I was visiting Glasgow for a music event at Bellahouston Park and due to it finishing late I wanted a hotel to spend the night in. I didn't spend a great deal of time looking as it would only be for the one night, and after comparing Travelodge, Premier Inn and Holiday Inn Express I decided the latter would be my best option as it includes a free breakfast. I pre-booked the room on the Holiday Inn Express website, the room rate was £99 which is expensive; however it has a central location not too far away from the train station and of course included that breakfast.

We walked to the hotel from Glasgow central train station and only took us about 10-15 minutes. There were lots of shops nearby and the hotel itself is situated on the banks of the river. On entering reception I was pleasantly surprised at how clean and modern it was, a few weeks previous I had stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in York which was a bit old. Check in is a super fast affair, greeted with a smile from the receptionist who handed over the key card in a matter of seconds, along with directions to our room and what times breakfast is served.

We were on the fourth floor of the hotel and our room overlooked the main street. It was quite noisy during the day with traffic however on an evening it was quiet which allowed for a peaceful night's sleep. The room was big enough for our needs, with a standard decor that seems to match all their hotels, a blue, red and white theme. The bed had pillows with tags on them stating 'hard' or 'soft' and it was a nice touch that they included both types. There was a sofa in the corner, the standard small old fashioned CRT TV, and a small kettle with a couple of tea bags, coffee and UHT milk. Towels were provided in the bathroom and on a shelf in the main room, and a hairdryer was attached to the wall next to a long length mirror. The bathroom again was pretty standard, with a good sized shower, a well lit sink and a toilet. There are dispensers on the wall, one in the shower providing hair and body shampoo, and one next to the sink with hand wash. You can tell the bathroom is always kept nice and clean as it had no mould or horrible stains.

Being a city centre hotel I was dreading some noise from guests coming back late but this wasn't the case. Entry into the hotel after a certain time is gained by using your key card, however there is a separate door to get to the rooms which allows requires a key card to gain access to, so it did feel very secure.

Breakfast was very busy, however compared to the Holiday Inn Express I had stayed at a couple of weeks previous, it was laid out much better. There was also a nicer selection of food with everything from the usual cereals and toast, to mini blueberry muffins, croissants, scrambled egg and sausages. There was one big industrial toaster however you can to put your toast through twice for it to cook, otherwise you were left with warm bread. Someone turned the heat setting up so it cooked on your first go, but a member of staff came over and announced it was turned up too high and turned it back down. I didn't see the logic in that, and guests kept turning it back up so they could have toast rather than warm bread! There were plenty of seats with large flat screen TV's, and lots of free copies of The Independent to read. You can take breakfast up to your room but as we found a seat easily we opted to stay there.

Check out time is 12pm, which is a really good time considering most hotels are usually around the 10am mark. Overall this is a decent central hotel if you are in Glasgow for a night or two, I don't think I could stay longer than that (and not just because I didn't like Glasgow itself!) but because I think it's the type of hotel you are there to simply sleep in. You can book a room here through the official holiday inn website, or through sites such as expedia or laterooms.