with high ceilings and comfortable chairs. A reasonably priced bar menu includes more standard fare and is available 24 hours in your room. The corridors and restaurant are lined with Glasgow-themed art.

History and luxury come together at this smart conversion of the former headquarters of the Royal Automobile Club of Scotland, which occupies a classical building on peaceful Blythswood Square. The entrance is impressive, with marble floors and huge chandeliers. Room design is elegant and understated; the Spanish marble bathrooms make a dramatic contrast to the calming grays, whites, and deep reds of the furnishings. A basement spa offers serious pampering with its steam rooms, pools, sauna, and mud chamber. The ground-floor restaurant is modern and spacious while the upstairs bar and lounge serves afternoon tea from noon to 5.

Housed in a converted church, this modern boutique hotel prides itself on personal service and outstanding amenities like plasma televisions and high-end stereo systems. Echoing art deco in some aspects, the interior employs bold colors in playful prints and geometric shapes, balanced by traditional fabrics and furnishings. The lobby's splendid staircase has a wrought-iron balustrade illustrating Napoléon's exploits (the chain takes its name from an extravagant home decorated by Empress Josephine). The Chez Mal Brasserie offers some high-end dishes for sharing, including Yorkshire lamb and Chateaubriand, as well as a range of steaks and burgers. Sunday lunch is a good value.

You can't miss this eye-catching edifice behind Central station: its glass facade makes the interior, particularly the lounge, seem as though it were part of the street. Rooms are decorated in several styles—the Nordic rooms, for example, are done up in icy shades of blue. The pop-art-inspired Collage, serving Scottish and international cuisine, is filled with business types, as is the sleek street-level Grahamston at the Atrium bar. Guests have access to a gym and a popular swimming pool.

This unpretentious and affordable hotel sits on a quiet residential area above Sauchiehall Street but still close to Glasgow's Chinatown on one side and the arty streets of Garnethill on the other. The basement rooms are especially spacious, but most have high ceilings and wide windows. It is a bit of a climb from the street to the hotel entrance, but luckily there are a number of bars and restaurants in the immediate vicinity.

One of Europe's great Victorian hotels built when train travel was a luxury, this hotel located within Glasgow's historic train station deserves its name, as everything about it, from the magnificent marble-floor Champagne bar to the ballroom fully restored to its original glory, is grand. Original features have been carefully preserved, including the guest-room doors and windows. Many of the rooms (although not all) are spacious with high ceilings, decorated in muted colors, and papered in elegant designs. The luxurious semicircular Champagne bar overlooks the station concourse, providing some visual theater for the visitors to this often-crowded bar.

Seconds from Central Station, this shiny and fashionable spot has a youthful spirit, obvious in its colorful pop-art style decor and its on-site rooftop restaurant, bar, and neon bowling alley. This is a hotel that wears its fun side with pride.