I'm amused to see the range of reviews for this hotel. I would like to tell the world that I found the Cathedral House fantastic. I stayed there twice, with my husband, this October.

I'll admit it's a bit of a trip. We got lost walking from the bus station the first time we stayed there, but by our second visit we had the walk down. It's about a 15 minute walk from the main square/Queen's Street train station.

Once you get to the house, which is just gorgeous, you go into the bar and check in. The regular bar tender is such a trip! He didn't understand our American english and we couldn't understand his Scottish English, so we all had to talk very slowly and point. But he was a very sweet young man.

The stair case is very windy and steep, but broad.

Each time we stayed there we got a "Cathedral room," with a gorgeous view of the Cathedral laid out before us in several large windows.

Eating in the bar was fantastic -- they have a 1 lb of mussels you can buy that are so delicious and more than enough food for two.

The bar is also a locals hang out, which is always fun. There was a charming old Scots couple who would come in daily and tease the bar tenders and the owners, and who were very friendly to chat with.

When I phoned to make the reservation, they didn't sound professional. When I arrived, the bathroom was dirty! The corridor had a smell and the hairdryer was in 3 pieces, with a note that you shouldn't touch it!
I cancelled the booking, paid 25 pounds, was treated very unfriendly, but found a nice, cleaner place to stay...

I liked this place, but my wife was creeped out by it. The spiral staircase going up four flights carrying heavy bags was not much fun. Check-in at the bar was charming, but it did have a bit of a backpacker hostel feel. The room was fine, but a bit worn feeling. Mattress had sharp buttons that we were able to feel through the sheets. Hotel wasn't too far from the center, but not a good walk at night. Next time in Glasgow, I will book something a bit more central and slightly more upscale. The staff was very nice, though.

The location is not exactly central city, so for a tourist seeing Glasgow for the first time, you may feel a bit out of the thick of things. You won't want to walk into the center of town either as it is both a bit far and not exactly a scenic walk. This hotel is small, and feels it. For instance, the pub is the reception is the breakfast room is the manager's office, etc. That's fine, at least you know where to go to get something done. Like breakfast, which is decent, but takes something like forever, which, in the morning is annoying. The rooms are a minimum of two flights up, I think ours was four flights. No elevator, so if you are traveling with heavy bags, keep that in mind. Our room was compact but very comfortable and simple. The bed was near perfect. The shower was not. In fact, I think it was the worst shower I ever had and because it was so bad, I did not shower the second morning, deciding to wait until our next venue. It was that bad. Oh, and fumes from the kitchen did waft up to our room. The staff are great, I really liked them. They even gave us one of their only parking spaces for our rental car. The pub is lively. Of a Friday night, they have a group of musicians performing traditional Scottish music which was thoroughly enjoyable. Given the above, I would think twice before booking here again.