The Michelin Guide team has selected more that 5000 hotels and accommodations around the world. Five of the hotels in Glasgow have been included in the guide, four years in the making, that highlights remarkable hotels in 120 countries. The recommendations are based to five criteria.
- A destination unto itself: the hotel contributes to the local experience
- Excellence in architecture and interior design
- Quality and regularity of service, comfort and maintenance
- Singularity reflecting the personality of the establishment, its unique character
- Consistency between the quality of the experience and the price paid
Next year, the prestigious guide will introduce the Michelin Key, a new distinction in hospitality. “The Michelin Key is a clear, reliable indication for travelers. Just as the Michelin Star distinguishes those restaurants that are at the peak of their art, the Michelin Key recognises the most exceptional hotels throughout the world. It is also an acknowledgment of the teamwork of committed enthusiastic hospitality professionals,” says Gwendal Poullennec, International Director of the Michelin Guide.
The Michelin Guide currently includes five hotels in Glasgow, here’s what their inspectors say.
1. CitizenM Glasgow
“Clean modern lines mix with modern utility as rooms and common spaces are laid out logically and cheerfully, all filled with abundant natural light, modern conveniences, and a vaguely Nordic practicality. Visitors will detect this straight away, for even the lobby is cleverly divided into a series of living and working areas, each outfitted with Vitra and Eames furnishings, iMacs, and flat-screen televisions. It’s meant to look like anything but a traditional hotel lobby. Even the queues and waylays of the traditional hotel check-in are vanquished in favor of a digital self-service, whereby rooms are customized per guest’s selections and delivered electronically onto the room keycard.”
2. Virgin Hotel Glasgow
“The building, as an example, is a contemporary one, but one that’s respectfully well-matched to its surroundings, right along the River Clyde at the south end of the city center. The rooms, which Virgin styles as “chambers,” feature an unusual layout, with the entry corridor, dressing area, and bathroom separated from the bedroom by sliding privacy doors — a nice change from the days when we all pretended we liked showering in view of the bedroom. And the public spaces, naturally, are given at least as much emphasis as the accommodations, with dining and drinking venues that aim to satisfy locals as well as travelers.”
3. Dakota Glasgow
“With its black brick façade and box hedges, this boutique hotel wouldn’t look out of place in NYC. Sleek, spacious bedrooms have good comforts and the professional staff make it feel like a home-from-home. On the ground floor there’s a champagne bar; in the basement, classics and grills are brought up-to-date.”
4. One Devonshire Gardens
“Possibly Glasgow’s finest small hotel, and certainly its poshest, Hotel du Vin at One Devonshire Gardens is the favorite of many a visiting actor or pop star. But don’t hold that against it. Some hotels try altogether too hard—with flashy design, precious modern cuisine, and always-packed nightclubs—to court the most fashionable guests, and compared to these hip hotels, this quiet row of converted Victorian townhouses may seem terribly grown-up. That’s entirely the point, though—this is classic hospitality, in classic surroundings, with no gimmicks or flash, just the simple things, done right.”