The voco Grand Central Glasgow (usually known by locals by its former name, the Central Hotel) is a large 4-star

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

in the centre of Glasgow, Scotland. The hotel forms the front of the

Glasgow Central railway station Glasgow Central (), usually referred to in Scotland as just Central or Central Station, is one of two principal mainline rail terminals in Glasgow, Scotland. The railway station was opened by the Caledonian Railway on 1 August 1879 and is one ...

on Gordon Street, directly adjoining onto the station concourse. It was one of Glasgow's most prestigious hotels in its heyday, hosting residents such as

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

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Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American dancer, actor, singer, director and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...

and

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) ...

History

The hotel was designed by

Robert Rowand Anderson Sir Robert Rowand Anderson, (5 April 1834 – 1 June 1921) was a Scottish Victorian architecture, Victorian architect. Anderson trained in the office of George Gilbert Scott in London before setting up his own practice in Edinburgh in 1860. ...

, in ' Queen Anne style'; he also furnished the public rooms.Johnston and Hume (1979), pages 38–41. The hotel was constructed by the

Caledonian Railway The Caledonian Railway (CR) was one of the two biggest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping. It was formed in 1845 with the objective of forming a link between English railways and Glasgow. It progressively ex ...

and was completed in 1883 as the Central Station Hotel. It was extended, along with the station, in 1901–1906. The hotel extension was designed by James Miller and it opened on 15 April 1907. It was later renamed the Central Hotel. The world's first long-distance television pictures were transmitted to the hotel on 24 May 1927 by

John Logie Baird John Logie Baird (; 13 August 188814 June 1946) was a Scottish inventor, electrical engineer, and innovator who demonstrated the world's first mechanical Mechanical television, television system on 26 January 1926. He went on to invent the fi ...

. Following the break-up of

British Transport Hotels British Transport Hotels (BTH) was the hotels and catering business of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. Origins of the company Britain's private railway companies pioneered the concept of the railway hotel, initially at loca ...

in the early 1980s, the hotel was sold in 1983 and passed through the hands of various private operators. It was operated by

Choice Hotels International Choice Hotels International, Inc. is an American multinational hospitality industry, hospitality company based in North Bethesda, Maryland. The company, which is one of the largest hotel chains in the world, owns various hotel brands ranging fro ...

for many years as the Quality Hotel Central Glasgow. In February 2009, The Real Hotel Company plc was forced into administration, and the hotel subsequently closed amid concerns of

asbestos Asbestos ( ) is a group of naturally occurring, Toxicity, toxic, carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous Crystal habit, crystals, each fibre (particulate with length su ...

contamination and structural deterioration. In June 2009, it was revealed that

Principal Hayley Group Principal Hotel Company is a British hotel and conference venue operator headquartered in Harrogate, England. History A predecessor company was founded in 1984. In 1992, when the chain had 18 properties, it went bankrupt during a recession. Two y ...

had acquired the hotel. They refurbished it and re-opened it as the Grand Central Hotel on 9 September 2010. Together with the rest of Glasgow Central railway station, the hotel is protected as a

category A listed building Category, plural categories, may refer to: General uses *Classification, the general act of allocating things to classes/categories Philosophy * Category of being * ''Categories'' (Aristotle) * Category (Kant) * Categories (Peirce) *Category (V ...

. Principal hotel company was sold to

InterContinental Hotels Group InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), marketed as IHG Hotels & Resorts, is a British multinational hospitality company headquartered in Windsor, Berkshire, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. It ...

in 2018. The hotel closed in 2020 for an extensive renovation and was rebranded within IHG's voco chain as voco Grand Central Glasgow. It reopened on 26 April 2021.

References

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External links

voco Grand Central Glasgow official websitevoco Grand Central Glasgow official chain websiteGrand Central Hotel project details - Clyde Waterfront Regeneration
Hotels in Glasgow Railway hotels in Scotland James Miller buildings Hotel buildings completed in 1883 Hotels established in 1883 19th century in Scotland Category A listed buildings in Glasgow Listed hotels in Scotland Clock towers in the United Kingdom