"A party palace with cool cocktails": Glasgow hotel hailed as best place to stay in the city

A luxury boutique hotel in a landmark building in the Merchant City has been included on The Times’ annual best places to stay in the UK list for 2025. The travel guide describes the 28-room flamboyant destination as “fast becoming one of the city’s coolest hangouts”.

The Glasgow hotel opened in April 2024, five years after the first House of Gods in Edinburgh. A glitzy London outpost in Canary Wharf is to follow in autumn this year. Describing the hotel, the review says: “everything is dimly lit, with lots of fake foliage, gold accents and dark wood. Decor is fun: a Greek goddess statue rises out of a copper bath tub; brass monkeys crawl across tables.”

The ground-floor cocktail bar, inspired by the Orient Express, is described as “a riot of gold-and-brown tiger-print velvet chairs and fake palms, along with a giant metal gorilla statue. The drinks menu looks more like a copy of Vogue, with supermodels and their mottoes on each page alongside artfully shot cocktails.”

The Secret Garden rooftop bar is recommended for its small a la carte breakfast menu and small plate all-day dining menu with meatballs, burrata, flatbreads and charcuterie boards.

The Times 100 Best Places to Stay in the UK for 2025 list

Curated by The Times’ expert travel writers, the annual list celebrates the very best hotels across the UK, and focuses on the things that really matter; hotels with the essentials of comfort, great service and value, as well as personality and warmth.

The Torridon, the UK’s most northerly 5* hotel, was named as the best hotel in Scotland, impressing the judges with its preserved, yet stylish interiors, restorative "green therapy" experiences, including hiking, sea kayaking and loch snorkeling, alongside its panoramic surroundings and stag-filled forest surroundings overlooking Loch Torridon.

The hotel's fine dining restaurant, 1887 and expertly curated Whisky Bar, playing host to 365 whiskies, were also singled out for praise, making the hotel a destination for wellness in the wilderness, relaxation and indulgence.

The Torridon’s General Manager, Ross Aitchison commented: “We are incredibly honoured to be the Scottish winner for The Times and The Sunday Times Best Places to Stay 2025. This recognition is a testament to our team’s dedication to creating unforgettable experiences for our guests, and we are delighted to be listed among the UK’s most remarkable hotels.”

The Torridon was originally built as a hunting lodge in the 1860s by the first Earl of Lovelace, William King-Noel and was finally completed in 1887. Fast forward to today and The Torridon is owned by Dan and Rohaise Rose-Bristow who have since meticulously restored and lovingly reimagined the building into a one-of-a-kind boutique hotel with a deep respect for its surroundings. Guests can choose from 18 uniquely designed rooms and suites in the main hotel, and a further 12 in the Stables.

Home to two restaurants, 1887 and Bo & Muc, The Torridon champions seasonal produce, farm to fork dining and traditional Scottish flavours. Set amidst the Scottish Highlands, guests can experience an array of outdoor activities including guided tours of lochs and glens, stargazing experiences, clay pigeon shooting, sea kayaking, mountain biking and archery.

Other winners from the list included:

• Saltmoore, North Yorkshire — Best beach hotel
• New Park Manor, Hampshire — Best family-friendly hotel
• Beaverbrook, Surrey — Best blow-the-budget hotel
• The Rose, Kent — Best boutique hotel
• The Angel Hotel, Monmouthshire — Best foodie hotel
• Gleneagles, Perth and Kinross — Best hotel for sports
• 100 Princes Street, Edinburgh — Best city hotel
• SeaSpace, Cornwall — Best affordable hotel
• Bull, Oxfordshire — Best romantic hotel
• The Pig in the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire — Best countryside hotel
• TheKirkstyle Inn, Northumberland — Best pub stay
• Broadwick Soho, London — Disruptor of the year
• The Beaumont Mayfair, London — The one to watch

The entry for the best place to stay in Glasgow says: “In central Glasgow’s Merchant City is House of Gods, a flamboyant boutique hotel fast becoming one of the city’s coolest hangouts. It opened in April 2024, five years after the first House of Gods in Edinburgh in 2019; a London outpost, in Canary Wharf, is to follow in autumn 2025.

“This five-storey, red-brick party palace is a like-it-or-leave-it spot: everything is dimly lit, with lots of fake foliage, gold accents and dark wood. Decor is fun: a Greek goddess statue rises out of a copper bath tub; brass monkeys crawl across tables.

“Rooms have naughty red lighting over the (often four-poster) beds, and guests ring a little bell for prosecco or milk and cookies at bedtime, brought by smiley young staff. It’s unsurprisingly adults-only, but affordable with it — and breakfast is included.”

House of Gods, 65 Glassford St, Glasgow G1 1UP