Glasgow’s newest events and wedding venue, The Collectors Hall has officially opened, marking the beginning of an exciting new chapter for a historic city landmark.
Originally built as Glasgow’s City Parish Hall, the building has stood as a silent witness to over a century of civic life, community gatherings, and historic milestones. Its architectural grandeur—featuring vaulted ceilings, intricate stonework, and stately proportions—tells the story of a city rich in character. Now, after years of dormancy, the space has been restored and reimagined it for a new generation of memories.
The Grade A listed building has been transformed into a show-stopping venue for weddings, celebrations, corporate events and dining experiences. Highlights include soaring ceilings, a dramatic glass-roofed courtyard, and a city centre location just off George Square.
Craig Munro, General Manager of AC by Marriott Glasgow, shared his excitement about the launch: “Welcoming guests into The Collector’s Hall for the first time is a moment I’ll never forget. As General Manager of The Collector's Hall and AC Hotel by Marriott Glasgow, I’ve had the privilege of watching this extraordinary building evolve—from a forgotten parish hall into one of the city’s most exclusive destinations for weddings, events, and conferences.
With over 240 beautifully designed rooms, including heritage suites overlooking George Square, we’re offering something truly unique: a fully integrated venue experience in the very heart of Glasgow.”
00:00I'm here with Craig Munro. We're in the Collector's Hall, which is an old building that's found a new sense of purpose.
00:07It's one of the newest venues in the city. Craig Munro, you've seen this project all the way through.
00:19Tell me a bit about the background of how this building has come back to life.
00:24Well, people probably don't know its history. Built in 1902, originally where people would have come to collect money from their churches back in the day before benefits were around.
00:37We lay dormant for a period of time until we came in and started building the AC and Love Loan that was around it.
00:46We went through a few different phases of what it was going to be.
00:52Last year, we landed on putting in an event space that was going to be something quite special with a nod to its history,
01:00but blending contemporary and modern in with it.
01:04I guess to benefit the hotel side of things as well, but also to put a new venue into Glasgow that maybe did things slightly better, slightly differently.
01:15So, yeah, we started working on it probably about 12 months ago or so and broke ground on the actual build, believe it or not, on the 3rd of January this year.
01:29And now look at us.
01:30And now look at us.
01:31Seven months later and we're open.
01:33Yeah.
01:34Amazing.
01:35What's your favourite bit of the building? What's your favourite bit of this room?
01:42There's lots to be fair.
01:44Well, period features wise, the dome inside Collector's all stunning.
01:48I don't tire looking up at that.
01:51I love the original brickwork that's behind us here.
01:54I love how it's been blended in with some modern touches as well.
01:58So the nod to the period features I love.
02:01But there are certain elements that I can't get my eyes, stop my eyes looking at it.
02:07The bar itself is beautiful.
02:09Yeah.
02:10The marble on that.
02:11The treasury that we've created behind us here.
02:14Stunning space.
02:15And well, you know, I like the toilet.
02:17Yeah.
02:18That's right.
02:19It's a simple thing.
02:20With wonderful Timorous Beastie wallpaper and attention to detail, you know, the types
02:26of furniture that we can see, the way the room's being laid out, the light, the wonderful
02:30light we get here because of the roof.
02:34Yeah.
02:35It's really a very interesting space.
02:37So we expect this to be very popular for weddings, you're taking bookings for Christmas.
02:44I presume you're keen to kind of just introduce this place to Glasgow now.
02:49We want this to become part of Glasgow.
02:51We don't want it to just be a venue that does its own thing.
02:55We want the people at Glasgow to buy into this venue and for it, like we've been trying
03:00to do with Hazel and with the AC is make it, you know, partnerships with different brands
03:06in Glasgow, different companies in Glasgow.
03:08So we'd love to see anything from music events, film and media things, product launches, even
03:17what we're discussing today about wellness and yoga and stuff like that.
03:21You know, it shouldn't just be viewed.
03:23We know weddings are going to be popular in here and it's a stunning venue for that, but
03:27we want it to do more than just that and become part of Glasgow's DNA, if you like.
03:32Let's talk about Hazel for a moment.
03:34I've been in for lunch a few times.
03:36I feel like it's a restaurant that's really starting to get into its stride in terms of
03:42like, you know, finding its place in the city centre and I think that that's only going
03:47to continue as this development continues.
03:50What's the summer been like for Hazel and what are the plans for the future?
03:55Yeah.
03:56So Hazel's obviously under Jean-Paul Girard has come on, he's probably been with us for
04:02about a year now actually, which I don't know where that thing went.
04:05So the menu's developed a little bit from when he started, trying to make it slightly
04:10more accessible, if I'm honest.
04:12Hazel's becoming more and more popular, particularly at weekends, we'd love to see it more popular
04:17during the week.
04:18It's trying to bring people into Glasgow city centre and out for dinner during the week is
04:22never an easy task, I suppose.
04:24And so we want to see that develop further.
04:27Hazel brunches are now stamped as part of the calendar.
04:32Yeah.
04:33We had a sold out one last weekend, I think it was.
04:36So we want to see more things in Hazel and again, we want Hazel to be, well people to
04:42look at Hazel as not just being a restaurant.
04:45So open to different things that we can do in that space as well.
04:49Again, it's a beautiful place to be in.
04:51Yeah.
04:52But as a restaurant, it's going from strength to strength.
04:55We're still on a journey with it, but certainly it seems to be going in the right direction
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