http://www.trivago.co.uk/glasgow-41586/hotel/marks-18515 http://www.trivago.co.uk/glasgow-41586/hotel/marks-18515 http://ie2.trivago.com/images/layoutimages/logos/default.png http://www.trivago.co.uk/glasgow-41586/hotel/marks-18515/review-o1045196 Mon, 11 Jun 2012 14:16:00 +0200 http://www.trivago.co.uk/glasgow-41586/hotel/marks-18515/review-o276075 Thu, 28 Aug 2008 21:22:00 +0200
Now I am not particularly fussy on where I stay and to be honest really dont have a huge say in the matter as we tend to opt for a combination of convenience and price that falls within the allowed budget so the question was would Marks hit the Mark,

Marks describes itself as a ‘luxury 4 star hotel but is it really?

Arriving at the hotel at the end of our 1st day in Glasgow, having got off the train and straight to the office my colleague and I where tired and weary. The hotel itself is easy to spot as it has the most unusual frontage of glass that tilts outwards into the street from each of the floors. Another thing that was unusually was the disabled lift which led directly from the street into the hotel; this is situated here as the main access to entrance is up a few steps with no room for a ramp.

The reception was not what I was expecting at all, all very dark brown on the walls and floor with a couple of orange chairs around a small table and lots of champagne bottles placed in arrangements of different sizes. There where a couple of staff on duty and ready to greet you and book you in, we had one small issue here as we had booked via an internet site using one name for 2 rooms only to find that the information passed on was incorrect at some point and only 1 room had been reserved. This was quickly resolved as we had a copy of our booking confirmation with us clearly stating 2 rooms.

Heading off to our rooms, I was on the 7th floor with my colleague on a different floor we headed off towards the lifts, there are two lifts operating in the hotel and throughout our stay found that this was sufficient and never where we greeting with a full load, even though I would say you would not get more than 6 people in them without being a bit cramped.

Arriving at our floors the first thing you will notice is the décor, the wallpaper is a grey/silver and burgundy leafy swirly pattern and is very in your face, not something I could live with at home for sure, with a more or less plain burgundy carpeting throughout. The décor looks fairly new as the carpet still had a spring in it under foot and as the 4th and the 7th floors where no different I am assuming that all floors match this theme.

Room keys are the standard key card and are given to you in a small disposable paper holder which does container a map of the local area on the back so dont discard straight away as this is a useful size to slip into your pocket or purse when you want to venture out, though as Glasgow has a very linier layout streetwise it is fairly easy to navigate.

For once no issue for me with the room key, normally I get the dodgy one where you have to wiggle a few times for the door to unlock and make that little green light appear, but not once did this happen. Entering the room, our rooms where standard rooms, you have a small hall with the bathroom door directly opposite you, turning into the room you have one single and one double bed and can confirm that all the standard rooms have the same layout.

In your room you will find a ‘open wardrobe, in other words a built in unit with no doors where there is plenty of space and sufficient hangers for your clothes, you also have a shelf near the bottom and space to store your shoes or even a small travel case. You will also find an ironing board and an iron ready for you to use if need be. The TV is flat screen and the hotel does have Freeview so plenty of channels to choose from. There is the standard complimentary tea and coffee making facilities which at 1st glance I could not see, however, once I sat down on the bed I noticed that one of the draws in the desk had a little brass plaque on it saying tea and coffee. Opening the draw there it was already and waiting, the same continued for the hairdryer that also lived in its own little draw.

The furniture was of a good solid quality and did not look worn and every piece matched which gave the room a nice feel, the décor was again plum / dark red carpets with all but one wall painted in white with the remainder having very bold wallpaper again which matched the bedding and the carpet.

The bathroom was of a good size, full size bath, power shower and yes it did live up to expectations with the expected token toiletries ready for you in case of need and a couple of glasses, real ones not plastic ones. Towels where plenty and the room was set to expect 3 guests with bath and hand towel for each person, more than enough just for me. Extra pillows where also available if you needed them from the top shelf in the wardrobe but why you ever would I dont know as the beds had two pillows per person and throw cushions.

Disappointingly there was no air conditioning in the rooms and you have to rely opening the window to cool the room.

The hotel has its own bar and restaurant with the bar being located at the front of the hotel and again follows the brown colour theme with dark stained wooden floors. Seating is ample and the service was good. The restaurant is located behind the bar and with access between the lifts and reception and offers a varied menu which should suit most tastes. We have one meal in here on our last night and I have to say that the standard of food was exceptional with prompt and efficient service throughout and no feeling of being rushed.

The restaurant also doubles up as the breakfast room where you have a choice of continental (GBP 7.50) or full cooked breakfast also with many other hot items, all GBP 12.50, with the continental buffet laid out in the bar area but away from the windows. We settled for continental and had a good choice, various pastries, ham, cheese, cereal, fresh fruit, yoghurt and fruit juice.

Room service is also available and chose this once also as we had the intention of carrying on working in one of our rooms to save some time the next day. Slight hiccup here as we dialled the number for room service which takes you to the main reception, who then advised that we needed to speak to the restaurant, transferred to the restaurant who advised us to call reception; explained that we had just done this so they just took our order anyway. I ordered the char grilled chicken burger with chunky chips and my colleague opted for the beef burger and where advised that this would be delivered in about 20 minutes. Sure enough 20 minutes later our meals arrived both piping hot. Now I have to say that this was the largest chicken burger I have ever seen in my life, a toasted oblong shaped bun with what must have been at least a whole breasts worth of chicken stuffed into it and the largest chips I have ever seen and they tasted divine. The chips are definitely not the frozen variety and come still with their skins all crisp on the outside and nice and soft in the middle. The beef burger did not disappoint either with ample cheese melted on top of the burger. Generous portions and neither of us could finish. Note there is a GBP3.00 for room service.

Rooms where cleaned every day but noticed that there is no mention of ‘green service where you can request for the towels or sheets not to be changed everyday. Hallways throughout appeared clean at all times during the day also and the carpet did look freshly hovered every night when we returned.

Marks also offers free Wi-Fi in all its rooms and public areas of the hotel with a troubleshooting guide available in your room should you run into difficulties connecting to the internet. It is worth also nothing that only the suites have a mini bar and there are no gym facilities here either.

On the whole did Marks hit the mark, yes it did, very nice hotel, good size rooms and good service but to say its a four star is pushing it a bit, a high quality 3 for me.

One final let down was when checking out, due to the hiccup on checking in the amount paid in deposit had not been correctly deducted and we where nearly overcharged but upon pointing out this error if was resolved quickly and efficiently.

Would I return, yes for work definitely as the location is perfect and ideal for the city centre if you feel the urge to do some shopping?
]]> http://www.trivago.co.uk/glasgow-41586/hotel/marks-18515/rating-e405536 Sat, 12 Jul 2008 15:26:00 +0200