Thistle Hotel, Glasgow

...eight weeks at the Glasgow Thistle Hotel. They were the worst eight weks of my life so far and it was all down to the hotel.

On our first night at the hotel, our group arrived at about 1am in the morning after a flight delay. The night staff quickly and efficiently allocated us our rooms which were located on the first floor. As i got into my room, i was aware of a groaning noise coming from the window area. On looking out the window, ...
...air conditioning units. I was so tired at this point that i did not request to be moved, as i was being picked up for my course at 8.30 am. the room was equipped with two single beds, which appeared slightly smaller than standard. I got into the first one only to realise that the matress was so old that i had sunk into the middle of it. Thankfully there was the second bed which was fine but small.

In the morning, i made my way to the ... more

I have just spent eight weeks at the Glasgow Thistle Hotel. They were the worst eight weks of my life so far and it was all down to the hotel.

On our first night at the hotel, our group arrived at about 1am in the morning after a flight delay. The night staff quickly and efficiently allocated us our rooms which were located on the first floor. As i got into my room, i was aware of a groaning noise coming from the window area. On looking out the window, i realised that our rooms were next to the hotels air conditioning units. I was so tired at this point that i did not request to be moved, as i was being picked up for my course at 8.30 am. the room was equipped with two single beds, which appeared slightly smaller than standard. I got into the first one only to realise that the matress was so old that i had sunk into the middle of it. Thankfully there was the second bed which was fine but small.

In the morning, i made my way to the Restaurant where i was shown to a table. The breakfast was very good. A choice of cereals, fresh fruit, yogurt, breads and of course the fat boys fully cooked. Of course i sampled the cereal and the fat boys both of which were of a good standard.

On the conclusion of my days work, i returned to the hotel and made use of the hotel gym and swimming pool. The gym is small but adequate and the pool, sauna, steam room and changing facilities were all clean and tidy.

During the evening our group attended at the Restaurant and were promptly served by the staff. The menu was small and the prices very expensive. Fortunately we were on all inclusive terms which doesn't strictly mean 'ALL INCLUSIVE'. A pint of beer or lager costs £2.65 and a pint of lemonade or cola costs £3.00. My food order for the first night was simple. A medium rare steak with chips. 40 minutes later my steak arrived covered in a pepper sauce (A sauce i had not ordered and which i dislike). The waitress took it back to the kitchen and returned twenty minutes later with my steak as requested.

Every eveing meal in the Restaurant was much the same. There was something wrong with one of our groups meals nearly every night. It ranged from the wrong meals being brought to the veg or extras being brought to the table after the main meal had been finished. On one occasion my steak was again brought with a pepper sauce on and when it was explained that i had not ordered the sauce (which was an extra £1.50) the waitress offered to wash it off and re-grill it to dry it off. They were totally serious about this!

after the second night of limited sleep due to the air con units, i requested to be moved and was placed on the sixth floor. This was much better in that it was alot quieter. The bathroom had a nice collection of pubic hair behind the door and the bed cover had dots of a white substance on, a substace which i suspected to be the previous occupants bodily fluid. For some strange reason i took a look at the pillow under it's white cotton cover. I was horrified to see that it was brown stained.

The following seven weeks, i was placed in a room on the seventh floor. The room was a bit cleaner but the bedding was just as bad. I was not too fussed as i have slept in some real grotty places during my younger days but one weekend my wife came to stay with me at the hotel. I requested that they change the bed cover as there appeared to be a patch of blood on the one that had been on the bed for the previous three weeks. I knew that my wife would not get into bed if it looked at all dirty. The bed cover was replaced with another one but i am sure that it had come from my previous room on the sixth floor as this also had a white substance on it.

The television channels were very limited to bbc1, bbc2, itv, channel 4, sky news &sky sports 1, 2, & 3. Movies were charged at £7.50 per film. What a rip off.

During my stay, i sampled the sun bed which cost £5 for five minutes. Two of the tubes were out. During our last week, i asked the chef if she could cook us some custard, She burnt it. The majority of the staff were pleasant and help full.

Over all the hotel was very poor. If i have been paying to stay there, i would have definately gone and stayed somewhere else. The entrace ramp to the hotel was in a very poor condition and for the eight weeks that i was there, parts of it were cordened off with cones and tape. I would therefore have to say that this hotel was not suitable for disabled or the infirm. There are two public lifts within this hotel. There would only normally be one working. On one occasion, i got into the only working lift to see a frightened woman stood at the back. She explained that she had just been released from the other lift by a group of fire fighters after being trapped for forty five minutes.

Also out of order for long periods was the running machines in the hotel gym and also the steam room.

This hotel does not warrant a four star rating and if i were the star issuing bloke, i don't think that i would give it two.

If you do chose to stay at this hotel - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! 

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