One night in Glasgow

Our blogs intended to champion the independent hotel sector have been overlooked of late, so it’s time to put things right.

Following a 4.30am start to reach Glasgow in time for the first early morning shoot and an 8pm finish, it would have made sense to go for the safety of a chain hotel.

But that wouldn’t provide much to write home, or blog about, so in complete contrast I booked into CitizenM, a curiously named, totally unique, albeit not entirely independent hotel.

Whilst there are a number of CitizenM’s in Europe, in the UK there’s just one in London and one in Glasgow so I figured it could be ranked as independent until they spread across the country.

If you’re a traveller looking for all the predictably of a chain, don’t stay at CitizenM. It’s off-the-wall, slightly challenging, relatively low-cost, but in my opinion absolutely brilliant.

Firstly, the interior designers deserve an award. There’s no evidence of corporate furnishings, from the soap and hairdryer packaging to the welcome mat and seating, the interior is unique and by no means mass produced to a budget.

And it works; the bedroom is perfectly planned for comfort and convenience, complete with all the technology you could wish for. And the common areas such as corridors, lobbies and lifts, the areas that usually suffer most from hands of the corporate makeover specialists, are interesting, witty and engaging.

The food’s good, the staff are helpful and actually seem to enjoy work and at £85 a night, it’s kind on the budget, whether it’s your own or the client’s.