Dakota

Stayrd on the lazy Sunday deal Wow, great value for money and excellent service and food. Will defo use again.

Although I have no idea what this place is doing in the middle of an industrial estate by a motorway, I love it.
The atmosphere is dark and salubrious, warm, and comfortable, The rooms are very comfy, cosy and above all else… quiet.
Staff are helpful and friendly. The food is exemplary, but the steak portions are huge.
The Eggs Benedict is perfect. They also serve regular tea. By that I mean that they do not ask what flavour tea you would like when asked for tea. You just get tea. Ideal.
I love it here. I will deduct a star as there doesn’t seem to be any reason to build a hotel in this odd spot. I couldn’t even find a nearby walk.

Just back from a night here so I thought I’d write up a review while it was very fresh in my mind! We booked here for a night away — a mini holiday, if you will. Booking was simple though the website and we went for the Friday night deal — complimentary cocktail each, £20 each off the dinner bill and breakfast for £119. We upgraded from the double room to a superior room, but it’s worth noting that the website doesn’t actually tell you what the difference is and I’m not actually sure the room seemed any more superior than a standard room.
I’m not really a fan of the hotel from the outside — I think it looks like an IT business. Inside though, it is super slick, modern and classy. There has been a lot of work put into the décor and we spent a good amount of time over lunch talking about how cool it is. There’s free wifi throughout, both the rooms and the public areas which is handy. I’ll try to split my review up into easy to manage parts from here on in.
The bar:
We ate in the bar for lunch — a lot of the meals are also starters on the evening menu so it was a good way of trying as much of the menu as possible. I had the lemon sole goujons which came with chips. Some of the best chips I’ve ever eaten, they were so good they even overshadowed the goujons which seemed a little bland by comparison. I also started on the cocktail menu and loved everything I had — they can do cocktails off menu as well, and this one was the only one I found a little disappointing. I like my espresso martinis on the sweeter side and this was definitely savoury but still pleasant enough.
The bar was a really nice place to sit and have a drink and we found ourselves back down here before dinner. There’s lots of nice nooks, couches and cushions so you can have a good chat with your beloved without feeling like there’s other people too close by.
The restaurant:
Adjacent to the bar is the restaurant which again, has the same great design elements as well as comfortable arm chairs at the tables. The tables were all nicely spaced out so you weren’t right by another table — maybe if it was full this would be an issue. I did have to ask to switch seats with Graeme though as there was an air con blowing right on my back, he didn’t seem to mind.
The menu is impressive and I was interested to see if the dishes would live up to their luscious description. I had hand dived scallops with chive butter and pea shoots (£12.50) and then the 9 oz fillet of Scotch beef for main with bearnaise and a side of sprouting broccoli hollandaise (£29.95).
The scallops were really small so I was a little disappointed when they arrived, but that went away when I tasted how good they were. Succulent, juicy and sweet, the chive butter was a great sauce to go with it and possibly a few more pea shoots would’ve been nice.
The steak was also great — not the best steak I’ve ever eaten but still damn good. It did cool down really quickly, possibly because of the cold plates but apart from that I really can’t complain. Again, I was really impressed by the chips (chunky cut this time) but when they cooled down they lost their lovely crunch.
I wasn’t going to get dessert but seeing passionfruit soufflé with coconut sorbet on the list blew my mind and I knew I had to have it. The waiter helpfully checked whether there was dairy in the dish so I ordered it, but I’m pretty sure it was served with a side of cream which was weird. The soufflé was lovely but really got far too sweet after about ¼ which was a shame — it needed that cream to cut through the sweetness but I couldn’t eat it. The sorbet was lovely but again very sugary sweet.
I also enjoyed that they served wines by the carafe so you could have ½ a bottle and then switch to something else — the rosé and albarino were both lovely.
Overall it was a very good meal with helpful and friendly service. The bill was a little more than we were expecting but probably all the cocktails and wine was to blame.
The hotel:
As I mentioned above, we paid for a superior room but I’m still not sure what the superior aspect was as it seemed standard — bed, ensuite. There wasn’t any couches, lounges and the size didn’t seem overly generous.
But apart from that, the room was perfect. A lovely leather bed which was super comfortable. The biggest pillow I’ve ever seen in my life. A couple of freshly baked cookies on the desk under a glass cloche. A good sized bathroom with a shower/​rainfall option and nice toiletries. The bed was super comfortable to sleep in and the doona/​duvet was light and warm at the same time. It was a little chilly in the room and even when we left the heating on it didn’t warm up a whole lot, and in the morning the bathroom was pretty chilly.
For a mini-​holiday close to Glasgow, I’d definitely return here as it really did feel like a proper holiday in a very romantic, cosy hotel.

