I do think the marketing campaign in Glasgow was very creative and successful. Native friends and family all seemed to be aware of the opening. Normally if a new hotel opens it’s not big news, but this was different. Key for me was the citizenM’ cone on the statue of the Duke of Wellington, outside the Gallery of Modern Art. For the past 25 years, people have been putting a road cone on the head of the statue. The police would take it down, but the next weekend, folks get drunk, the cone’s back up there. On and on, and it just became part of our lives. So citizenM, by doing is this, is really connecting to what Glasgow knows. It’s an ‘insiders thing’; we like this.

Glasgow has loads of proper whisky bars where you can choose from a dazzling array of whisky bottles on the shelves – from 10-12 year old standards up to 40-year-old specials. If nervous of the differences, try the ‘Malt of the Month’ for only a couple of pounds.

Glasgow was an industrial heartland in the past. As such, tourists may have had the feeling that Glasgow was very dark and scary. It was a long-held belief that Edinburgh was the place to visit because of all the historic buildings and iconic scenery there. But Glasgow has truly transformed in the last 20 years. The factories and shipyards pretty much closed down. Since 1990, when Glasgow was Cultural Capital of Europe, it really began to regenerate. Museums, art, festivals and new developments are part of everyday life now. There are always a lot of new things happening in town. It seems to have accellerated over the past few years, too, so it feels really exciting to experience these changes whenever I return.

People are very friendly, informal and open. Surprisingly polite too. Humour is extremely important in everyday life. Locals can find humour in just about anything in Glasgow. I think it comes from the old days, from the industry, when it was a much harder lifestyle. The humour was just always there to get people through, and while so much has changed, that has stuck. Expect that if you ask someone for directions, to get a whole backstory in reply. It really is a very communicative city. The only problem is that the distinctive accent can be rather confusing to tourists.

Glasgow is very entrepreneurial. People are very keen to try their own thing. You can often see that when you walk down the street – small shops or businesses may open without even branding first, because they leap right into it. Also Glasgow is a big business city. People are always traveling in and out for conferences at the Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre (SECC). That area has also transformed into an amazing media hub for Scotland.”

citizenM says:stop by in Glasgow and stay in citizenM, a luxury feel for a budget price in the heart of Scotland.

citizenM’s staff are very open to talking about Glasgow and its secrets. I think that citizenM fits in Glasgow, there’s nothing else like it, offering a budget price with so much comfort and service.

The waterfront has been one of the biggest transformations over the past nine or ten years. The majority of the industry along the river has been wiped out. As you move outwards from the city centre, the waterfront has been transformed from worn-out industry into hotels, museums, modern apartment blocks and concert halls.

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Trongate103 opened around the same time as citizenM Glasgow and shares a lot of the same artistic ethos. It’s modern, creative and inclusive. Put it on your radar for your stay; it’s a great experience, showing off different aspects of the local art scene. There’s also a growing craft/art/indie shopping scene, fronted by little boutiques like Made In The Shade. It’s great to see designers and product makers uniting rather than competing. Glasgow also has a very supportive music scene. Locals check out music regularly, be it arena pop or traditional folk music in a pub. There’s nothing anywhere in the world like seeing a homegrown band at Barrowland, but for a peak into the hearty underground, check out Stereo and Mono (which also secretly hosts the best little shop in town for new vinyl and CDs).

Just be open, Glaswegians want to hear your story as well as telling their own. They want to hear what you’re doing and why you’re here. Be open to chatting. Don’t fear the natives or their dialect.

In the West End you can wander Byres Road and Great Western Road, feeling pretty satisfied with the shopping on offer – from bars and cafes to record shops and clothing. But if you want to find the real treats, you need to look behind the scenes. Down little alleys like Cresswell Lane, Otago Lane and Dowanside Lane, you’ll find the real charms. Little restaurants, craft shops, designer boutiques, vintage clothes and jewellery, second hand book stores overflowing with pulp… It’s enriching, but unless you know they’re there, you just walk right past.

The coffee scene really exploded the past few years, so you have all the bigger chains represented. But for something local with a bit more design chic, I would recommend Tinderbox. They have two shops (West End and Centre). It’s very good quality coffee and a nice place to relax or people-watch. If you want to grab a great meal, try Ashton Lane in the West End. Again, it’s a little bit hidden away (just off Byres Road), but once there, you’re faced with a mouth watering selection of cosy bars and restaurants, ranging from super-expensive Scottish cuisine, to exotic burgers and fair-priced curries. Glasgow can guarantee some of the best Indian food in Britain, you know.

Glasgow is an architectural paradise, from the designs of Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson – which inspired Frank Lloyd Wright – to the new steel and glass structures now found along the river, to the 15th century ‘old city’, and the surprisingly delicate ornamentation that adorns the otherwise ominous stone buildings that tower over city centre streets. A short walk away from citizenM is Mackintosh’s  Glasgow School of Art building, which recently topped a poll as ‘best British building of the past 175 years’. From the outside you see the strong but delicate balance between stone, glass and ironwork, but inside, there’s this beautiful dark wooden interior, designed and crafted so precisely. It’s still breathtaking after 110 years.

Located in the midst of its theatre district, Glasgow is booming with architectural, cultural attractions and shopping all within walking distance of citizenM hotel. The bustling streets in and around the area offer a wide variety of restaurants, bars and cafés for you to enjoy a cup of coffee, glass of wine or one of the many Scottish Malt Whiskys. With a number of museums, parks, festivals and sporting events throughout the year, not to mention the best shopping outside London, Glasgow has something for everyone.

Swimming in culture, drowning in text. This native Glaswegian has been immersed in Amsterdam’s arts and entertainment scene for seven years. Writing for newspapers, magazines, guidebooks and websites, he’s explored the city’s music, art, film and alternative scenes, now returning to independence to launch his own publication with Canadian graphic designer Russell Joyce. Unfold Amsterdam pairs critical content with original event poster art by local artists, highlighting the best of what’s on in Amsterdam via some funky print folding and a growing website.

One of the most important things about Glasgow is that the old and the new stand side by side. citizenM is located right next to an old fashioned theatre (Theatre Royal). On the other side is a very modern media building. Glasgow is very open to all these dramatic contrasts.