Glasgow’s Grand Central Hotel: Glasgow’s most loved hotel

Authors: Jill Scott and Bill Hicks

Glamour, drama, fame, stars, food, travel, romance, menus, weddings, kitchens, life above and below stairs, parties, chandeliers, autograph hunters, music and dance, pianos and art deco décor, board meetings and AGMs, fancy dresses and ballrooms – Glasgow’s Grand Central Hotel has it all and more.

Written by journalists Jill Scott and Bill Hicks, with an introduction by Alex Salmond, this book provides a tantalising glimpse of the Grand Central Hotel’s past and present through the stories of some of the people, ordinary and famous, who have worked in the hotel, stayed as guests or simply passed through its doors on a fleeting visit.

The many illustrations in Glasgow’s Grand Central Hotel include pictures of people’s personal mementoes as well as wonderful images, old and new, documenting the development of the hotel from its beginnings in 1883 as Glasgow’s railway station hotel at Central Station to the bustling presence it has today.

The railway and the businesses surrounding the station, including the Central Hotel, have helped shape Glasgow throughout the years, but also how the new Grand Central Hotel is contributing to Glasgow’s lifeblood today. Images of the new 186-bedroomed Grand Central Hotel, refurbished and opened again in January 2011, adorn this book including pictures of Europe’s longest chandelier which hangs down the stairwell of the main staircase and the new Champagne Bar that overlooks Central Station.

Read about:

• the rich and famous stars and celebrities who stayed and dined in the hotel including Charlton Heston, Sacha Distel, Laurel and Hardy, Roy Rogers and his horse Trigger, Bob Hope, Mae West, and Winston Churchill
• the exploits of celebrity seekers and autograph-hunters
• John Logie Baird’s first long-distance television transmission from London to a receiver in a room in the hotel.
• the weddings and functions that took place in the hotel and some of the people who attended them.
• and much, much more.

Trimmed Page Size: 255 x 260mm. Paperback. 160 pages. Weight: 250g Date of publication: Published and available