A Mini-break in Glasgow at CitizenM Hotel

I’ll be honest, I don’t know how to start this. What a week it’s been. And more personally I’ve had pretty rough time over the past few weeks. This seems to be the general state with most people at the moment. The reason I’ve felt so rotten is because I started back on pain medication I hadn’t been taking due to pregnancy and then breastfeeding. When I first started duloxitine (it’s an anti-depressant but can work remarkably well for nerve pain too) several years ago, I was ok but this time it’s been awful, absolutely dreadful. I think I had every side effect possible. I’m only just starting to feel a bit better now. 

I always said that when I stopped breastfeeding I’d love to spend a night away in a hotel with just my husband and after reading Amber’s post on her micro-break in Edinburgh I was even more determined to have a bit of time out. Breastfeeding has been one of the most rewarding things I have ever done but my god is it hard. Doubly so because I was on reduced medication throughout. So when I was offered the chance to stay at CitizenM hotel in Glasgow* last Sunday you best believe I was taking them up on the offer. 

I love Glasgow. I spent most of my weekends as a teenager there shopping at the eclectic Virginia Galleries (does anyone else remember them?). It was full of independent traders with some of the most amazing vintage clothing and shoes such as Mr Ben’s which is still in business today. If I wasn’t shopping I was going to gigs at the Barras (otherwise known as the Barrowlands), or King Tut’s or some other smaller venue. Glasgow is still a favourite of mine and you’ll certainly not be short of things to do and see in Glasgow. There’s stunning art galleries like the GOMA or Kelvingrove, an array of restaurants and cafes, the thriving music scene to check out or of course the shopping. Glasgow is without doubt one of my most favourite cities. At times we can forget to appreciate what we have right next to us. 

Staying in Glasgow

First up is the hotel I stayed at. CitizenM hotel is in the centre of Glasgow on Renfrew Street. There’s no car park specifically for this hotel but we parked in one just around the corner that cost us less than a tenner for 24 hours stay. Checking in is super quick but if you do run into trouble there’s staff on hand to help out. There was a choice of rooms available and we (or I) decided to go as high as possible. The rooms themselves are small but use the space amazingly well. There’s no ironing table in the rooms to save space for example, but there are ironing rooms available at the end of the hall. While the rooms may be small the bed is HUGE and incredibly comfortable. And the power rain shower is amazing! So despite it’s compactness it feels pretty luxurious. This is also seen in the selection of free movies to watch, usually the free selection is pretty poor in hotels but there’s an excellent mix here. We picked Hail, Caesar! but having no toddler to pester us meant we crashed out before it finished. An iPad controls the tv, ambient room lights, the temperature, etc. You can even set the ambient lights depending what mood you’re in, a nice touch I think. I was most impressed with the wall to wall window though. You get an amazing view from the room over Glasgow’s skyline. It looked amazing at night with the low waning moon casting a slight glow across the buildings.

Eating out in Glasgow 

In the evening, after we had pastries and tea in CitizenM’s canteen, we planned to go to Bread Meats Bread but holy hell was it packed. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise though as we discovered one of the wonderful new restaurants in Glasgow called Chaakoo Bombay Cafe. The interior is inspired by cafes that were opened by Persian and Iranian immigrants to India during the 19th century. It just looks amazing. The staff are very friendly and helpful too. Of course though it’s all about the food really. Everything is served up in small portions which I love as you can then have lots and lots of different dishes to try. You can have a look at the all day menu here but they have an assortment of curries, side dishes, naans, and food from the grill. I went for the korma and garlic chicken with jeera rice and peshwari naan while my husband chose tarka daal, keema matar, kachumber (a salad with cucumber, onion and tomato) and seekh kebab (you can see the photos below). All of which were amazing, we wiped the plates clean. Then for desserts I had two scoops of ice cream: one turkish delight and the other pistachio, my husband had a coconut milkshake. By that point we were well an truly stuffed so no cocktails this time. Chaakoo is an amazing restaurant, if you don’t fancy a full meal there you can still pop in and use the bar. 

When we got back to CitizenM I decided there was indeed enough room for cocktails. After pregnancy and breastfeeding I think it’s only right I should have some cocktails. The bar staff were very helpful and friendly telling us if there wasn’t a cocktail that appealed on the menu he’d make anything we liked. I went for a Bramble and my husband left it for the barman to decide for him, he ended up with a lime daiquiri. We lounged on the very comfortable couches in one of the many public spaces in the hotel. There’s even a corner kitted out with Apple Macs for use. It wasn’t long after this we both conked out while watching Hail,Caesar!

I loved having a short break in Glasgow staying at the CitizenM Hotel. Having micro-breaks either with someone you love or just by yourself is definitely something to consider. After having a rough few weeks it really helped to just take some time out and also to reconnect with my husband. I think people can underestimate just how much impact having a child will have and it’s so important to spend time with your partner away from the family setting, even for a small amount of time. It’s a pretty shitty old world at the moment so do take time to look after yourself and I can’t recommend highly enough taking these small breaks every now and then if you can. I’ll certainly be trying to do it more.

Do you think you’ll try to have a micro-break?

*Hotel accommodation was paid for but all thoughts my own