I attended a conference being held at the Thistle, so it was easiest to stay at the same venue. My room was at the back of the hotel and on the forth floor, so I found it very quiet. The room was large and everything I could possibly need, apart from instructions on how to work the tv as the remote alone wouldn't get it started. A trip to the front desk provided the instructions required. As I was extremely tired after my long trip I decided I couldn't face going anywhere for dinner, so I ordered room service...despite the exhorbitant delivery fee. I had one of the most expensive pizzas in the world, and it was pretty average. Food prices even when you ordered at the bar seemed pretty expensive, so apart from the breakfast which was included and lunches provided at the conference I chose not to eat at the hotel. As the hotel is situated in the city centre itseslf , it wasn't far to travel to find other places to eat. Breakfast was fairly extensive, but produced en masse, like in many hotels, so it wasn't something you would rave about..

When in Glasgow, avoid Thistle Hotel at all cost. It had to be the shabbiest, most tired and the dirtiest place ever offered to road weary travelers in our 15 day Trafalgar tour of Britain; I suppose we should have been forewarned by the thread-bare grimy carpets in the hallways. Our regret was reinforced by the disgusting huge stains on the spreads which covered the swayback beds, the long black hairs on the bathroom floor and the water stained ancient curtains, of the second floor room. (And since when do hotels make the bed with only the bottom sheet between you and the mattress?) While the front desk staff were ambivalent to our plight, the evening Manager deserves credit for personally changing the bedding and offering a compensatory drink. Interestingly, the tour guide also provided a free drink when we were informed that our original hotel in Glasgow was overbooked and we were being ‘upgrade’ to the Thistle; red flag, red flag!
Indeed the hotel was crumby, but responsibility also lies with Trafalgar and their lack of judgment.

Although the decor was rather revolting and not worth the obnoxiously high rates, the manager exercised good customer service.

We were assigned this hotel by a tour facilitator; it was a one night stay in Glasgow before heading off to the Highlands. I booked a prior night on my own. The first night we received a refurbished (eigth floor room); the second a first floor room. Both were bland; the refurb wasn't even a marginal improvement. The food was bland. The building is stalag bland. The location was adequate. My sense is that by paying a bit more, one can find much better accomodation in Glasgow. If I were forced to stay again, I wouldn't even concern myself with refurb/non-refurb - I would attempt to drive down the price to the lowest possible denominator, hold my breath, and maximize time outside of the property....