I spent a few nights in this hotel recently. Unfortunately I left disappointed. The reasons why were numerous, and the hotel left me with the impression it needs to sharpen up generally, especially given its location.

The hotel itself is in a quite awful location, unless you work for the BBC or STV, or are staying one night to go to (or play) a concert at the SECC. The city centre is certainly not walking distance. I know because I walked it. A sign outside the SECC says it is a mile, but it seemed more like 2 just to get to the edge of the city, with very little to hold your interest in between unless you are a fan of terrible architecture.

The restaurant is also a bit pricey. I was there on business, but given a tight month I simply could not afford to eat there. I would expect a hotel restaurant to have an affordable menu available to guests, but I did not see a meal priced under £10 ($19.92, €12.69 at today’s exchange rates).

If that is outside your budget you really have little choice given the location. My room looked over one side of the hotel which was dominated by car parks as far as was practical to walk. In my time there I chose to walk in the other three 3 directions. The city centre is a distance along the Clyde. I walked north on one occasion, past the SECC, and over a footbridge across what I now think is the clydeside expressway (based on Google maps). I ended up in a high street of some description. It was after dark and looking around I got scared and went back to the hotel.

On a different occasion I went south across the Clyde expecting to walk along the towpath to what would best be described as a leisure park for an evening meal. There as ample choice. Nandos, Frankie and Bennies, Burger King, Chiquitos etc. The problem was that a section of the towpath had been closed off as a private garden for some of the ugliest apartments I have ever seen. This meant I had to walk along Govan Road, Given my previous experience, had it been after dark I would have went back. Instead I carried on, and passed a pub with the letters YCV (a Northern Ireland loyalist terrorist organisation) spray-painted on its facade. Eventually I made it to the Burger king and had a meal, but it wasn't worth the journey!

The one meal I had in the restaurant was breakfast buffet, which was excellent. Anything you could imagine from bacon, sausage and eggs, to croissants, to kippers, to Danish pastries was available.

The hotel is also nice enough of itself. It has a horrible mural painted on a wall of the breakfast/restaurant area; however the lobby area is quite pleasant besides that. Rooms are cleaned every day, though not thoroughly. There was a strange stain on the ceiling of my room, and I was able to write in the dust on the dresser, as my pictures show. The ironing board in the room was also terrible. It was about as bumpy as the moon, only with more water on it (which poured out of the iron). There was also a terrible smear of black silicon (pictured) around the tiles in the bathroom which given the price of the hotel should have been avoided.

The ice machine on my floor was also faulty. I reported this to reception on my last night, but when I left the following day this remained the case. I was assured this was to be dealt with, but as I don't know what the problem was I can't be sure if this was still the case when I left for reasons of a failure to deal with it or a technical issue.

I also had problems checking out. My reservation had been made with via a travel agent by my employer. The hotel had a record of reservation, but not that I wasn't to pay. This meant they needed a credit card to guarantee payment when I checked in, and a bit of a drama when I left for payment. Having spoken to colleagues of mine the travel agent in question is very reliable, so I can only assume the problem originated with the hotel. As I don't have a credit card and had to guarantee payment via a colleague’s card, I was left in a rather awkward position.

All in all I would have reservations (no pun intended) about staying at the Crowne Plaza again. I didn't pay for my visit, but given the prices I have seen on the internet I would not consider it, unless visiting the SECC, BBC, or STV. Given the prices I have seen quoted, the best I can give is 2 stars. I would not like to spend more than £100 per room per night on this hotel. Management seem to be responding to quite a few tripadvisor reviews, which must be welcomed, but they would be better served sharpening up their act...

I stayed for two nights with work and found the hotel to be really comfortable.

Lovely room with very large bed and all the pillows you could ever desire! Big TV, and all the usual tea making, shirt ironing facilities. Good view over the river towards BBC Scotland and the science museum. The bathroom was also lovely.

The only downside was that there was a continuous knocking noise coming from the air vent even when air conditioning was off.

At breakfast the waiters seemed very very slow even when it wasn't very busy but other then that I had an overall very good experience.

I walked into town along the river which was very easy but it was a particularly nice day. Getting a taxi back from the town centre was easy.

I would recommend staying there especially if on business.

Stayed here for 2 nights for a conference. Good location for that purpose but a fair walk into town otherwise although taxis seem readily available. There is also a convenient bus service that runs from outside the hotel to the airport which cuts down on expense.

Slightly frosty reception staff but overall staff very helpful there. Requested some toothpaste and it was brought immediately to my room.

Room itself was spotless and very comfy, bathroom also pristine. Food not as highly recommended but we had buffet style catering for the conference so the individual menu there may be more appealing.

Overall a very pleasurable experience

Stayed here overnight on the way to the Loch Lomond Scottish Open, wish we could have stayed longer! The location is not to far from the city and is directly on the waterfront . The check in was excellent , any questions I had ready to ask had already been answered by the check in girl (Jennifer). We had booked a club room on the 15/16 floor, Was a bit concerned after reading a few negatives about the club rooms and the lounge on the 15th floor. There was no need to have been. The room was excellent as was the Lounge. The room was very modern and the view (1502) was excellent. Free drinks and snacks in the lounge from 5pm -10pm,. plus a flat screen television and internet facility.
The health club was also good, we only used the pool and steam room but all were clean, the staff were very helpful. In general all the staff in the hotel were very good. Our only complaint was the french fries served with our bar meal......they were awful!! Did tell the waitress but all she did was to apologize. Breakfast was very good we were offered 2 breakfasts for the price of one when we checked in. We would certainly stay there again when visiting Glasgow.

Note to the Manager who I notice very often replies to advisors.....your training is working very well. but change your potato supplier!!