Decent hotel between Glasgow and Edinburgh

[andirobobo]

We are off on hols in August and want to break the journey somewhere between Glasgow and Edinburgh - we are off to St Andrews area.

Possible routes involve the M74 and then turn right towards Edinburgh. Alternative is to take the scenic route to Edinburgh on the A road.

So far I have identified Motherwell or Peebles - to give an idea of approx area. Needs to be about another 1.5 to 1.45 hours drive to St Andrews. Would prefer somewhere where we can spend the morning exploring!

Any good ideas / recommendations out there - from other travellers or locals. We have an 8 and 3 year old to entertain!

Thanks!

There is absolutely nothing worth seeing in Motherwell. Peebles on the other hand, is quite lovely.

Well I apparently stayed in Peebles when I was about 5 or 6 at the Hydro - not sure what it is like though? Trip advisor is against it!

In Scotland there are 'hydro' hotels that are generally family-friendly resorts (we're off to Crieff Hydro soon, too far north for you but having been there I'm assuming others are similar).

So there's Peebles Hydro that might be nice to stop off at - possibly pricey though, they are usually more 'short break' type destinations to make use of facilities rather than a one-nighter.

There's also the Macdonald Cardrona hotel (again poss more £) at Peebles.

If you're going A1 route, there are 2 other Macdonald hotels that might suit - the one near North Berwick, and Houston House. Not looked at how child-friendly Houston House might be, but was considering the North Berwick hotel at one point - it's not far from the National Museum of Flight (and Concord!) which might appeal to 8yo and 3yo, depending on their tastes... but equally it's more of a day out, rather than a morning. However North Berwick has a pretty beach, so worth a potter there anyway.

Motherwell is not countryside, like Peebles - allthough a quicker route to drive (ie up M74 rather than slow/scenic route). There are hotels in Strathclyde country park (Express by Holiday Inn) but not sure whether it's worth a morning's exploration or not as I've not been there...

I've not stayed in any of these hotels though, just contemplated the North Berwick one...

Worth using Laterooms to help identify hotels - you can put your desired area and it will bring up various hotels; there are reviews on that site too.

Oh, but in case you are at all swayed by thinking Macdonald hotels are swish, AVOID the one at Grangemouth (Inchyra Grange). Had a work meeting there a couple of years ago and although the hotel perhaps struggled to be good (I think service etc was good) it was dated and the surroundings leave a LOT to be desired!

(oh, and just realised Laterooms is crap for North Berwick and Peebles hotels, google would be better!!)

I looked at the Cardrona and the Marine in N Berwick for a meeting a couple of years ago. We used the Cardrona in the end, which was fine for a meeting but possibly a bit limited for a stay with children. The Marine seemed lovely, and there is much more for kids locally.

I have also used the The Westerwood near Cumbernauld, which was nice. Quite close to the Falkirk wheel, if you need soemthing to do.

However, I am struggling a bit with your geography tbh - it is not that far from Glasgow or Edinburgh to St Andrews, so are you actually wanting something much further south? Which part of the UK will you be travelling from?

Well dont blame me, blame DH! We went to Kinross a few years ago for a wedding and stayed in Dumfries the night before and had a lovely evening. So when I booked the holiday property he suggested a stop over again.

We are coming from Livepool - which is only 3.5 hours to Glasgow, and then another 2.5 hours from there - a total journey time of 5.5 to 6 hours. Kiddies are 8 and 3 and not the best trvellers and we cant get into property until 3pm.

I kind of thought if I was staying somewhere it would have to be like an additional day to the hols, otherwise we may as well stay in a travelodge type place for £30!

I always prefer to just get to my final destination when travelling with children.

You could leave home early in the morning and stop for a few hours to arrive in St Andrews for 3pm. Or just get there early and enjoy a lovely lunch or go to the beach.

However if you want to extend your holiday you could either spend the day in Glasgow itself and go on a city tour. Loads of good city hotels. Detour slightly north to Loch Lomond (Cameron House Hotel) then continue to St Andrews via Stirling. Or even stay in Stirling itself and travel to St Andrews via A91. This takes about 1.5 hours so plenty time to explore the Castle etc.

Even if you travel direct I would stay away from Edinburgh and the Forth Road Bridge. Either go via Stirling or use the Kincardine Bridge.

What about stopping over in Edinburgh itself ,the most beautiful city in Britain, loads of stuff to do, then an easy trip over the Forth road bridge before 3pm

This place is reasonable and dead central on the royal mile
www.ibishotel.com/gb/hotel-2039-ibis-edinburgh-centre/index.shtml
Plenty of time to visit the castle in the morning before heading off

There's a few hotels in Strathclyde Park (bordering Motherwell and directly of the M74) next to the lake and Theme Park, Bowling etc. If your travelling with kids as I would assume then they might enjoy that.

hehe, MacDonald Hotels have just tweeted a link to this thread. Maybe they will update the Grangemouth one after reading that Numptymum does not rate it.

I would head over to Jedburgh/Melrose rather than continuing up the motorway. That area is lovely. There is a fab wee cafe in Melrose that we always go to.

They could make all the updates they like to the hotel however the refinery, landfill, chemical works, etc that surrounds it will still be there!