Mar Hall resort has got the magic. A five-star luxury mansion resort, ten minutes from Glasgow Airport, that has it all. This building dates back to 1828 and hasn’t lost a smidge of its stunning grandeur, now under new ownership, this resort is ready to go above and beyond the magic it already has in abundance! And as for the location? Wow! It sits on the banks of the River Clyde and is overlooked by hills everywhere you look – glorious!
Seriously everything - and we mean everything - was impressive about Mar Hall, we loved the touches of detail across their seventy bedrooms, like draped bed frames and smart, functional furniture, with immersive period stylings that really give this venue a regal flair - something that is pulled off throughout every inch of the 240-acre Mar Estate.
The venue boasts so many amazing facilities, from four dedicated private dining rooms, to its six incredible meeting spaces, to the swimming pool and spa, we felt this is a really complete package, wrapped up in a fantastic storied history. Grand arch entrances, 20-ft ceilings and statement carpentry, wallpaper and chandeliers don’t mean that this venue misses on a smidge of functionality. We felt that the team here had worked really hard to preserve this building’s incredible past and continue to create a bright future for forward thinking events at Mar Hall.
The entrance to Mar Hall truly is stunning, there’s a long, gorgeous drive that runs up, through the estate, past spaces like the incredible, wedding-focussed building ‘Morton House’ (see in our Meeting Space Highlights) and all the way to Mar Hall itself.
This is a next level estate, with incredibly kept greenery and the mansion building which comprises three stories of beautiful stonework. Across the facade of the building there’s stunning windows and the roof is adorned by plenty of tall old-style chimneys. We felt like we’d been teleported back two centuries as we walked through the gorgeous archway entrance - honestly!
Inside Mar Hall, up a flight of stairs is the reception area - this space leads into the amazing Grand Hall which is currently used as a lounge with sofas and grand piano. What an amazing space, ideas for setups for meetings and events here were flying through our heads, the high ceilings and limitless natural light meant that the possibilities for using this room in your next event felt endless!
When speaking to the friendly, and extremely knowledgeable staff here, we really got the impression that change is afoot under the new ownership - and a really exciting kind at that. Under the new investment plan renovation across the resort to keep the centuries old furnishings at spick and span and create exciting new spaces - the Grand Hall is planned to be renovated as part of the overall multi-million pound investment. We’re really excited to come back and see this amazing space once again, it’s already a stunning room with an ornate ceiling, signature carpet and massive regal windows which show off mind-boggling views of the grounds.
The Location of this hotel is truly something to behold too, beyond its stunning grounds, views of the Kilpatrick Hills surround the estate, which is on the banks of the River Clyde, on a sunny day this is a truly breathtaking escape which feels a million miles from the hustle-bustle of the outside world, but somehow, it’s not! Only three miles from Glasgow international airport, and a mile from the nearest train station - Bishopton, this venue couldn’t be in a better location! Peace with your next destination a stone's throw away. The team here were able to provide ample information about both transport and localities - super helpful!
Address: Mar Hall Drive, Bishopton PA7 5NW
Website: www.marhall.com
Conference Sales Contact: Nyree Hamilton
Tel: 0141 812 9999
Email: events@marhall.com
Distance from nearest airport: 3 miles to Glasgow International Airport
Distance from nearest railway station: 1 mile from Bishopton Train Station
Parking: 50+ places – all free
Wi-fi: Free
Wow, the Leisure Suite at Mar Hall has undergone a huge renovation - and reopened as recently as April! We were blown away by these new spaces, the entire spa and gym has been renovated into an uber-cool set of spa and health facilities. With funky, modern lighting and a sleek, no-expense spared design style, this feels like so much more than your average hotel gym. All of the equipment is provided by Primal fitness and there was everything- we mean everything! You need not just for a good workout, but a good workout for every day of your stay. This is a brilliant compliment to any stay at the hotel, with event guests hungry for something to do before a busy evening talk or dinner - this is the perfect buildup!
