A new luxury hotel in Glasgow has been 'reprimanded' by the council over ‘misleading’ drinks prices in its flagship bar and restaurant, The Herald can reveal.
Glasgow City Council has confirmed its trading standards team visited the Virgin Hotel Glasgow on Clyde Street to provide “appropriate information to the licence holder”.
The visit is believed to have concerned the five-star hotel’s policy of serving double measures as standard - rather than singles - at its Commons Club bar and restaurant.
The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 require consumers to be fully informed about goods and services - which includes descriptions of alcoholic drinks and indications of prices charged in licensed premises - before they decide to make a purchase.
Under the regulations, it is fine for a licensed premises to sell double measures - 2 x 25ml - as standard, but the option for a single measure must also be available.
Licensed premises also have a legal requirement to display information on the measurements used to serve alcohol at those premises.
The hotel's failure to do so policy has prompted criticism from some members of the public who, unaware they are being served double measures, have taken to social media to complain about the price of drinks at the bar.
One posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, warning others to 'steer clear' of the bar at the hotel, after they claimed they were charged £30 “for just two drinks”.
READ MORE: Highland hotelier admits 'we got it wrong' after £25 fish supper bill goes viral
They tweeted: “Virgin Hotel - Glasgow : Avoid rip off bar. The latest hotel to open in Glasgow charges £30 for just two drinks.
“A beer and single gin and tonic was almost £30 ! The gin was £20! A burger was cheaper. The barman insisted this was correct, avoid this and place.”
Prior to opening in August, Virgin Hotels said its new Glasgow hotel would “redefine the concept of luxury accommodation, offering guests an unmatched level of service, exceptional culinary experiences, and a stunning setting overlooking the Clyde”.
The hotel is the second European property from the Virgin Group, founded by Sir Richard Branson.
A Glasgow City Council spokesperson told The Herald: “Licensed premises have a legal requirement to display information on the measurements used to serve alcohol at those premises.
“We have visited the premises in question and provided appropriate information to the licence holder.”
A spokesperson at Virgin Hotels Glasgow, said: "Virgin Hotels Glasgow maintains a close partnership with the City of Glasgow Licensing Board to uphold the highest standards in all of our operations and ensure that we consistently adhere to all of their requirements."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel