Blythswood Square (Hotel) Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom

When my fiancé and I planned our visit to Scotland in September 2016 we had one night [before our flight] in Glasgow [after our arrival from St. Andrews] and had to decide where we wanted to stay. We had heard many good things on Trip Advisor and according to Flyer Talk from the info we've gathered The Blythswood Square counts as the best hotel in the city in terms of luxury, service, style and location, so we decided to give it a try and booked the entrance category room, a Standard Room incl. breakfast.

The history of the square and the hotel are interesting, which fits with the whole line up of hotels during our holiday.

We stayed earlier at the Indigo Glasgow, which was the first power station of the city and the Old Course Hotel, an icon in St. Andrews. Please see the reviews for those.

The Blythswood Square is located in the Blythswood Hill area of Glasgow. It was one of the earliest residential developments in the western part of the city, dating back to plans in the 1790s by the architect James Gillespie Graham. The owner of the land was William Harley, a cotton merchant.

 

The grid-iron street system used in George's Square and Blythswood Hill was taken on by Glasgow Town Council for further development and spread to the United States.

Four Georgian terraces form the square and all buildings are Category A listed. In the middle is a garden, which opens during summer at lunch time to the public.

A scandal involving the square was the murder trial of Madeleine Smith, daughter of a leading architect, in the 1850s, who lived in one of the houses. She was suspected of killing her lover by poisoning him. The verdict was not guilty, but it caused quite a stir within Scottish society and was written about in the book "Square Mile of Murder" by Jack House over 100 years later.

The Blythswood Square Hotel took over the building from the Royal Scottish Automobile Club and opened in 2009.

The hotel is just ca. 10 minutes’ walk from Buchanan Street Bus Station and was easy to find.

The large lobby follows a car/racing theme and has some modern artwork, but is overall classic. There is a beautiful chandelier above the stair case leading to the glamorous bar.

At check in we were warmly welcomed and the formalities were quickly done with. We were advised we were upgraded to a Superior Room, which was slightly larger and had a sofa in front of the bed.

We were accompanied to our room and it was a good thing, because the key card didn't work, so the employee went to reception twice to have them rekeyed, realizing it hadn't anything to do with the cards, an engineer was sent to repair the card reader instead. 

While we waited for the engineer we were shown the room and explained the features.

The Superior Room was medium sized with the most dominating color black. Added color splashes were dark brown, red and white. It had a residential feel, supported by the wood used.

The king size bed was comfortable. Above the bed was artwork about the Monte Carlo Rally, integrating the building's association with the RSAC.

The room overlooked the courtyard and was quiet.

There was a large desk with a flat screen TV with 40 mostly regional and some international channels like NHK, Rai, Dubai Sport, France 24 and Al Arabia. There were also magazines (Welcome to Glasgow and the Clyde Valley, This is Glasgow, Edinburgh Festival Guide 2016, The List Glasgow, Scotland and North East England Art Magazine, Foodies and I-On).

In front of the sofa was a small table and a small writing desk was beside the bed.

There was also a Yale safe, two wardrobes, a luggage rack and a mini bar. Storage space was okay, but it isn't suitable for longer stays due to space constrains.

The mini bar included Strathmore water, Capri Sun, Irn Bru, St. Mungo's Beer, Johnny Walker Black Label and much more. Prices ranged from 1.75 GBP to 2.75 GBP (ca. 2 Euro to ca. 3.15 Euro / ca. 2.30 USD to ca. 3.55 USD) for the soft drinks and 4.50 GBP to 7.50 GBP (ca. 5.10 Euro to ca. 8.47 Euro  / ca. 5.85 USD to ca. 9.70 USD) for all alcoholic beverages.

Tea/coffee making facilities were available too and the brand used was Brodies, Edinburgh. 

The complimentary offered WIFI was fast and reliable throughout the hotel.

Turn down service was provided, but didn't include any gifts and arrived too early, since we were at check in asked when we would like to have it done, as we had requested earlier a different time. 

