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7 reasons to book a hotel for your next festival

We all love festivals but not all of us love camping. Here's a solid alternative and why it might just improve your experience


The sun’s high in the sky, you’re four pints deep and you’re standing in a field full of music lovers cheering for your favourite band. It really doesn’t get any better than this. Cut to six hours later when you’re crawling into your tent with bug bites on your ankle and the sound of someone’s day of fun returning with force just three feet away. Sure, it’s all part of that festival experience. But if you don’t fancy camping any more than you do begging for a spot on your friends’ sofa or trekking out to a disappointing Airbnb, there might be a better way to do things.

For this year’s TRNSMT festival in Glasgow, we put ourselves in the safe hands of Sound Travel and headed to Hotel Novotel Glasgow Centre. With plenty of hotel options available for most UK music festivals, here’s why you might want to consider doing the same.

You’ll actually get to sleep

No thumping bass in the distance, no teenagers screaming at each other or playing ‘Wonderwall’ on an acoustic guitar outside your tent and a far, far comfier bed than the one you normally construct out of an exercise mat and a rolled-up hoodie. You’d be amazed how much more you get out of your festival experience when you’re operating on a full eight hours of sleep rather than a patchy three. Running between stages to catch every act on your list suddenly isn’t a problem.

You can grab some time alone

It’s obviously lovely to be able to be in a big crowd of people again. But the best thing about being in that crowd is the ability to leave the crowd every now and again and recharge. You’re far more likely to feel excited about getting up in the morning to do it all over again when you’ve had a night to yourself to watch Love Island.

There’s people to look out for you

Let’s say the sun makes a surprise stop in Glasgow and you – discarding all that advice about sunscreen – manage to burn the skin off your face and shoulders (don’t laugh, it’s been known to happen). You know what might help? A friendly and helpful hotel receptionist to point you in the direction of the nearest late-night pharmacy. You know what definitely won’t? Resting your sore shoulders on a thin roll-out mat and ploughing on without moisturiser. Between sun exposure, dehydration and tiredness, plenty of things can cause you to put your body at risk without even realising it. Your fellow festivalgoers might not spot the warning signs, but hotel staff probably will.

You’ll get a good breakfast

All the excitement of a festival weekend can often mean that you skip meals, or you don’t eat enough to keep yourself going throughout the day. Opting for a hotel package that includes a complimentary breakfast means that not only will you get all the excitement of a breakfast buffet, but you’ll get at least one good meal in you before everything kicks off.

There are clean showers and flushing toilets

We can’t stress this one enough. No trekking to a porta-potty in the middle of the night or braving the camping showers in your flip-flops – if there even are any. In your hotel room you can start off every day with a long, hot shower and end every evening without having to queue to use the loo.

You’ll turn up every day looking fresh

No one looks their best by the third day of a festival – apart from you. With the space, time and tools for a full getting ready process every day, you won’t have to walk across the festival grounds looking vaguely crusty, or spot yourself in a crowd shot on the big screen and wince.

Your phone will be charged and your valuables will be safe

There’s no worse feeling than realising your portable charger is running low midway through day two, and no stress like storing your passport and wallet behind a tent zip. The best version of you has their phone on charge all night and their valuables safely stored away, so you can focus on enjoying yourself.