Conveniently located, with good facilities and a comfortable, luxurious interior. Crowne Plaza Leeds is a great choice for stylish, accessible accommodation close to the heart of the city.
You know that joyous feeling when a Friday afternoon meeting arrives in your calendar?! I spend most of my time working at home, so I actually love and look forward to getting out and meeting with my colleagues, our clients and partners, but I don’t so much love spending most of my Friday night on the train home.
Not this time, I thought! When the opportunity came up to combine meetings in Leeds with an overnight stay, dinner and drinks, I couldn’t say no.
After a productive afternoon (for me, Darren spent the time I was working playing Candy Crush and scoffing KFC) we arrived at the city centre Crowne Plaza.
Disclaimer: Crowne Plaza Leeds provided my accommodation on a complimentary basis for the purposes of this review. This is an honest review and my opinions, as always, are entirely my own. This review is entirely based on my personal experience of staying at the Crowne Plaza Leeds, as a manual wheelchair user who is able to transfer, and is not intended to be a comprehensive guide to accessibility at the hotel.
The Hotel
The hotel is in a convenient setting; a short drive from Leeds station and Leeds Bradford Airport, and central enough to walk/wheel to shops, bars and restaurants.
As well as two accessible rooms the hotel has parking (with blue badge spaces available) a bar/restaurant, meeting rooms, a fitness suite, a swimming pool, Jacuzzi, sauna, steam room and spa.
A lift serves the hotel from underground car park to reception and all bedroom floors. There’s a lowered reception desk at check-in, and the Spirit Leisure club has an accessible changing room with wheelchair accessible shower.
The Staff
I always think that good staff really make a hotel stay, especially if you are disabled, and the Crowne Plaza Leeds is no exception. The two receptionists who checked us in were so cheerful and friendly, telling us everything that we needed to know about the hotel’s facilities.
Though I’d booked a wheelchair accessible room, they kindly gave us complimentary access to the club lounge. This was such a treat and made a big difference to our stay – a recurring frustration of mine is that you can’t upgrade to a superior or executive accessible room – this way we got the best of both worlds.
The Room
How. Swish?! Regular readers will know how highly I rate aesthetics in an accessible room. Because who on earth wants a holiday or special night in accommodation that has the look and feel of a hospital?
Décor aside the room was spacious with good turning spaces, emergency pull cords and a low-level viewer in the door. The wardrobe looked like it wasn’t accessible to begin with, then I found a handle inside that actually pulled the clothes rail down to sitting-height (I tried to film this to demonstrate, but my one-handed camera effort was shockingly terrible). Tea and coffee, hairdryer, TV, desk and free WiFi all available.
The Bathroom
The bathroom was also spacious and stylish, with a lowered sink, fixed and folding grab bars and an emergency pull cord. The main feature being a bath tub with transfer point and more grab bars, and a handheld shower head.
I know that a bath tub isn’t suitable for a lot of people with access needs – but something I learned from years of booking hotels for disabled guests, is that we’re all different! Personally I have a wheel-in shower at home for convenience, but I can manage to sit and swivel into a bath like this with some help. It’s actually a lovely treat if I’m only away for a night or two; my tight muscles feel so much better after a long soak.
The Club Lounge
The lounge was the perfect spot to unwind with some nibbles and a couple of drinks before heading out into Leeds. It’s spacious and step free, with an accessible toilet nearby and staff on hand to help with drinks and snacks.
After several (ahem) glasses of wine, we went into the city to indulge some more.
The Breakfast
The next morning, after possibly a few too many double gins in a questionable Leeds nightclub, I was so ready for a good feed. And I wasn’t disappointed! Loads of choice of cooked and continental options, breads, pastries and juices. Three courses later I was set up for the day.
Final Thoughts
I’ve you’re visiting Leeds and want a comfortable, stylish hotel with good accessibility and plenty of amenities in a convenient location, I’d highly recommend the Crowne Plaza.
I really enjoyed my stay – the only improvement I’d suggest would be for the hotel to provide more detailed accessibility information on their website, so that guests know what to expect before they arrive.
Do you have a favourite accessible place to stay in Leeds?
If you liked this post, read my Crowne Plaza Glasgow: Access Review