The bathroom was large and completely in beautiful black marble. A window gave views into the room. It could be closed with a shutter for more privacy.

There was a sink, separate bath tub and shower, a set-up which we enjoyed. The amenities were by Neal's Yard, a first for us, and which we liked.

Breakfast, which was included in our rate, was served at the Restaurant. Hot items could be ordered from the a la carte menu, while the cold items were served buffet style. The presentation was upscale and the choice was very good, ranging from Serrano Ham and other cold cuts to olives, tomatoes, nuts, fresh and dried fruits, cereals, porridge with cream and 12 year old Glenfiddich Whisky and much more. Memorable quality IMHO.

We ordered the Eggs Benedict and the avocado toast with salmon. The portion sizes were generous. Only the salmon could have been slightly more in terms of quantity. 

We enjoyed our stay and would return again. As always check out came to early.

The hotel has changed hands since our stay and belongs now to the Principal Hotel Collection. We look forward to enjoy the "new" Blythswood Square hopefully in our future again and again when visiting Glasgow.

©2017

St. Andrews Cathedral St. Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom

While in St. Andrews in September 2016 my fiancé and I visited the St. Andrews Cathedral.

The entrance to St. Andrews Cathedral is 5 GBP (ca. 5.70 Euro or ca. 6.45 USD), but the graveyard and ruins can be explored free of charge. Tickets can be bought online.

The cathedral was a major place for worship, pilgrimage and religious learning. It all started with the legend that St. Rules (St. Regulus) was ship wrecked off the Scottish coast. He fled Greece, because he had heard rumors emperor Constantine wanted to steal St. Andrew's relics.

The construction of the cathedral started ca. 1160 and continued for more than 150 years. The cathedral was finally dedicated in 1318 in the presence of Robert The Bruce.

St. Andrews Cathedral fell into ruin due to the Scottish Reformation in the 16th century.

Even if there are only ruins left the descriptions leave a clear picture what the building must have looked like and 

what the specific part was used for.

In the graveyard we found the gravesites of Allen Robertson, Tom and Tommy Morris, but there are many professors, writers and other famous people resting there too as we found out during our visit.

We enjoyed the location, we could learn/explore a lot and the atmosphere is fascinating and would return again.

Of note, the University of St. Andrews and St. Andrews Castle are pretty much nearby too.

 

 

©2017

British Golf Museum St. Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom

During our September 2016 two night/3 day stay in St. Andrews my fiancé and I visited the British Golf Museum. 

St. Andrews, the home of Golf, was where the first ever game was played, so a museum about the Scottish sport was fitting. 

The museum is a must visit for golf fans or all other visitors who want to learn about the sport and glimpse some fascinating insights from the world of Golf in the heart of St. Andrews.

The location is near the sea and romantic.

Entrance was 8 GBP (ca. 9.10 Euro / ca. 10.40 USD) and valid for two days.

There is no option to purchase tickets online, at least at the time, but this might change in the future.

The museum is fairly large and depending how interested you are in golf history and how much time you want to spend there, it’s a good idea to split the visit up.

The different sections were dealing with the beginning of golf, the history, the development of golf clubs, balls and courses, the first professional players, how the rules and 18 holes came about, clothing throughout the centuries, the royal’s influence, the spread of golf around the world, the different trophies and club houses from around the globe from a bygone era. It was fascinating to see what an American club house looked like compared to one in South Africa or India.

It was engaging and educational. There was an interactive quiz and the possibility to design your own golf club. More hands on experiences were playing with two historical (feather and gutty) and a modern golf ball. You could try on typical clothing from the past as well.

The gift shop was a mix between practical, whimsical, local and education. We bought luxury soaps, hand-made in Scotland and would have loved to buy chocolate golf balls, but didn’t because the price sign was stuck over the expiry date. It would be nice if the label would be placed somewhere else.

Having spent nearly three hours there we were hungry and thirsty. The British Golf Museum got that covered too.

The café is located on the top of the museum with magnificent views over the beach and sea. There is outdoor seating as well as indoor seating.

