* Grand Central, Glasgow. A century old property that was handsome. The location is very…read moreconvenient in the center of the city. The upper floors were contemporary and somewhat handsome. The room layouts were peculiar. o The bathroom looked as if it had been added years after the hotel was built. Counter and storage space for utilities was minimal. It was too tight for two people to use at the same time. There was no vent fan, and much of the paint was peeling off the walls and ceiling. o The public areas and furniture seemed tired and worn. The whole place needs to be freshened up.

Located right next to the train station, it has one entrance from street and another in train…read morestation. Very friendly check in staff.  Special mention for Jamie who did a wonderful job.  I noticed no bell boy staff when checking in. My room was small but functional.  It had a huge bathroom, it was almost as big as the room.  One thing missing was a  luggage stand.  Room included a fan and heater in the wardrobe case along with the usual ironing board and hairdryer. Unusual location for the hair dryer as it is not near the bathroom.  Bathroom has no drawers.   No centralized heating because I could not find the  thermostat.  Radiator heater was on max but no heat.  Explains the fan and heater in the wardrobe closet.  I found the room temperature ok.  In the summer or winter, some one may fin exception to it.   Sound echos down long hall way.  I could occasionally hear people couple of rooms down talking loudly in the hallway.   Room was overlooking the roof of the train station and I could hear the sound of trains coming and going. Great location to Glasgow Central and walking distance from Glasgow Queen Street station.  FYI, make note of which train station departing and arriving from.  My train from Edinburgh stopped at Glasgow Queen Street station, not Central station.  Quick 10 minute walk over. I would definitely stay here again because of its location and cost.

If you are familiar with the YOTEL brand you know what you're getting here, though staff seems far…read moreless friendly than locations in New York or London. Centrally located, guests have great access to anywhere in town via public transport while the surrounding are is packed with bars, shops and eateries. The well-stocked 24/7 gym overlooks Central Station and toiletries are suitable. Good Air Conditioning, Wi-Fi, Water Pressure and security

This is a nice big hotel that is used, mainly, by the coach tour company 'Lochs And Glens' who…read morebring coach loads of tourists up from south of the border and show them the beauties of Scotland. They pick the people up all around England and ship them up to this, and other hotels, for a few days and have day trips around the highlands. Every night they have live entertainment for the patrons and there is a dance floor for a little waltz. The customers are mostly retired and enjoy all the oldies and traditional music. The whole hotel is very well kept and there are no lingering smells anywhere. The seats in the lounge are all leather topped. The windows of the long lounge look over the loch and the beautiful mountains behind. I'm sure that the bedrooms on the upper levels get a much better view over the tops of the shops on the other side of the road. The place is about fifty miles away from Glasgow and even if you were just passing through Arrochar, it would be a comfy wee stopping point for a break.

This place is one of the many highlights of Govan. It's a multi-functional, friendly and beautiful…read morebuilding. This really is a tourist attraction and a must see on your travels of Govan. The building is more commonly or affectionately known as the PI. It is in the heart of the community and has been since 1906. I've been to so many various events, conferences, meetings and even a theatre production. I first started coming here to do teaching and train young unemployed volunteers about television operation. We had fun using the building as a film location for the many script ideas the young people came up with. On that note you may notice on the odd occassion a line of Arnold Clark vans lined up outside, then you know there's a film being shot inside. The PI has been used for many big budget films, proving it's such a great building. It has many rooms for office space and larger rooms/theatres split on three levels. The PI recently underwent some renovation work, especially for the return of the ship, which sits neatly at the top of the building outside. The MacLeod Hall is the largest hall, where I have arranged and attended many events and ceilidhs. It really is beautiful and a great space. I remember when setting up for an event elsewhere in the building the hall was being prepped for a wedding reception. I did say it was multi-functional. It has a lovely cafe called the Cafe Pearce, this tends to be seasonal so can close during summer and winter holidays. The staff are always pleasant and accomodating, as I have also arranged many events in there as well as it is also a suitable large room. I have also used the Lithgow Theatre for rehearsal space for singing and dancing. Back in December I went along to see a pantomine, The Govan Cat, which was brilliant. Although not a conventional theatre it worked really well with the balcony from the MacLeod Hall allowing for a dressing room for the cast. Many charities and businesses base themself from this building. There's also numerous organisations which use it from the Govan and Craigton Intergration Network to dance and karate classes for young children. It's a vibrant and active centre and it's wonderful to see how a tremendous amount of ventures and activity still occurs on a daily basis. The PI is always listed on the Doors Open Day, so if you want more of a look around I would definitely go along. Or why not just stop by for lunch for a wee cup of tea and bowl of soup.

If you like a traditional Scottish hotel and need to be in Paisley (or Glasgow Airport which is…read morefive minutes away) then this the place. I have stayed here every week Sunday to Thursday since September due to work and find its a great little place. Staff are really great, from Jenna on reception, happy to swap my room when i needed a desk to work at, Fash, Stewart and Lucas behind the bar who are friendly and helpful without being over familiar, cleaning staff who are trustworthy and unobtrusive. Food is great with restaurant or bar service and quality dishes served. If you need to be in the area you could do a lot worse.

