Ibis Hotel

The second of the Ibis Hotels we stayed at while on our Contiki tour of England and Scotland, the Ibis Glasgow has identical rooms to its counterpart in Liverpool. There are no travel sized amenities, just the standard giant bottle of soap that serves as shampoo, body wash, and hand soap. Two bath towels are provided, no face or hand towels. There is a hair dryer provided, small flat screen TV, coffee and tea bar, along with a decent sized room. The bathroom still looks like a spaceship pod with a large shower. The furniture is standard cookie cutter. Free wifi is provided which is a huge plus. The queen bed was comfortable and the breakfast was standard English/​Scottish breakfast. The hotel is just south of Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow and walking distance to the main shopping square. We were able to walk from the hotel to the Glasgow Cathedral in about 20 minutes. They have buses but if you can walk it and it isn’t raining, why not? It’s located next to a Novotel hotel.

This place is disgusting! When we entered the room we immediately noticed a foul odor but the window was open and we thought it would clear quickly. Before going to dinner, we closed the window and headed out. We returned to a gagging odor of raw sewage. There is an obvious problem that we believe the management knows about (leaving a window open doesn’t mask the issue!). No toiletries, bad odor, crummy service, less than good breakfast. Simply yuck — avoid!

Ich bin hier Anfang September 2006. Mich hat hier der sehr nette Service gefreut und auch mit dem Zimmer war ich sehr zufrieden. Der Preis war wirklich fair, so dass ich hier gerne fünf Sterne vergebe.

Keinen Parkplatz gab’s und das Parkhaus in der Elmbank Street befindet sich überhaupt nicht in der Elmbank Street und wird ebensowenig von NCP betrieben, da stimmen die Informationen auf der Hotel-​Webseite nicht. Als wir auch noch um die £ 9 für wenige Stunden hinlegen mussten, fragten wir im Hotel nach, was es mit dem angeblichen Rabatt auf sich hat. Ach neh, den würde es nur bei 24 Stunden geben, £ 12 sind’s dann.
Klar, zwischen 18 und 8 Uhr kann’ma kostenlos vor’m Hotel oder dort in der Nähe auf der Straße parken, sonst macht das 50 Pence die Viertelstunde, maximal 2 Stunden. Trotzdem, das ist ziemlich suboptimal.
Bei unserem Auto haben’se obendrein nachts die Scheibe eingeschlagen, es war schräg gegenüber dem Ibis/​Novotel geparkt, tja. Das Frühstück ist gut, £ 9.99 für’s Internet, ähem, inklusive wäre besser. Eine halbe Rolle Klopapier für zwei Personen bei drei Nächten (22./23./24.06.2010, Zimmer 211), sorry, aber da erwarte ich bei £ 78 die Nacht mehr Aufmerksamkeit.

This is only the second chain hotel at which I have stayed in Europe (The other was a different, slightly more upscale hotel in a non-​UK country that is in the same corporate chain that owns Ibis, Accor). I normally eschew chains, but was offered a fantastic corporate rate (40-​something GBP with breakfast included) at the Ibis in Glasgow. The price was so much lower than anywhere else that I couldn’t say no.
The area immediately around the hotel looks a little run down and shady, but I wasn’t particularly bothered by that. The city center is within easy walking distance as is Sauchiehall Street. The wonderful area around the University of Glasgow (including the Kelvingrove and Hunterian museums) is just a bit farther. With all this within walking distance, you can’t beat the location.
My check in was relatively easy during the late evening in which I arrived, exhausted from Wales. When I got to my room, it was boiling hot, due to heater being turned up too high. No big deal, I opened a window and the chilly April air cooled it right down. I urgently needed to check email so I followed the instructions on the TV screen to purchase the media package (internet available by a plug in cable, multiple channels on the TV, and the ability to dock our ipod and play through the TV speakers). All seemed to go relatively well, but it stopped working shortly thereafter. The employee that came up when I requested assistance was more than a bit difficult. At first she tried to say that it was down everywhere (It wasn’t, by the way) and went downstairs to reset the whole system. Then she tried another ethernet cable. She kept saying that it must be the system. However, I insisted to be moved to another room in which we could at least try (even beforehand) to see if it worked. It did. I moved. I just could have dealt with a more pleasant attitude about it from her (though I will admit that my fatigue added to my irritation).
To calm myself, I ordered some food from the restaurant downstairs. Their all-​day menu was available and I ordered chicken wings and a beer. You wait down there and can then either eat it in the casual bar area or carry it up to your room. I needed the beer badly. The wings were beyond terrible. I think the best thing about them is that they were served with raita (odd, but really refreshing). I tried the breakfast downstairs the next day. It’s a continental affair with a few pastries (and blessedly, single serve Nutella), fruit, and sad-​looking meat slices. There are also eggs and bacon in a chafing dish that didn’t look appealing at all. OK, lesson learned about the food there. I just ate elsewhere for the rest of the trip.
The room was just fine. There’s a good amount of desk space which is greatly appreciated, another chair, a bed that wasn’t anything thrilling (but upon which I slept perfectly well), closet, and TV. The bathroom was an equally simple affair with just a shower and no tub. This didn’t matter.
Everything in the room (and hotel in general) was quite clean and comfortable. There’s nothing fancy here. However, it’s a place in which trustworthy, easy accommodations close to almost everything can be had for probably one of the best rates in the city. If you’re not seeking lots of frills, I’d definitely consider this particular Ibis.

Just a chin-​hair away from some of the best bars, Ibis is the only place I would recommend for lovers of the city nightlife.
Like Monlia said, the rooms are huge. Build for at least 8 people (believe me, we’ve checked!) And the person sitting at the desk is always chirpy, even at 3am.
It is a little more expensive but you get what you pay for.

This property offer a standard, reasonably priced accommodation. I was especially impressed at the friendliness of the staff.

For a spoiled yet frugal American Jet Setter, this is a GREAT deal for the amount of money you would spend. For about 60 Sterlings, I got a room here that was twice as large as another room that I had originally booked from a supposedly reputable chain.
My room had a contemporary restroom, a queen size bed, a desk with free wi-​fi connection, and quite a bit of space to move around. (AND SO CLEAN!!) Since this hotel caters to a younger crowd, you could go downstairs to the kiosk for a midnight snack or simply walk a block to get your chippies or drambruies.
An interesting fact is that during my stay, one of the patrons had accidentally set off the fire alarm; he was smoking in his room, which was prohibited. Surely enough, at 3am, the whole hotel evacuated into the streets as the fire fighters came to check on the building. The great thing about this was the fact that the police department was directly across the street, so they were able to respond in literally seconds! So if you want to live in a safe and friendly neighborhood, this is the spot!
Another great thing is the location of this hotel; the bars/​pubs and night life are only 2 blocks away, in the heart of Sauchiehall, which would save you a ton of transportation money.
I recommend everyone who is on a budget or wants to have more spending money, to come check out this very trendy and very friendly hotel.

This is a good value hotel in a central area of Glasgow.
The location of the hotel makes it ideal for budget accommodation for a special night out on the town or for a major shopping spree!
It’s just a short walk from lots of great restaurants and bars and around 10 mins walk from copious shops.
The rooms are basic but clean and the staff are friendly and helpful.
I would definitely stay here again!

The Ibis has been one of my favourite hotels for a few years now, its excellent value for money! Every room has a double bed and mod cons, its extremely clean and well kept, a nice bar on the ground floor and a relaxed atmosphere, the staff are first class! Recommended for value for money and convenience for the city centre.