Milton Hotel & Leisure Club (Glasgow)

...internet I stumbled across the Milton Hotel Glasgow. A check on Ciao established that their outlet in Inverness was OK, but the website made this place sound out of this world. However, at a rate of £169 a night for the room, I was fast beginning to believe that I would have to find something else. Plus I was booking for two nights for me, and one for a colleague so needed to ensure that I got things right.

A check on www.laterooms.com ...
...out for yourself:
The Milton Hotel & Leisure Club, 27 Washington Street, Glasgow, G3 8AZ
Tel: 0141 222 2929 – or they even have freephone numbers: 0808 100 77 00 for Business and 0808 100 55 56 for Leisure
http://www.miltonhotels.com/9_0.asp?hotelId=1

Alternatively, try www.laterooms.com if looking for the next 21 days.

Highly, highly recommended




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Some of you will know from my ops that over the last 18 months I have been a regular visitor to Glasgow, and apart from a disastrous visit to the Quality Central Hotel, tend to stay in Jury’s Hotel in the West End. It is not fantastic, but reasonable with good facilities and excellent rates.

It was with some trepidation that I realised that this time my meetings were in the centre rather than the West End and I needed to stay somewhere different. The Holiday Inn Express was suggested to me, being adjacent to the Royal Concert Hall, but I wanted somewhere with nice facilities and a good old-fashioned full cholesterol breakfast. This, combined with the fact that this would be my 5th and 6th consecutive nights away and I wanted something extra but still within my OK, but not too extravagant subsistence levels. I have however since found out the HIExpress has WiFi access, useful for future reference.

Browsing the internet I stumbled across the Milton Hotel Glasgow. A check on Ciao established that their outlet in Inverness was OK, but the website made this place sound out of this world. However, at a rate of £169 a night for the room, I was fast beginning to believe that I would have to find something else. Plus I was booking for two nights for me, and one for a colleague so needed to ensure that I got things right.

A check on www.laterooms.com showed the Milton had twin rooms on offer for the princely sum of £59 room only; this had to be worth a shot. Laterooms booked the rooms but made a few mistakes which were resolved before our stay.

LOCATION & ARRIVAL
Just off Junction 18 of the M8, the hotel is situated just up from the Clyde River in an area that looks like it is undergoing massive refurbishment. Turning into the Milton’s road (which incidentally used to be an old rice mill) was met with some trepidation, this didn’t look too savoury. A taxi from the airport will set you back around £18 and from the main train station, £4. The hotel is within easy walking distance of Glasgow centre although it is all uphill.

I was met by the concierge who took my luggage and then proceeded to talk to someone for 10 minutes before I eventually took it back off him and made my own way to reception. Reception is a reasonably sized affair with several comfy chairs and tables (no smoking) a bar area, the concierge’s desk, access to the leisure suite and of course check-in. Knowing the price of the hotel, I checked the rate first-hand and was assured that it was £59 but that this did not include breakfast which, if taken, would be charged at £12.95 per person.

It transpired there was confusion over my booking and that between laterooms and the hotel they had managed to have me checking out and then back in the following day. After a little bit of muttering from the receptionist, and checking of my booking confirmation from ‘laterooms’ (always a good idea to take it with you), they assured me that I would not have to vacate my room in the morning and then check back in later.

After resolving the palaver, completing the registration form, and providing my credit card for a quick swipe, I was ready. I was offered an early morning call, a complementary newspaper (choice of 3 including the Daily Mail) and despatched with my access key, signed card for charging things to my room and directions. The hotel has several staircases and three lifts to access their 7 floors.

THE ROOM
Placed on the second floor, I was still nervous, until I entered the room of course. A twin as advised on laterooms, I was suitably quietened by the attractive green décor with dark oak furniture, the obvious presence of a minibar, wardrobe, iron and ironing board. I was happy. As you would expect from a £169 a night hotel it was en-suite with bath, overhead power shower, toilet and sink with a large mirror area. The towels were large enough for my ample frame and there was a fantastic range of freebee shampoos, conditioners, body lotion and shower gel, which were replaced once opened. You can always tell when you are in a classy establishment; the glasses in the bathroom were made of glass rather than plastic. There was tea and coffee making facilities complemented by a Madeira cake and a Toffee cake, none of your Nice biscuits here (remember them?). A hair-dryer was supplied (surprisingly not attached to anything), and there were ample power plugs, so didn’t need the extension lead bought to cope with the Novotel and so loving packed in my suitcase by my other half. Some readers will be pleased to know the bed cover was a quilt rather than sheets, and was inexplicably comfortable.

The room had a large workbench area and a table and two chairs and there was ample wall and overhead lighting. There was remote controlled colour TV with limited Sky Channels, telephone points AND…………………………….

A Quadriga system with BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS – OMG – someone must have read my ops. Any belief that this service may be free was quickly dispelled on discovering I needed to pay £12.99 for a 24-hour period. This can be booked onto your room and is something I did without hesitation having paid out some £15 at the Novotel simply collecting my e-mails on their ridiculously slow dial-up connection. The system is ridiculously easy to connect providing you have a network card in your laptop, but for those encountering difficulties you could discover that it is your own firewall. For those without laptop, a keyboard is provided and you can surf the net through the TV. If you don’t see the benefit of 24-hour access you can buy an hour for £5.99 or a package of 20 movies, CD’s and Internet access for 24 hours for £19.99. This all represented good value for hotel standards in my eyes, although I must confess had I have paid full price for the room I possibly would not have been as happy about the extra charge.