The Dakota near Glasgow is a surprisingly nice hotel. The public areas and rooms are all nicely decorated in a modern, if rather dark, boutique style. The rooms have nice large flat-​screen TVs with plenty of channels, a big double bed and a nice bathroom with an excellent shower. I had dinner in the restaurant with some colleagues, and this was very good too, highly recommended. The post code doesn’t appear on most Sat Nav’s try ML1 4UF and look out for the hotel as you come off the M8 at the Eurocentral Junction: the hotel is visible just to the South East

I’ve read that some people think that this hotel is a little too dark, I’d call it atmospheric if they are talking about the lobby and if they are talking about their rooms — hello! there is a dimmer switch just turn it up!
Ok lets talk about the hotel
Service — brilliant. Staff very helpful and happy and willing to engage with the guests without being imposing.
Room — my only criticism is that you can’t open a window; I like fresh air and it is lacking in drawer space, everyone has pants and socks and so needs a drawer to put them in. Apart from that the room is very luxurious and well serviced.
Food — loved it and not too expensive.
Bar & Grill — I ordered room service which they forgot to cook but this was swiftly dealt with. The bar is well stocked and again the staff are engaging even though they are very, very busy.
Everything was great but if I had to pick the top 3 best bits, the receptionists were really helpful, the bar staff were probably the best I’ve experienced in a hotel in years and not forgetting those maids who looked after the room for me — they always get forgotten so I’m recognising you now!
Work are sending me back there next week and I can’t wait!

great rooms pure luxury with very pleasant staff food in restraunt very good

This place is fantastic. I went for a meal in it, the surroundings are very plush. I would say that it is a bit dark, but the menu is quite lavish. The food is fantastic, I had a terrine with picallili to start and a steak for the main course. Everything was cooked to perfection. It is a bit out of the way for public transport, but it is well worth a visit.

From the outside you think you will be walking into a classy hotel however, inside the décor is dark with dark painted brickwork and pipes going down walls and across the ceiling. I was very unimpressed wondering if they would ever get round to finishing the job. The seating area is comfortable enough and staff are friendly enough but when ordering a cup of coffee be prepared for a small cup half full of foam and the rest a strong espresso style coffee. The food menu was varied but there wasn’t anything for those of us who need to eat lighter and plainer meals. I didn’t even bother to check out the bedrooms. Not somewhere I would consider visiting again in a hurry.

The restaurant in The Dakota Hotel has a lovely atmosphere. The lighting is soft and relaxing. The décor and furnishings are luxurious without being OTT or giving off, You have to have loads of dosh to come here! sort of vibes! Staff are welcoming and attentive without popping up in the middle of your table conversations, fussing about and rushing you on to your next course! But hey! You’re going to eat here maybe somtime? The food is SUPERB!
The menu changes on a daily basis so that every crumb, lettuce leaf, ingredient, fruit and vegetable are oh so fresh! Sea food slithers its way to your plate via a chef who must be passionate about food and have much sought after culinery expertise! The oysters and sauce were ooh! la! la! whilst the smoked salmon with cream cheese etc. was delicious. Our aged sirloin steaks were tantalisingly tasteful and seductively succulent! Aged is not fresh but well hung meat is always best!
I left a hefty tip as our waitress thought we had done a runner when my son and I, being smokey joes went outside for a ciggy! Think I’m a soft touch? Well I am and proud of it! I just don’t think it’s fair that good, rushed off their feet staff have wages deducted if thieves abscond on the pretext of having a fag! This was the only thing that left a bad taste in my mouth about our evening — yes, the cigarette too! But, I will be back there with my partner to have a romantic meal and a bottle of wine, or two, so that we may linger longer in that ambient space that is the heart of The Dakota Hotel! CHEERS!