I enjoyed the best Scottish hospitality of my life at a hotel in Cumbernauld

If you asked me at the start of this year where I would experience the best hospitality of 2025, I never would have said a hotel in Cumbernauld.

The Westerwood is a 4-star hotel, spa resort, and golf course a short drive off the M80. It has a huge range of facilities and offerings - including but not limited to: two restaurants, an 18-hole golf course, a health suite complete with; a gym, swimming pool, jacuzzi, sauna and steam room, a range of different luxury rooms, and seven events spaces.

As a food and drink writer you can very quickly become accustomed to great hospitality - Glasgow has so much of it that our expectations are pretty high when it comes to luxurious spots like the Westerwood. So to say I was blown away by the service, hospitality, and sheer opulence of the hotel is no small statement.

The facilities are second to none in North Lanarkshire, and for my money, beat out even 4-star hotels in Glasgow itself. Coming from North Lanarkshire, I have no notion of staying in a hotel here - my view of local hotels before my stay at the Westerwood were the huge chains around Eurocentral - and it’s not hard to say that the Westerwood knocks Premier Inn out of the park.

What made the experience for me overall was the staff. Any multi-million pound corporation can buy a building on some pretty ground, stick some beds in some rooms and call it a hotel - but the training and experience of the staff really shocked me with the level it was operating at.

Every aspect of the service from reception to the restaurants to the spa was perfectly organised, friendly, and incredibly accommodating. Absolutely everything was accounted for and served with a smile.

Never before have I received such a level of service from a hotel - beating out 4-star hotels I’ve stayed in across Amsterdam, Egypt, and Spain in recent years.

It’s hard to fault the hotel on anything - our stay was perfect. We had an overnight in a double room on Friday, May 16. The suite was absolutely spotless, and complete with two televisions between the sitting and bedroom, a standalone bathtub and shower, and an incredibly comfortable double bed.

Following a 25-minute neck, back, and shoulder massage upon arrival at the hotel, an hour long dip in the pool, sauna, and steam room facilities, followed by a hearty meal from the restaurant, I must have slept for at least 11 hours - a personal record this year to be sure.

My favourite part of the stay had to be the meal we enjoyed for dinner at the Flemings Restaurant. Set within a conservatory-style room with huge windows overlooking the golf course - it was a perfect experience capturing the early evening sun.

The waiting staff were incredibly well-trained and personable - and the food from the kitchen was unlike any meal I’ve had in Lanarkshire beforehand.

The chefs prepared for us: Duck Liver Parfait with apple and cinnamon granola on toasted and Grilled Goats Cheese on a bed of giant cous cous for starters. Then a 10oz Ribeye Steak served rare with truffle dressed leaves and thick-cut chips and a Fillet of Seabass served with potato gnocchi in a saffron mussel sauce.

The highlight had to be the seabass, it truly was incredible in the delicate saffron sauce, but every piece of the menu is sourced from seasonal Scottish produce. It really was the tops.

After dinner we enjoyed some cocktails in the lounge area. It’s a very warm friendly space around the bar inhabited by a diverse range of folks; from people attending conferences, holidayers from abroad and even some locals. I believe if local people are choosing to drink at a hotel in their area it’s a mark of real prestige.

Our experience in the spa was also incredible. The staff are great at what they do, as well as talking you through the whole process. In addition to a neck, back and shoulder massage upon arrival, upon departing from the hotel we underwent a ‘Rhassoul Spa Experience’.

Rhassoul is a 30-minute treatment in which you slather yourself with mud and sit in a steam room before washing yourself off in a cold drench shower. This was a bit intense for me. For someone that’s never been to a spa before in their life it was all a bit much - though my skin does feel great now and I’m sure it would appeal to health and wellbeing fans.

I would strongly recommend a stay at the Glasgow Westerwood - it makes for a perfect summer staycation. It’s only a 20-minute drive from the city and I can honestly say it may have been one of the most relaxing experiences of my life.

They have a lot of booking options currently on offer; packages which include spa treatments, rounds of golf, and more at varying price ranges. Currently the hotel is offering 25% off bookings until June 30 - you can find more information by clicking here.

You can also take a quick virtual tour including some highlights from our stay by checking out the photographs below!