We chose a table indoors, overlooking the sea.

The menu had a small selection of cakes, sandwiches, soups, burgers and fish cakes.

If you want to have afternoon tea it has to be pre-ordered.

Soon we were offered a menu by the friendly waitress. We chose one Fentiman’s Ginger Beer, one Irn Bru, two hot chocolates and two bagels with smoked salmon, cream cheese and cucumber, a classic and the quality was good.

The bill came in at 25.90 GBP or ca. 29.30 Euro or 33.40 USD. 

We enjoyed our visit, felt we had learned a lot and were overall happy the museum itself as with the food quality in the café, but the menu might needs an update, as does the actual setting of the cafe. We would visit again when we hopefully find ourselves in St. Andrews in our future again.

©2017

The Sands Grill @ The Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa, St. Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom

On our second evening of our three day stay at the Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort and Spa (please see review) my fiancé and I had dinner at the Sands Grill.

The restaurant was located on the ground floor and had a clubby upscale atmosphere with dark furniture and green upholstery.

The staff was warm and efficient.

Fellow diners were international and of all age groups.

The Market Menu, which is available in lots of Scottish upscale restaurants, was good value at 35 GBP per person (ca. 40 Euro / ca. 45.30 USD) and we liked the choice of dishes, so we decided to go for this and not for a la carte.

The cuisine can be described as light and classic with some experimental touches.

Our drinks were a large bottle of still Highland Spring water, one Tia Maria and two hot chocolates.

Our starters were roasted pigeon breast, chocolate, parsnip, passion fruit. It caused some debate between us. We liked the dish and the slightly unusual combination. He thought the passion fruit was too few. I thought the amount was just right. We are a bit different in that regards.

His main course was gnocchi with sundried tomatoes and mozzarella. Mine was sea bass fillet with shrimp and mussel sauce and potatoes.

Normally gnocchi dishes are too large and heavy. This one was just right.

The shrimps and mussels were very generous and the dish was tasty.

Our desserts included raspberry panna cotta with vanilla ice cream and plum crumble with custard and vanilla cream.

The bill was 89.90 GBP, ca. 102.50 Euro, ca. 116.30 USD

Overall we had a very pleasant evening and would have a meal at the Sands Grill again, when staying at the Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa in St. Andrews.

©2017

Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa St. Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom

My fiancé and I knew the Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort and Spa in St. Andrews from the Leading Hotels of the World catalogue and always wanted to stay there. Since a few months it is a member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts Legend Collection.

Until recently the Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort and Spa had been on our back burner somewhat, but decided the time was right to go in September 2016 for two nights. 

We figured out how to best reach St. Andrews from Glasgow by public transport. 

We took the Stage Coach Bus from Buchanan Street Bus Station to St. Andrews Bus Station. The journey took approximately 2 hours 45 minutes and was scenic. 

The cost was 18 GBP return per person, ca. 20.45 Euro or ca. 22.75 USD.

The Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort and Spa is situated at the outskirts of St. Andrews, which isn’t a problem since the town itself is small, but famous for its university, golf and Prince William and Kate Middleton.

The walk to the Old Course Hotel took ca. 10 minutes from the main bus station.

On the way golf history already started with plaques related to it, including Old Tom Morris’s home (a golfer, club and ball maker, greenskeeper, instructor and course designer) and the New Golf Club and the Swilcan Bridge at the 18th hole of the Old Course. 

The hotel felt overall very romantic with lots of flowers and other plants around the main entrance, in the lobby, on the floors and room. 

We were greeted warmly by Tam, who wore a kilt, and was the doorman. He is an asset to the hotel, because he had generally time for a chat, for example about our Harrods bag with a West Highland White Terrier on it. He owns two of the breed, called Terry and Toby. He gave us also the tip to go to the West Deck, a viewing terrace on the 4th floor for spectacular views from the hotel. He is also on the hotel’s own video.

