Holiday Inn Glasgow Theatreland Blog

The highly anticipated opening of Riverside Museum: Scotland’s Museums of Transport and Travel is getting closer with the news that the fabulous new facility opens to the public on 21 June 2011.

A “must visit” attraction for guests to Holiday Inn Glasgow Theatreland’s, well-loved Museum of Transport relocates to this spectacular waterfront landmark, the first major public building in the UK, to be designed by internationally-renowned architect, Zaha Hadid.

The dynamic new Riverside Museum will display Glasgow’s rich industrial heritage, which stems from the River Clyde.  The Tall Ship will be berthed alongside the Museum, creating a fantastic experience in this stunning setting.

Visitors will be able to relax and enjoy the riverside views in the Museum’s café, and take home gifts from the Museum’s shop.

I was privileged to attend the Scotland Pakistan Network dinner which took place in Holiday Inn Theatreland Glasgow last night (Thursday 10 March).

The event was sponsored by HSBC, and the guest speaker was Mrs Seema Aziz. One of Pakistan’s leading Entrepreneurs, Seema is Chief Executive of Bareeze which with over three decades of commitment to quality, is today, a recognized brand for quality products internationally. Seema however, is also Chairman of the CARE Foundation , which works tirelessly to improve the lives of children and I’m sure the 100 guests who also attended the event will agree with me when I say that this inspirational lady really left us with a lot to think about!

Mark J Platt
General Manager – Holiday Inn Glasgow Theatreland

Find out more the CARE foundation and there work – CARE foundation

A New Adventures Production by arrangement with Glasgow Theatres and Re:Bourne

In a unique collaboration with the Theatre Royal Glasgow, Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures returns with a powerful new dance theatre adaptation based on the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding.

In this new dance adaptation the action is transferred from deserted island to deserted theatre. A group of schoolboys find themselves abandoned. With no adults around they start to create their own rules and to build their own civilization. As time passes, the rituals become more disturbing as dark superstitions take hold. Order finally breaks down and blood is spilt as Ralph, Piggy, Jack and the boys grapple with the ‘beast within’ and the story builds to its thrilling climax.

With a cast of New Adventures dancers and local young people, Golding’s iconic characters are brought to life with raw energy, emotional intensity and electrifying performances. Chilling, beautiful and hugely entertaining, the piece will enthral die-hard Bourne fans as much as a generation of new audiences.

Lord of the flies

Wednesday 2nd – Saturday 5th March

Wed – Sat eves 7.30pm

Thu & Sat mats 2.30pm

Tickets: £10 – £26

Box Office: 08448 717 647 (bkg fee)

www.ambassadortickets.com/glasgow (online bkg fee)

Accommodation Packages

If you are coming from further out why not make a night of it and stay over at the Holiday Inn Glasgow Theatreland.

– Wednesday 2nd and Thursday 3rd – only £125 per couple

– Thursday 4th and Friday 5th – only £135 per couple

Included is:

- 2 tickets to Lord of the Flies
- Stay in one of our recently re-designed guestrooms
- Full Scottish breakfast the following morning

To book call 0141 352 8303

Saturday 12 February, 2011

La Bonne Auberge Glasgow and the RSNO have teamed up to offer you the perfect Valentine’s combination of dinner and a concert for just £36.95 per person.  Tables for your special pre-concert dinner (including a glass of wine) at La Bonne Auberge (Glasgow Theareland) are reserved for 5pm and the Romantic Valentine’s Classics concert at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall starts at 7.30pm.  If you would like to take advantage of this fantastic offer, please call La Bonne Auberge on 0141 352 8310, quoting RSNO Valentine’s Offer.

This offer is available for you to buy now, but they are also offering the chance for one lucky couple to win this special Valentine’s Dinner and Concert package for free as a prize in our Valentine’s Competition, which will soon be launched on the RSNO’s Facebook and Twitter sites.  If you want to be in with a chance of winning, then join them on Facebook www.facebook.com/royalscottishnationalorchestra or follow them on Twitter www.twitter.com/RSNO and keep an eye out for the competition announcement.

To round off its 35^th birthday year in grand style, La Bonne Auberge, Glasgow’s original French Mediterranean brasserie, has been recognised at the prestigious Scottish Licensed Trade News awards.

At a glittering ceremony in the Glasgow Hilton, La Bonne Auberge beat off scores of rivals to win the coveted Wine Award, which is awarded to the bar or restaurant which most effectively, but responsibly, promotes wines of the world, to its customers.

The judges were particularly impressed by La Bonne Auberge’s use of social media to heighten the profile of both the restaurant and the wine expertise therein, which generated increased levels of business. There was also praise for the creation of the Wi(ne)tworking Club, which is a favourite with the business community, as it allows them to informally develop new business contacts, whilst learning more about different wines from all across the globe, in the tutored wine tastings led by La Bonne Auberge restaurant manager, Sean Simpson.

Denis MacCann, General Manager of La Bonne Auberge comments;

“I believe this is a worthy win for our hard working team here, and a testament to the owner, Maurice Taylor, who for 35 years, has engendered in his team that good food can be even better enjoyed, when it is accompanied by the correct wine.”

Tickets are selling fast for the forthcoming Crystal Ball Gazing evening, in aid of The Beatston Pebble Appeal, at the award winning La Bonne Auberge brasserie in Glasgow.