Next is the spa, similarly, renovated to a supreme standard, this is another fantastic space with a 25-metre swimming pool and seven fantastic treatment rooms which each offer a number of holistic/massage experiences including the Tranquillity Floating Facial, where you literally float throughout the experience on heated water pillows - very, very cool.
Next is the food, and wow. Just wow. The Cristal Restaurant is one of the centrepieces of this fantastic venue and it’s not hard to tell why. This fine dining experience includes food from passionate Scottish suppliers who provide the cut and catch for any given day! The dining, while a luxury experience, is really well priced with unsurprisingly excellent service. The staff had a great knowledge of the menu - really understanding the wine choices and cocktails on offer too! But this restaurant also features in our meeting space highlights, so get ready for the full tour of this incredible room later on!
Given Mar Hall has such an incredible, vast green space, we’d be remiss to not talk about some of the incredible outdoor facilities that this venue has on offer. From a full-size football pitch, to a Championship Golf course, and plenty of room to simply de-stress and take some time in the beautiful outdoor areas amongst perfectly trimmed topiary. There’s so much space for outdoor team-building here, we can’t even begin to put together all of the options that you could dream up for a company team building session. Thankfully, the team here had plenty of ideas too! They were happy to go above and beyond and facilitate whatever might be needed for your team to tackle the beautiful outdoors!
It's also worth pointing out that the venue can be hired for exclusive use too, which includes all the facilities of the house, making it your clients’ own stately home for a few days for up to 200 people, perhaps for a wedding, or a special anniversary, etc.
Just picking three meeting spaces for Mar Hall was a real challenge. We mean, seriously - we’ve missed some of the most beautiful rooms in Scotland out just to whittle it down to only three! So, keep in mind that not featured is the lovely golf pavilion, which can be hired for your events - also not featured is Mar Hall’s biggest space, The Garden Pavilion, a free-standing but semi-permanent marquee – which can host a dinner of up to 300 guests. Both of these spaces overlook the River Clyde with absolutely stunning views!
Meeting Space Highlight: Morton House
On the grounds of the Mar Estate, the Morton House stands independently as a stunning piece of architecture that results in what is undoubtedly the most luxurious of the spaces at Mar Hall. This place screams weddings - but has unbelievable versatility thanks to a recent renovation! The main room is bright and airy room and has incredible lighting fixtures and chandeliers that give off this incredibly luxurious vibe - we just loved it.
Location: Ground floor – separate to the main house
Best use for room (conference, dinner, reception. Etc): dinner, awards, conference
Natural light: Yes
Cabaret: 150
Dinner: 170
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Meeting Space Highlight: Cristal
We went over the incredible dining options at Cristal earlier, but the space is just as impressive as the food on offer with sparkling chandeliers and ornate vaulted ceilings that are over 20 feet high. This is a room for the ages with incredible high end furnishings that scream historic elegance. The restaurant itself is open daily from 6pm to 10pm and is absolutely not to be missed.
Location: Ground floor – main building
Best use for room: Dinner, drinks reception
Natural light: Yes
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Meeting Space Highlight: Clyde Suite
This one does what it says on the tin! Right near the hotel’s entrance, this meeting space has incredible views of the River Clyde. It’s got a boardroom feel and we imagined it as a fantastic breakout room, maybe in partnership with the - neighbouring suite - the Kilpatrick, which is similar in size, feel and impressiveness!
Location: Ground Floor
Best use for room: breakout room, boardroom, private dining, drinks reception, etc.
Natural light: Yes
Summary
Overall, we left Mar Hall speechless, we’re lucky enough to visit so many gorgeous, regal venues that each offer something different, but what Mar Hall had was truly unique. Not just is this one of the most stunning places for your next event, but the venue is moving forward and on a really exciting path, with more renovations planned, if they’re anything like the incredible new Spa, Gym and updates to Morton house, we’ll be running back in no time to see what the exciting forward-thinking events team have put together for the future of this gem of the past!