City Halls (also encompassing The Old Fruitmarket) are probably my favourite gig spaces in Glasgow…read more I've visited City Halls many times for classical performances - it's home to Scottish Orchestra (Symphony and Chamber) and regularly plays host to travelling orchestras from around tge world. I was here a few days ago for the Scottish Symphony Orchestra Icelandic Voices performance - it was, well mental. A few technical hitches with the computers being used (well, it is experiments Icelandic stuff), but that was quickly sorted. Although not overly keen on the compositions, the musicians were excellent, as always. The acoustics in City Halls are astounding - much, much better than the Royal Concert Hall. The staff have always been friendly, and it's immaculately clean. Given the choice, I'd always go to something here - Fruitmarket, I'll be seeing you next week :)

Ok, as I regularly work at City Halls I'm not going to review the venue but a performance I went…read moreto. Yup, that's right, I went to my work on my day off ;-) I went to see the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (BBC SSO) who I don't work for. I get to watch a lot of orchestras in my job and the BBC SSO are my favourite. They really get into the music and their passion is infectious. Every so often they put on free performances and this was one of them. The composer was Panufnik whose work I didn't know but I'm glad I went. The orchestra were on top form and obviously relished the chance to perform work not normally in their repertoire. The composer lived last century so it was fairly modern but with influences from his Polish roots and religious beliefs we were treated to an amazing afternoon of music with oomph. The last piece, Sinfonia Sacra, saw four trumpeters perform off stage on the balcony and the sound was so big that it filled the room swirling behind us and hitting up from all angles. At points the concert reminded me of a Mogwai gig with the power and tenderness they can employ on stage. Left with a smile on my face and a spring in my step.

Clearly there is some confusion with this listing, as the Maia I went to was a wee basement shop…read morefull of knick-knacks and quirky gifts on Bath Street, not the huge glass-fronted expanse with coffee shop that people talk about in the reviews... the Buchanan Street one closed in 2011. Anyway, I was on the hunt for a particular 'Glasgow Patter' tea towel and was guided here by my online personal shopper Briony (that's Yelp for you!). Sadly, they only had a Scots patter one, not the Weegie version, so my search continued. But it looks like a nice wee store if you're looking for a gift or greetings cards. It's easy to walk past though as it is in a basement. (Didn't this used to be 23rd Precinct?)

Love this wee gem of a gift shop. Could have spend a small fortune but am trying to be very…read morerestrained, only buy for other people and not be a selfish mare like usual. An eclectic mix of moomin candle whirlers, ipad desks, quirky jewellery, amazing cards and everything in-between. Well worth a wander if you are searching for the illusive gift for that hard to buy for sod at the bottom of your Christmas list who wants for nothing. I was in for stocking fillers for the girls and did not leave disappointed. Smudge is going to be utterly delighted with her scarf wearing panda necklace and Santa was pleasantly surprised at the less than terrifying price tag. With the additional 10% check in discount I felt positively virtuous and absolved of all the sinning I had just been committing in Waterstones. Where my restrained buying for other people plans had failed spectacularly. By the time I had reached the till I had already decided this was going to be a five star review but then the wonderful staff at the till tried to help me lug the buggy up the stairs. I say tried because I may have been using the handy basket at the bottom of the buggy to hide all the books bought in Waterstones, meaning that the buggy weighed more than a family hatchback and actually couldn't be lifted even by two people and Puff just had to suck up bumped up the stairs. A great wee shop that I'll probably be back in again before Christmas. If only because I need some of the amazing Christmas cards with huge Rudolph noses and really my tree isn't going to be finished until I have a rocket decoration hanging from it. I didn't even know I needed a rocket tree decoration, well now I do...

It took me an embarrassingly long time to actually visit The Lighthouse, and I'm even more…read moreembarrassed to admit that I *still* haven't been up the top to look at the view over Glasgow! Next time, I promise! The Lighthouse is tucked down Mitchell Lane and has a wonderful gift shop on the ground floor. I am a certified museum-gift-shop addict and this one is nearly as good as the one at GOMA. At the moment, they're selling some great stuff to accompany the "Hello My Name is Paul Smith" exhibition and I couldn't resist getting a couple of the pencils, an eraser as well as a nice card from the range. There's a lot of nice Scottish stuff if you're looking for a gift so it's worth a browse even if you're not planning on going to an exhibition. We were there to see the Paul Smith exhibition which is on the first floor and ticketed at £6 per adult. While I think the price is a little steep, it's a fab exhibition which was really interesting, stimulating and thought-provoking - I think we were only there for half an hour or so, but really enjoyed it. I'll definitely be back sooner rather than later for a visit to the viewing platform so I'll update accordingly! But for now, I'm already a massive fan so I can't expect the rating to change for this lovely gallery.

The Lighthouse is a lovely museum that you'd probably never find, and I genuinely didn't even know…read moreabout until about 6 months ago! It's a lovely hidden museum, with free entry, and has all your museum-y needs, from general Glasgow goodness to a lovely Mackintosh exhibition. There's a 6th floor viewing platform, but you can also go to the 3rd floor and climb to the top of the viewing tower - which gives you phenomenal views of all of Glasgow. It really is something you must see! There's a cafe, a bar and a gift shop all included, and I genuinely can't believe I hadn't discovered this sooner! Go see it if you haven't already!