For a city break with added R&R

Blythswood Square Glasgow

In a sentence Deep rest with a pinch of Hebridean zest.

Room Whopping. Of 113 rooms, the square-facing ones are the best if you simply want to watch Glasgow go by. The beds are vast and the 1970s-style red rotary phones are a hotline to a front desk equipped to provide guests with everything from Friday-night room-service pizza to the complementary glittery Anthropologie accessories (think handbags or jewellery) you can borrow for a night on the town.

Bathroom treats A marbled room is worth getting lost in for the length of a bubble bath or two.

Book in for the two-hour Thermal Experience at the spa, which grants access to amenities named after Hebridean islands: Pabay, Erraid, Staffa, Soay, Fara, Swona. You’ll find saunas, steam rooms, a Himalayan salt room, Scotland’s first snow shower (above) and jet pools galore, including the 35C water-massage vitality pool (below). Treatments take place in a moss-lined nook of the spa with an ambience so peaceful that it borders on the monastic.

Extracurricular activities The Atlantic Bar and Brasserie, five minutes away, is a glitzy stop in a grand dining-club room that recalls the golden age of sea travel (it’s based in the old booking offices of the Anchor Line shipping company). It’s perfect for a hearty, generously priced meal. Glasgow is extremely walkable, so for a pleasant daytime stroll head west towards Finnieston along Sauchiehall Street, take in Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, then plonk yourself in the snug Ubiquitous Chip, a restaurant with a charming little saloon bar, for a wee dram of scotch to take the edge off life.

Breakfast A fill-your-boots buffet, offering the full Scottish works, from hash browns to eggs sunny side up. The restaurant’s marble tables, plush forest green seating and forgiving lighting don’t hurt if you’ve been enjoying Glasgow a little too vigorously.

Take-home A restful and romantic getaway in the lap of stately luxury.

Good at urban getaways.

Bad at serenity – the noise of the city seeps in at night.

Cost Rooms from £180; spa days from £215; experiences from £70, kimptonblythswoodsquare.com Samuel Fishwick