On Friday 28 January 2011, the restaurant  is hosting its annual Psychic Evening, when diners will not only be able to enjoy a fabulous 2 course meal with coffee, but also find out what 2011 has in store.  Throughout the evening, which starts at 6.30pm, renound Scottish Spiritualist, Ricky Martin will circulate amongst diners and offer messages from the spirit world, and for some, an insight into the year ahead.

Tickets for the event cost £24.95 and include a glass of wine on arrival, as well as a mouth watering 2 course meal plus coffee.  Proceeds from the evening will be donated to the Beatson Pebble Appeal, which has been nominated by La Bonne Auberge as its charity for 2011.

Those wishing to purchase the last remaining tickets for this event may do so by contacting La Bonne Auberge on 0141 352 8303 or emailing

theatreland@labonneauberge.co.uk.

PSYCHIC EVENING MENU

Supreme of chicken with red onion and Madeira sauce

Sticky toffee pudding

Freshly Brewed Tea or Coffee served with Tablet

Glasgow is blessed with a huge array of cinema venues, from multiplexes to independent theatres, two of which are within a short walk of the Holiday Inn Glasgow and La Bonne Auberge restaurant.

Before or indeed after lunch or pre theatre dining at La Bonne Auberge, the multi-screen Cineworld, which is located directly across the road from the Glasgow restaurant and which opened as one of the largest cinema complexes in Europe, offers a huge choice of films for all the family members, throughout the year.

And for lovers of independent film, the Glasgow Film Theatre (or the GFT, as it’s affectionately known by Glaswegians) offers the chance t o enjoy the best of UK and World independent films.  Located close to the restaurant, in the city’s Rose Street, The GFT’s predecessor, the Cosmo, opened with 850 seats in the same building in 1934, and was Scotland’s first  ever arts cinema. In 1953, the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was broadcast live – the first television performance in a Glasgow cinema.

One of the biggest attractions in Glasgow is the annual Glasgow carnival, which takes place over the festive season…this year, the Carnival celebrates its 90^th year, and there is still time to enjoy all the fun of the fair!

Open until 16th January 2011, SECC in the city plays host once again to the spectacular day out for all the family…..Traditional rides including waltzers, dodgems, and a ghost train so good, it’s frightening are all there, as are a variety of thrill rides which are certainly not for the faint hearted!

With prices starting from just £10, and a great family pass available (and under 3s go free), log into www.ticketsoup.com for full details.

If you are visiting Glasgow this Christmas the Glasgow carnival should not be missed and with our hotel in Glasgow being easily accessible for the SECC by either train, subway or is around a 30 minute walk.

We are proud to announce that our sister brand won the title of  ‘Hotel brand of the year award’ at this year’s Eurpoean Hotel Design Awards. The awards took place in London as part of the Sleep Event, Europe’s top hotel conference and awards.

Another reason for us to be proud is due to the award winning designers being residents of Glasgow, and as with all/most Glaswegians we are very proud of our city and the accomplishments of Glasgow residents. The Glasgow based Ica Architects were among the award winners for their global prototype design for Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG), the world’s largest hotelier. The design was part of IHG’s re-launch of the successful Holiday Inn Express brand.

Ica Architects said: “For a Glasgow practice to design a global hotel brand was a great honour and this award is confirmation that all the best designers are not based in London”

Holiday Inn Express award winning design - Doubleroom

The Celtic Connections festival started in 1994 in Glasgow, Scotland, to fill a scheduling gap in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall’s normally quiet post-Christmas period. Artists who have appeared at the festival in the past include Joan Baez, Bob Geldof, Clannad, Capercaillie, Sinéad O’Connor, Shane MacGowan, Runrig, Eddi Reader, Evelyn Glennie, Carlos Núñez, Dougie MacLean, Billy Bragg, k.d. lang, Steve Earle, Idlewild, Teenage Fanclub, Snow Patrol and many more.

The festival celebrates the strength and vibrancy of the current Scottish folk scene with performances by young trailblazers as well as revered veterans. Lau, Treacherous Orchestra, The Unusual Suspects,Dick Gaughan, Tannahill Weavers, Malinky, Michael Marra and Emily Smith will all perform in Glasgow in January, and the festival will throw a 20th birthday party for Fiddlers’ Bid.

Every January, Celtic Connections attracts some of the biggest names in folk, roots and traditional music to Glasgow and so, in a major coup for the city, Celtic Connections will stage the first ever live European broadcast of flagship US radio programme Mountain Stage, featuring the legendary gospel singer Mavis Staples. Having been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, picked up a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and featured in Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Singers of All Time, Staples is one of the most celebrated gospel singers of our time.

Celtic Connections also looks to the future of the Scottish folk scene with The Future of Our Past Goes Large featuring students of the RSAMD and the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year Final.

The first festival took place in just one venue attracting around 32,000 people to attend. In 2011, 1500 artists will take part in 300 events, across 14 venues from 13-30 January and all this is expected to be enjoyed by an audience of over  100,000!

View the Celtic Connections 2011 line up.

The Holiday Inn Glasgow Theatreland hotel is situated just minutes from many of the Celtic Connections venues and so provides the ideal Celtic Connections accomodation for those cming from further afield.