10.06.2015

one city | two luxury hotel choices

view of Blythswood Square from room 101
Glasgow is Scotland's largest city, and we've had a chance to visit two of its best luxury hotels — Blythswood Square and Hotel du Vin. I have positive impressions of both, but as the hotels are in very different neighborhoods and have totally distinct styles, your choice will depend on your desired location in Glasgow as well as your personal preferences.

We are currently staying at Blythswood Square, named after the square on which it's located — an urban park with a green lawn, flower beds with pink and red blossoms, and leafy trees, especially pretty in the spring when the cherry trees are in full flower. An upscale contemporary hotel, our Deluxe room (#101) is an attractive ground floor room with the above view out my window. Convenient walking distance from numerous places to eat and a pedestrian mall with good shopping opportunities, the hotel is a good choice for both leisure and business travelers.

Our room features original architectural details — ten foot ceilings, paneled doors, crown molding and wood trim, and two tall colonial windows up to the full height of the room. Walls are painted a soothing off-white, and contemporary furnishings and drapes are in attractive shades of purple, greys, and greens. Hanging pendant lights provide an attractiveness quirkiness to the design. Our room has a step-in closet and convenient power and AV connections at desk level. The veined brown marble bathroom features a deep soaking tub, one large single vanity, a step-in rain shower and WC. The adjacent Classic room (#102) has an outside connector to our room. Slightly smaller, the room is brighter as it's on the corner of the building with three large windows that admit wonderful natural light to your living space.

The basement spa offers rooms for treatments as well as three warm water pools, large enough to swim as well as enjoy the jets.

Hotel du Vin at One Devonshire Gardens is located in the affluent residential neighborhood of West End. Nearby the University of Glasgow, the neighborhood is lined with attractive shade trees, beautiful townhouses, as well as the university campus. Comprised of five adjacent townhouses, you can enter your own townhouse through its original front door and go to your room up the center staircase. Each staircase faces a beautiful stained glass window.

A boutique hotel with only 49 rooms, one entire townhouse (#5) can be reserved for special family or group events. While lead-in rooms are small, they are nevertheless extremely charming, and the hotel offers a unique sense of place, a taste of Glasgow tradition, and the kind of character that only a lovingly restored older hotel can provide. Lead-in Standard rooms have a Queen bed and armchair but no soaking tub. Larger rooms offer King beds, some with four posters, and either one or two vanities (so make your preferences known to your Virtuoso travel consultant when you book). Classic rooms and above are large enough to provide sofas, and there are suites and duplex suites as well — one with its own conservatory and outdoor garden.

With free parking, Hotel du Vin is a set of connected urban townhouses for guests who want a pied à terre in Glasgow. Free parking is another advantage, as well as great set of Virtuoso amenities.

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