My Own Experience in Serviced Apartments in Glasgow: Staff Review

Today comes a personal post about my own experience in a serviced apartment. Last month, I took a trip to Glasgow with my husband. We had bought tickets to see Dara O Brien at Glasgow's SECC Hydro so what better excuse than to make a weekend out of it. We'd never visited the city before and now seemed a good time to plan a little sight seeing, and a quick getaway on a modest budget!

Our apartments of choice were Fraser Suites, which are situated on Albion Street, in Glasgow's Merchant City area. Here's how we got on, with my own personal tips for where to stay and what to do...

Kelvingrove

We arrived in Glasgow to hail storms - in the middle of April! With check-in to our apartments not until 2pm, we decided to get into the city early, and do a little exploring before finding the apartment. Our first port of call was the Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery.

The building alone was stunning - beautiful architecture both inside and out. The museum housed a range of interesting collections from Natural History to local artifacts. The main feature was an impressive Spitfire plane, suspended from the ceiling above a collection of exotic animals.

Across to the opposite side of the building were numerous rooms displaying modern and classic art. A special small room was reserved for the original 'Chris of Saint John on the Cross' Dahli painting.

By the time we left the museum the hail had stopped, so we wandered through the nearby Kelvingrove Park along the River Kelvin. This was a quiet, pretty area - a nice contrast the busy surrounding city.

Accommodation

2pm came and we headed over to our serviced apartment. The lobby was beautifully presented and we were greeted by friendly, helpful staff.

When we entered our one bedroom apartment we were blown away by the size. All of this space just for us! We entered into a spacious hallway, with doors leading to a huge double bedroom, open plan kitchen/lounge and modern bathroom. The living area was decorated with local photographs, and included a comfortable sofa, TV, a cosy dining table for two, and a kitchen.

Visiting on a budget we were glad to the have the facilities to make our own dinner. The apartments were located just a short walk from a nearby Tesco, so we managed to pick up some fresh ingredients for a romantic meal for two.

I've said it before, but the bedroom really was huge. It was the kind of size you would expect if you had just booked a hotel room on it's own - so to have the kitchen, dining and living areas was a bonus. The bed was a super king, and very comfortable.

Afternoon Tea

Once settled into our apartment we headed out to our next appointment. I had booked an Afternoon Tea at the nearby Corinthian Club. When I was researching our trip I found there were a lot of locations to enjoy afternoon tea in the city, but only a quick 15 minute walk from the apartments, The Corinthian seemed the perfect choice.

The building again was beautiful and clearly a popular venue (I would definitely recommend pre-booking, especially on a Saturday). We were seated in a lovely bright room and served with freshly baked scones, cakes and finger sandwhiches. I even got a cheeky Prosecco along with my pot of tea!

Evening Show

Back at the apartments we had a good few hours before our show at the SECC, so we lounged on the sofas with (another) glass of wine. It was nice to be able to relax in a separete space to the bedroom - just like being at home. The extra space also came in handy when we came to get ourselves ready for the evening. That's one of the great things about a serviced apartment - we were both able to get changed and ready with plenty of room. It made the experience much more relaxed than a cramped hotel room would have done. The reception staff at the apartments called us a taxi to the SECC. It took about 10 minutes so it wasn't too expensive. One piece of advice if you're planning on a visit to the SECC - pre-book a taxi for after the show to arrive somewhere nearby. The queue for taxis was huge when we came out, so being a nice dry night, we walked back to our apartments along the river instead.

After a leisurely lie in the next morning, we made croissants which we enjoyed privately in our apartment before heading home.

My top tips for visiting Glasgow:

1) Make time to visit some of the city's stunning architecture

2) Afternoon tea is popular in most locations so book ahead to avoid disappointment

3) Pre-book taxis if you're planning to see a show

4) Choose a serviced apartment for a relaxed stay

Tags