I always enjoy going away for a weekend, especially when it's for a special occasion, and always take extra care to try to find a suitable hotel at a good price. However on a recent trip to Leeds the hotel selection wasn't left to me and I was slightly worried about where we would be staying. There was no need to fear though as The Park Plaza turned out to be an ideal hotel in a brilliant location.

The Park Plaza Brand

The Park Plaza group of hotels is owned by the Carlson brand who also own the Park Inn, Radisson and Regent groups as well. The Carlson brand have over 1,700 hotels throughout the world and operate in more than eighty countries. They pride themselves on offering full service hotels with clean and comfortable rooms, as well as outstanding service and all at excellent prices. There are around one hundred Park Plaza hotels in Great Britain at present; to see all the locations please see their website at www.parkplaza.com.

The Location

The particular hotel I stayed in was in the city centre of Leeds and indeed it was a city centre location. It's located in Boar Lane City Square which is about a three minute walk from the main train station, opposite Flares bar and about a five minute walk to the central shops too. It's about a ten minute drive from the inner ring road around Leeds. It has an LS1 postcode which again is shared by the majority of city centre facilities including shops and bars.

The Hotel

From the outside the hotel looks rather unimpressive, it's got twenty floors so is rather tall and is made of a dark concrete. The lobby area is much more appealing from the outside; it's got a lot of glass walls meaning you can see the inviting reception area from outside. The reception area itself is very modern with a large multicoloured screen behind the reception desk. There is a lot of marble, chrome and leather used in the reception area which is both light and airy.

All the rooms can be accessed by one of three lifts or the stairs which are located opposite the reception area. The lifts did take rather a while to come when you called for them due to their being twenty floors. They could probably do with doubling the number of lifts in the hotel as the stairs weren't appealing at all! The lifts themselves reflected the modern feel of the hotel, having an almost shattered glass effect to the walls which was really effective.

The Rooms

The Park Plaza at Leeds has one hundred and eighty six rooms in total including executive rooms and penthouse suites too. What did surprise us upon checking in is that a number of the rooms still allow you to smoke in this hotel. However we opted for a non smoking and standard room as we couldn't quite afford the prices of the penthouse suites! Our room was accessed down a corridor that had interesting artwork lit up and a cream and a red carpet.

The room itself was much larger than I've experience before in Travel Inns and other such hotels, it was far more spacious. There were two twin beds, bedside tables, a desk area with a television which also doubled up as a computer, a large wardrobe housing a safe and a mini bar and a large arm chair too. The room itself was decorated in a cool manner with white walls, white bedding, dark furniture and a beige carpet to give it quite a light feel.

The bathroom contained all your typical amenities including a massive mirror covering the entire wall next to the bath which was a bit off putting when in the shower! One thing I want to comment on is the massive bowl style sink that was in the bathroom, it was far bigger than any we've got at home! There were your usual freebies including shampoo and soap as well. Towels were provided sufficient for two occupants and these were changed daily.

Overall the room was very modern and appeared to have been decorated in the past couple of years. There was suitable lighting and the temperature was controlled by an electronic system on the wall that was easy to operate. There is nothing bad at all that I can say about the room, the beds were comfy, it was clean and it was much larger than those in any other hotel I've recently stayed in! Unfortunately the mini bar was expensive though!!

The Bar / Restaurant

The bar is on the ground floor adjacent to the reception area and was actually quite small, probably seating only about thirty people. It seemed to have the same minimalist chic feel of the entire hotel with large leather square chairs, sparse decoration and a large chrome bar. It was a pleasant if not a little hygienic feeling like a hospital! However prices here were quite high, it cost me nearly £5 for a spirit and mixer while a pint was near the £4 mark.

The restaurant was located on the first floor of the hotel. We didn't eat here in the evening but I believe it offers Chino Latino food, combining Japanese, Chinese, Thai, etc. It's certainly decked out in a very oriental fashion that was quite unique really to any hotel I've been to before. Breakfast was also served here and was included in our room rate although to purchase it separately will set you back around £10 in total, not including any drinks.

The breakfast itself was delicious. There was a full range of hot options including boiled egg, fried egg, sausages, bacon, hash browns and so on as well as a full complement of cold options. These included cereal, fresh fruits and various pastries. It would be impossible not to find something to suit almost everyone at breakfast. Food was always fresh and the hot options seemed to be constantly replenished which is always a good sign at any hotel.

The Staff

We only encountered the staff a couple of times during our stay and always found them to be really helpful and pleasant. The reception staff were extremely efficient and only too happy to help us. The only complaint I'd have is that it did take a while to be served with tea and coffee at breakfast. Despite requesting them twice we had to still ask a third time before they were brought to us.

Parking

There is no actual parking at the hotel which is one of its major downfalls, however it is a short walk to a large multi storey car park and if you have your ticket stamped at the hotel then the cost of parking is heavily reduced.

The Cost

We stayed on a bed and breakfast rate for three nights, one of which was a Saturday. Normally the rate is £80 per room per night although on a Saturday night this price is increased by £5. For more prices then I'd recommend visiting the site itself.

My Opinion

Overall I'd give this hotel the full five stars; it had a brilliant location, the staff were helpful, the room was comfortable and spacious and the breakfasts were delicious. The only problem really is the fact that there is no car park so do take that into account, the nearest one is about a five minute walk away and costs around £5 a night when staying in the hotel. If I was ever visiting Leeds again then I'd certainly use this hotel, a top class stay!

Thanks for reading.