A visit to the Christmas market has become a bit of Christmas tradition for me. In fact, Christmas doesn’t really begin until I’ve had my annual trip to a Christmas market. Normally this involves a bus trip into Edinburgh to walk around the Christmas markets and to see the lights. However, as much as I love Edinburgh at Christmas sometimes you just want to go somewhere different. A trip to Europe is the obvious choice when thinking about Christmas markets. A few years ago we went to Prague in December to visit their markets and I have, Copenhagen and Germany on my must-visit lists. Unfortunately, a pre-Christmas trip abroad isn’t on the cards this year (with the husband’s shift patterns trips abroad take some serious planning). So when Citizen M offered me a night in their Glasgow hotel I jumped at the chance of a mini staycation.
Glasgow is less than an hour away on the train but I don’t visit enough. When I was working I was there at least once a month for meetings and work events. I can’t remember the last time I went through just to explore the city. The timing of the trip was perfect as I needed to get my Christmas shopping started and obviously I could fit in a trip to the Christmas market.
Stepping out of the station I was greeted by the lights in George Square and headed straight over for a wander around the market. I’d already had my annual visit to Edinburgh’s Christmas so I’d had my fill of Christmas markets. But it’s always nice to check out the different stalls and soak up the atmosphere. My husband was travelling down from Aberdeen and meeting me at the hotel so after a wander around the markets I headed off to meet him.
The location of the Citizen M hotel is perfect for a shopping trip. It’s right in the centre of town only a short walk from the shops and around 5 mins from the station. Check in was so quick and easy, no need to queue at a reception desk you can check in using a touch screen computer in the lobby. Don’t worry they’re helpful staff are around to guide you through the process if you get stuck. We even had the option to pick our room. We decided to go for one up on the 6th floor with views across the city.
The room wasn’t big but didn’t feel small or cramped and they managed to fit in a massive bed (seriously I have a King size bed at home and this was way bigger than ours). The room had everything you expect in a hotel, safe, hairdryer etc. Although to my disappointment it was missing tea making facilities (although I’m probably the only person who needs tea at all hours). The bathroom was in a kind of booth in the room which meant it wasn’t very private. I was staying with my husband so it didn’t matter but I know some people would prefer a more private bathroom. The sink was also in the main part of the room instead of the bathroom. This was really handy in the morning as one of us could brush their teeth while the other was showering.Our favourite part of the room was the iPad-controlled lighting. We spent about 20 minutes playing about with the mood settings.
After a good explore of our room (and playing with the light settings) we headed out for dinner. We went to The Anchor Line after a recommendation and it was lovely, a perfect date night restaurant. After our meal, we headed back to the hotel for a couple of drinks in the hotel bar. Citizen M offers free movies so we thought we’d have a movie night back in the room. I was really impressed with the range of films which included lots of new realises. It was so simple to use the iPad to pick out a film and control the lights (they even have a movie light setting).
After a great sleep in the (massive) comfy bed, we were up early the next day for some serious Chrismas shopping. All of the rooms at the Citizen M have waterfall showers which is just what you need to wake you up in the morning. The funky coloured lights made the shower an experience instead of an everyday chore. We had breakfast included in with our room so made our way down to grab something to eat. The breakfast was a standard hotel breakfast. Both of us went for the cooked Scottish breakfast which was OK. It wasn’t the best breakfast available but was far from the worst.
After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel which was so quick and easy. We just used the touch screen computers in the lobby again. Then is was time to get on with the important task of ticking everything off our Christmas shopping list. Believe it or not, we managed this before lunchtime. There must be something in the air in Glasgow which makes you shop. After a successful morning shopping, it was time to head back to Edinburgh and wrap up all the goodies we bought.
Yes, if you’re looking for somewhere to stay for a short trip to Glasgow the Citizen M is perfect. In my opinion, you only really need a comfy bed on a city trip as you’re out and about all the time so the Citizen M would be perfect. As I already said it’s only a short walk from the shops and Queen Street station so ideal for a shopping trip like we had. If you want to book a stay at The Citizen M in Glasgow you can do it easily on their website.
*Our stay at Citizen M Glasgow was provided free of charge for the purpose of this blog post. As usual, all thoughts and opinions are my own.