Tam took our luggage and brought us to reception. Check in was done quickly and friendly. We were offered Prosecco and ginger beer as welcome drinks. Normally there would be Champagne too, but it had run out and hadn’t been replaced yet we had been informed.

Beside our keys we received a resort/surroundings map, which was appreciated.

We were accompanied to our Old Course Room with a view, which was on the second floor. Each room is named after a famous golf player and ours was the Henry Cotton Room, who was active from the 1920s to the 1950s.

Originally we had been in contact with the hotel via email to book our table at the Sands Grill and to request if possible a room with a balcony.

Unfortunately this time we didn’t have a balcony. On the other side we were very happy, because it was a large corner room with great views over the 17th hole, the sea and St. Andrews.

The layout was a bit unusual with large panorama bay windows, which could be opened.

Color scheme was mostly brown, red and beige, everything felt natural to the location and of high quality in a traditional way and setting.

The carpet was golf themed too with crossed clubs.

The king sized bed was large with six pillows and a heavy duvet. Even if it was only September the nights could be a bit cool and it kept us warm and comfortable.

There was a seating area for two with a coffee table and St. George’s and Welcome to the Kingdom of Fife Magazines.

On the large, classic writing desk was a telephone. It didn’t work though. There was a second one on one of the night stands, so it didn’t bother us, but we mentioned it at check out. The receptionist was grateful and promised it would be taken care of.

A mirror above the writing desk and across one wall enhanced the feeling of having a large room.

We also found the Directory, Connoisseur Scotland, information about the Duke’s Course and in room dining and the Kohler Waters Spa menu. The hotel is owned by the American plumbing products manufacturer Kohler, so all the appliances and bath room products were by them.

Kohler Waters Spa treatments range in price from 30 GBP (ca. 34.20 Euro / ca. 39.10 USD) to 290 GBP (ca. 330.60 Euro / ca. 377.75 USD). 

The artwork was paintings of Loch Lommond, Loch Summit, St. Andrews, the ruins of St. Andrews’ Castle and the Links was beautiful arranged in our room throughout.

The large flat screen TV had 146 local and international channels including all Sky Sports, BBC World, CNBC and Bloomberg among many others.

There was a credenza and a minibar, which contained Fentimen’s Ginger Beer and Rose Lemonade, Tonic water, Coca Cola, Peroni and Bellhaven Beer, Highland Spring water and spirits. Costs for the soft drinks ranged between 2 GBP to 3.50 GBP (ca. 2.30 Euro / ca. 2.60 USD to ca. 4 Euro / ca. 4.55 USD), beer from 4 GBP (ca. 4.60 Euro / ca. 5.20 USD) and spirits from 6.50 GBP (ca. 7.40 Euro / ca. 8.45 USD).

Tea and coffee making facilities were available too and the tea was provided by Twinnings.

The wardrobe was good sized and allowed the storage of some items suitable for longer stays.

Romantic touches were the fan and the Orchid on the writing desk. 

There was of course air condition too which worked well.

The free WIFI was fast at all times.

Turn down was offered every night and included two bottles of Highland Spring Water.

The bathroom was medium sized with a bath tub/rain fall shower combination, which was very deep. 

The sink was a bit unusual due to it being rippled. Bathroom amenities were by Kohler Water Spa Hollyhock. We loved them and would have liked to buy the soap at the Spa Shop. Unfortunately they weren’t available there.

Materials used were marble, granite and wood.

Water pressure was good and no problems with temperature changes.

On our first evening we made use of the 24 hour in room dining.

We ordered a large bottle of Highland Spring still water, one hot chocolate, one traditional smoked salmon, the Isle of Mull Cheddar and Vine Tomato Sandwich, plus the Old Course Sandwich selection, which included Scottish Smoked Salmon, cucumber and cream cheese, honey glazed ham and chutney, free range egg and cress, again Isle of Mull Cheddar and Vine Tomato and prawn, dill and lemon. Our desserts were the coconut panna cotta with pineapple Carpaccio and summer berry infusion with lemon sorbet. Everything was very good and fair value at 55.25 GBP (ca. 63 Euro / ca. 72 USD).

