With a family wedding in Glasgow to attend, a hotel that was local to the venue was needed for a stay of two days.

As the organisations had been handled by my mother-in-law, I didn't have chance to check reviews before booking (my usual thing) so knew nothing about the hotel - other than it was quite close and the cost was reasonable. En route, with lots of time on my hands, I decided to use my iPhone to check out reviews.

Hmmmm!

After reading some very negative reviews (mainly on Tripadvisor), I got very apprenhensive. I discussed the possibility of going elsewhere with my husband, but decided that the practicalities made it hardly worth it. Well, at least I didn't have to spend too long there, I thought, as I just needed a place to sleep to rest my (alcohol induced) weary head.

Our family (who were also staying at the same hotel) arrived before us. On the phone, they told us how the hotel didn't look great on the outside - but the inside wasn't too bad....

So, fortunately, by the time that we'd arrived, our expectations had been well and truly managed... And, to my relief, it was not the disgusting, foul, sewage-infested, grotfest that I was building up in my mind's eye, but something definitely better than that.

Yes, the outside is a bit old and weird looking, but it was free parking at least. The service on check-in was fine, but definitely a step down from business class/4* hotels, but it was personable enough, I suppose. The common areas were a bit tired and old fashioned, but they weren't terrible. The bedroom was spacious enough, but somewhat old and tired (the TV was not only the old type, but was one of those combined TV and video sets - a shame I didn't bring any VHS cassettes with me - that would have been a golden opportunity), and the bathroom was a little drab/plasticky/shabby, but nothing that caused reason to complain…

The breakfasts that I had on both days were fine, in terms of selection and quality. As a vegetarian, the cooked breakfast options were limited, but it didn’t bother me too much.

The only thing that bothered me was the heat in the bedrooms, which aren’t air conditioned… It made it uncomfortable at night and during the morning whilst I was getting ready. The other members of the family staying at the hotel felt the same.

So, to sum up, I don’t think this hotel is as bad as some of the very negative reviews. I went with modest (well, very low) expectations and the hotel met my needs – for the reasonable cost of £100 for two nights B&B. However, if you are planning a romantic/leisure break and you’re visiting Glasgow from afar, I would recommend that you spend more to get that more extra. Having said that, it's unlikely that I'll ever return here.