The minibar was sealed so in theory the contents should have matched the inventory sheet supplied, it didn’t and I wasted no time in advising reception of this. A 330ml bottle of water cost £1.50 as did the cokes, a bottle of wine or a double Gin were £4. There is no automatic recording here yet and the onus was on customers to advise reception of what they used during their stay.

The rooms are designed by Jui, and soundproofed to 53Db, what this means in technical terms I am not sure, but I didn’t hear my neighbours (assuming I had any) during my stay. There is climate control in the room with temperatures on offer from 18 – 24 C. I must confess that I didn’t find this effective, but opening the window was not viable as they were not tilt and turn.

My Verdict – apart from sleeping in a single bed, I would like to say I have had better, but I haven’t, very, very impressed. Their double rooms offer king or queen-size beds.

SCORE: 9/10 as I didn’t like the inefficient air-conditioning

LEISURE FACILITIES
Being away for long periods, it is the little extras in life that make travelling a little less hassle. The hotels’ 50ft pool and Spa provided a welcome interlude, and for the less energetic there is a seating area of sun loungers where you can sit and watch your loved ones taking some exercise. For those that don’t like swimming there is also an extremely well-equipped gym, sauna and steam-room. Towels are supplied free by the centre staff. The changing rooms offer deep lockers that even have shelves in which to place your shoes. (You’ll need a £1 (refundable) coin for the lockers). They have a TV, and showers, shower gel and shampoo are provided in abundance in the changing rooms. There is also a personal trainer, solarium and various health treatments and mud wraps available for an extra charge

My Verdict: Fantastic – you could easily spend considerable time living like this.

SCORE: 10/10

EATING & DRINKING
There is a bar, café and restaurant at the hotel. Drinks are surprisingly cheap for a 4* hotel and certainly comparable with Jurys, coming in at £2.55 for a pint of Tenants lager and £5 for a double Gordons and Tonic. The bar is well used by residents and locals alike, and Sky TV and numerous free newspapers are supplied for your enjoyment. The ambience was light-hearted and friendly and the staff (except for one) were friendly and helpful, even stopping their work to direct my colleague when he got lost en-route to the hotel. The bar meals are limited to steak and burgers, and at £14.50 for an eight-ounce steak not cheap, but again comparable with Jurys and the Quality Hotel in Glasgow. Served with flat mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and chunky fries with a large dollop of mayonnaise it was extremely palatable.

Being alone for the first night, I also got to sample room service. A Chicken Korma with rice, chips and Naan and half a lager set me back £13.50 and was extremely tasty, if not the hottest (temperature wise) meal I have ever had.

The restaurant provides a 3 course set menu, but displayed no prices.

Breakfast
As already mentioned, at £12.95, not the cheapest, nor the most expensive. On offer was a fantastic array of fresh fruits, fruit juices of every description, cereals in abundance including the option to create your own muesli. The hot buffet choice consisted of:
• Soda Bread and Haggis (hence the Scottish breakfast rather than English)
• Saute mushrooms
• Back bacon
• Normal and herb sausages.
• Beans
• Potatoes (cold – hotels will you never learn?)
• Eggs – Scrambled or fried and cooked to order

There was also the option to upgrade your breakfast to haddock, kippers or salmon for an extra £4.

All this was washed down with large quantities of tea, coffee and toast.

My Verdict: All in all, very good value for money.

SCORE: 9/10 – cold friend potatoes for breakfast - Aaaaaaaagggggh

OTHER THINGS WORTH MENTIONING
This definitely deserves a separate spot. As my colleague arrived later than expected, I had to postpone one of my meetings until the next day. Our hosts advised us that taxis would be the best option, but being determined and aware of the long drive home the following day, we wanted to take the car. We asked the concierge if he had an A-Z. He took the details of our destinations and provided us with step by step maps with every part of the journey highlighted, we couldn’t have asked for more.

They also booked a taxi for my first morning and it arrived bang on time at 8.35 – a taxi to the Royal Concert Hall set me back £4.

There is a secure car-park opposite the hotel and there is also on-street controlled parking. The concierge will park your car for you, although pay careful attention to the disclaimer on your ticket if damage occurs.

My Verdict: Fantastic – you could not fault these guys for friendliness and efficiency, nothing was too much trouble for them.

SCORE: 10/10 and a definite Gold star.

Price: As I have already said, the rack rate is £169, but shop around, the hotel currently has some good offers on its website and of course laterooms.

The hotel also offers 12 self-catering apartments at £249 a night, but they do provide discounts early in the year.

Our total bill, two nights for me, one for my colleague including breakfast, evening meals and bar bill was a mere £255, cheaper and better than the Novotel.

SUMMARY
What can I say? The Milton, Glasgow to me was the epitome of the service every good hotel should provide, but there again with rates like that I suppose they can afford to. However, in contrast to other outlets where I have been made to feel almost guilty for paying heavily discounted rates, there was none of that here. Broadband internet access, movies on demand, cakes with my coffee, and leisure facilities to die for – what more can I say?

To find out for yourself:
The Milton Hotel & Leisure Club, 27 Washington Street, Glasgow, G3 8AZ
Tel: 0141 222 2929 – or they even have freephone numbers: 0808 100 77 00 for Business and 0808 100 55 56 for Leisure
http://www.miltonhotels.com/9_0.asp?hotelId=1

Alternatively, try www.laterooms.com if looking for the next 21 days.

Highly, highly recommended

 

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