The room was comfortable and we liked looking out of the windows to enjoy the views or spending time at the seating area, talking for hours.

Breakfast was included in our rate and was served at the Road Hole Restaurant, which is the fine dining venue in beautiful and traditional surroundings.

The Road Hole was located on the same floor as the viewing terrace. It had floor to ceiling windows, overlooking the golf course. The maître d’ brought us each morning to our table. All cold items were available at the buffet and hot dishes, tea and coffee could be ordered from the waiting staff. A luxurious touch was that the a la carte items were unlimited.

The buffet offered one of the largest selections during our trip to Scotland in Sep. 2016 and included different types of bread, cold cuts, fruits and fruit salads, haggis, yogurt, jams, vegetables, cereals and much more. The only item I couldn’t find was cheese for some reason.

The A la carte pancakes and Eggs Benedict were very tasty too.

Other restaurant and bars on and off the premises were the Road Hole Bar, Sands Grill (where we had dinner), the Jigger Inn (a traditional pub) and Hams Hame.

There were also shops in the hotel and the Golfino Store in a quaint little house on the grounds.

We went to the Old Course Golf Shop and bought a few items. We could undisturbed browse until we made our choice. We chatted with the sales person for a bit and when she found out it was our first time in St. Andrews she proactively offered us a map and suggested to leave our purchases with her – charging them to the room account was no problem at all. She would make sure they were delivered to our room. The map came in handy and the goods were on our room when we returned.

On a side note St. Andrews is unsuitable for late risers. Most shops and the sights, like the castle or cathedral, close early at ca. 17.00/17.30 hours.

Check out approached very fast – as usual and was done by a trainee. There was only one small hiccup. 

We had prepaid our stay and booked via hotels.com, but for some reason the overnight rate was shown on the bill as still outstanding. With help from a colleague the issue was solved within minutes and we were on our way.

We loved St. Andrews and the Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa. Both are romantic and a good place to relax by the sea including a visit to the British Golf Museum which we equally very much enjoyed. 

Service standards were high as was the food quality and everyone encountered was friendly. We would return again, because we missed a few sights and found a gelateria we would like to try and would love to experience the Old Course Hotel again in our future.

©2017

Marco Pierre White Steakhouse, Bar & Grill Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom

During our stay at the Hotel Indigo Glasgow - please see review - my fiance and I had also dinner at Marco Pierre White Steakhouse, Bar and Grill.

We have previous positive experiences with our Marco Pierre White restaurant visits in Dublin, Ireland so we knew it would be busy and booked a table in advance. We also forwarded them during the reservation our dietary requirements.

The restaurant was glamorous with lots of pink and silver and photographs of Marco Pierre White himself.

It had high ceilings too like the lobby of the Indigo and kept some classical elements with modern touches.

The restaurant was already busy. We were greeted by the Maître d' and brought to our table.

Our fellow diners were families and older couples.

We were brought tap water and the menu. The staff was aware of our allergies, which was positive. It had happened at other restaurants that we had sent our dietary requirements, but they had been overlooked and we had to repeat them.

We ordered two pear mojito, smoked Scottish salmon, brandade of smoked mackerel and as main courses two seared yellow fin tuna steaks with panzanella salad.

All was tasty and colorful. The smoked salmon looked especially appetizing and was very thinly cut.

The tuna and panzanella salad were the perfect combination and the textures complimented each other.

Of course our sweet tooth had to be satisfied too. Our desserts were Mr. White's rice pudding with hot apricot compote and Cambridge Burnt Cream.

My fiance enjoyed his rice pudding. The apricot compote was really hot and my fiance impatient, so he burned himself once.

The burnt cream was more like a Crème Bruelee. 

All portions were generous and tasty.

The bill was 73.80 GBP (ca. 84.25 Euro / ca. 94.35 USD).

The staff was attentive, friendly and efficient. 

We would return due to the relaxing and convivial atmosphere, the great staff and the good food.

©2017