PRESIDENTS have dined there, stars have partied there and it has played host to countless high-profile sporting events, glamorous awards dinners and celebrity-filled shindigs.
Luxury hotel Hilton Glasgow is celebrating its 30th birthday today with the unveiling of a major refurbishment of the building, including all of the bedrooms and suites and its Grand Ballroom.
Scotland’s first Hilton opened on St Andrew's Day in 1992 and the 20-storey granite and glass structure has become a notable city landmark.
The refurbishment has been inspired by the Glasgow Style, made famous by architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh whose linear style is reflected in the bespoke furniture. Carpets and soft furnishings have been inspired by the work of sisters Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh and Frances Macdonald MacNair.
Over the decades, the hotel has played host to a number of celebrities, including former US President Bill Clinton, who stayed there twice. In December 2001 he spoke at a Jewish National Fund dinner while in May 2006, he returned to Glasgow to give a speech about climate change and stayed in the same suite.
He arrived in a three-car motorcade, having flown to Glasgow by private jet from Helsinki, and the hotel presented him with a limited-edition, 30-year-old bottle of whisky.
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The late Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa, was a VIP guest at the hotel in October 1993 when he visited Glasgow to receive his Freedom of the City.
Dutch footballing legend Johan Cruyff was a guest speaker at a fundraising event for The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice in 2007.
Scottish comedy legend Billy Connolly, who was born in Anderston, not far from where the hotel now stands, stayed at the hotel in October 2009 when his tour ended at the SECC.
Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has visited the hotel on numerous occasions, while soul legend James Brown stayed there after his last-ever UK concert at the Carling Academy in October 2006.
Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole and pop star Craig David have both visited the hotel, while Irish President Mary McAleese stayed in 1999.
Groundbreaking news reporter Kate Adie was guest speaker at a Newspaper Press Fund lunch in 2003.
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A celebrity tug-of-war event in 2004 saw footballer Alan Rough, actor Kieron Elliott and DJ George Bowie take on “Wonder Woman” – really, Miss Scotland Nicola McLean - at a charity event; and the late Darius Danesh accompanied Miss Earth Scotland Cora Buchanan to the Hilton’s Black and White Ball in aid of environmental awareness.
Other stars to have popped in include Clare Grogan, performing with Altered Images at the Action for Children Scotland lunch in 2011 and Claire Sweeney, who launched the Small Change Big Difference campaign for children’s hospices at the Glasgow hotel.
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