Grand Central Hotel (Glasgow)

The Grand Central Hotel (usually known by locals by its original name the Central Hotel) is a large 4-star hotel in the centre of Glasgow, Scotland.

Grand Central Hotel
Central Hotel viewed from south Gordon Street, Glasgow
General information
Location	Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Coordinates	55°51′35″N 4°15′29″W
Opening	1883 (1883)
Owner	Principal Hotel Company
Design and construction
Architect	Robert Rowand Anderson
Other information
Number of restaurants	2
Website
www.phcompany.com/principal/glasgow-grand-central-hotel/

The hotel forms the front of the Glasgow Central railway station on Gordon Street, directly adjoining onto the station concourse. It was one of Glasgow's most prestigious hotels in its heyday, hosting residents as famous as Frank Sinatra and Winston Churchill.

It was originally designed by Robert Rowand Anderson, in 'Queen Anne style'; he also furnished the public rooms.[1] The hotel was completed in 1883, but was extended along with the station in 1901–1906.[1] The hotel extension was designed by James Miller and it opened on 15 April 1907.[1] The world's first long-distance television pictures were transmitted to the Central Hotel in the station, on 24 May 1927 by John Logie Baird.[2]

Following the break-up of British Transport Hotels in the early 1980s, the hotel was sold in 1983 and passed through the hands of various private operators until The Real Hotel Company plc was forced into administration in February 2009, and the hotel subsequently closed amid concerns of asbestos contamination and structural deterioration.

In June 2009, it was revealed that Principal Hayley Group had acquired the hotel. They refurbished it and re-opened it as the Grand Central Hotel on 9 September 2010.[3][4] Together with the rest of Glasgow Central railway station, the hotel is protected as a category A listed building.[5]