Crowne Plaza Glasgow facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Crowne Plaza Glasgow |
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Crowne Plaza tower on the banks of the River Clyde, with the reflection of the Clyde Auditorium on its east face. Bell's Bridge is in the foreground
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| Former names | Forum Hotel Glasgow Moat House Hotel |
| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Type | Hotel |
| Architectural style | International Modern |
| Location | Finnieston |
| Address | 3 Congress Road |
| Town or city | Glasgow |
| Country | Scotland, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 55°51′35.05″N 4°17′25.16″W / 55.8597361°N 4.2903222°W |
| Construction started | 1987 |
| Completed | 1989 |
| Cost | £22.5M |
| Owner | Queens Moat Houses |
| Height | |
| Roof | 180 ft (55 m) |
| Top floor | 16 |
| Technical details | |
| Structural system | Reinforced Concrete |
| Floor count | 17 |
| Lifts/elevators | 4 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architecture firm | Coban & Lironi |
| Structural engineer | W.A Fairhurst & Partners |
| Quantity surveyor | W.T Partnership |
| Main contractor | Rush & Tompkins Group PLC |
| Other information | |
| Parking | On site, chargeable |
Crowne Plaza Glasgow is a high-rise hotel in the Finnieston area of Glasgow, Scotland. Originally opened in 1989, it is a 4-star property on the banks of the River Clyde adjacent to the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) and the Clyde Auditorium (Armadillo). The building (along with the adjacent Armadillo), is frequently used as one of the most recognisable images of modern Clydeside
Background
The need for a new hotel next to the SECC had been recognised since the scheme's inception - the initial plans for the building were first unveiled in 1984. The Glasgow Hoteliers' Association blocked the plans initially claiming that the city did not need any more hotel capacity, but later relented when an agreement was struck with the Scottish Development Agency (SDA) that it would only contribute taxpayer funding to new hotels of up to 200 bedrooms.
However, further controversy erupted two years later when it was revealed that the SDA's grant to the project totalled £3.4m, whilst at the same time the plans had now grown in size that the proposed hotel now had 300 bedrooms - effectively breaching the earlier agreement that the Glasgow Hoteliers' Association had reached with the SDA. Nonetheless, the then Secretary of State for Scotland, Malcolm Rifkind approved the development, and groundbreaking began in 1987.
Construction of the building's superstructure began in 1988, its construction featuring prominently across the Clyde from the Glasgow Garden Festival of that year. It opened the following year as the Forum Hotel, and later came under the ownership of Queens Moat Houses where it was renamed the Glasgow Moat House International, which was later shortened to Glasgow Moat House.
In 2005, Queens Moat Houses entered into a franchise agreement with InterContinental Hotels Group to operate the hotel as a Crowne Plaza hotel.
