Hilton Leeds City, Leeds

...to be staying in a Hilton - classy we thought we were.

It's located almost right next to the train station and close to the centre of town in a quiet area. Just around the corner are quite a few bars, which were nice and handy for us - but just far enough away to pose no problem. The hotel is also close to the M621.

You can book a room online, or call them, we booked online and it was pretty simple, just select the ...
...airy and slightly imposing with Hilton colour blue lights in various spots (as well as normal lighting of course!)

On the third floor is a lounge area, a bar (more on the bar later) and the reception desk. I checked in quite quickly and was offered a wake up call and a paper for the morning. A handy thing was that my friend didn't need to also check in which some hotels insist upon and she was just able to come up to the room. I just ... more

I'm quite used to a budget hotel so my friend and I were all excited to be staying in a Hilton - classy we thought we were.

It's located almost right next to the train station and close to the centre of town in a quiet area. Just around the corner are quite a few bars, which were nice and handy for us - but just far enough away to pose no problem. The hotel is also close to the M621.

You can book a room online, or call them, we booked online and it was pretty simple, just select the date and give them money! You are then emailed booking confirmation.

If you do drive the hotel has parking for up to 80 cars, available on first come first served basis at £10 a day. There is extra parking in a multi-storey car park opposite the hotel.

I arrived first and the revolving doors downstairs were broken, leading to a few confused tourist looking people (there were normal doors right next to the revolving doors). As soon as you come in is a helpful concierge desk and to your left is a set of escalators, which take you upstairs. The entrance is quite open and airy and slightly imposing with Hilton colour blue lights in various spots (as well as normal lighting of course!)

On the third floor is a lounge area, a bar (more on the bar later) and the reception desk. I checked in quite quickly and was offered a wake up call and a paper for the morning. A handy thing was that my friend didn't need to also check in which some hotels insist upon and she was just able to come up to the room. I just had to complete a registration card and hand over my credit card for the usual hotel "just in case you run away with all the sheets" plan.

Our room was on the fourth floor and we could see over the city a little, but it was pretty cold so we weren't up for opening the window much!

Our room had a little ensuite bathroom with bath, shower and fancy looking bath products, which we oohed, and ahhed over (and then stuffed in our bag). There is the usual hotel option of reusing your towel or leaving it on the floor for a new one. We had a TV with a few extra channels and pay per view movies. The room also had a one-seater couch, a desk, a pants press, phone, hair dryer, cupboard and drawers with small tea and coffee making set. We had twin beds and there was enough room to manoeuvre around the beds and the room.

We had arrived late and so the first night I had a bath and my friend just went straight to bed so we didn't notice until the morning that our shower was hot, really hot. And there was no adjusting the temperature. We had showers anyway and headed out for breakfast. The hotel offers breakfast but at £13 it was a bit pricey for us. There is also room service but that's even pricier!

Downstairs at the hotel (behind the concierge desk) is a gym which people at the hotel are allowed to use, for a price of course! The gym had a swimming pool, sauna and spa and you could really smell the chlorine as we walked past it. Walking past it as I didn't go away with my friend for the weekend to exercise!

Near the gym and the concierge desk is a rack with a wide variety of local leaflets, though a lot were to do with theatre rather than local attractions. Since the tourist information place was located at the train station almost next door that wasn't a problem. The Hilton website (see below) also offers a bit of information on what you can do in Leeds.

We came back from our day in the city centre and went to have a shower and decided enough was enough it was too hot. So we called hotel reception and someone was sent up pretty quickly with a thermometer. She tested the water and agreed that yes, it was too hot. She went back downstairs and the manager called us to offer a room move. Only problem was the hotel had been going through a makeover and our new room hadn't been made over yet but it was the only twin room left. We decided it was worth it and said goodbye to our room and headed up to a new one. The new room was laid out pretty much the same as the one downstairs but was just older and not as stylish. They had insisted the new room was non-smoking but after a few minutes in the room we definitely could smell smoke. We consoled ourselves with the pilfered bath products we had taken from the old room.

The hotel elevators were not working on the weekend we were there either, which meant we had to take the service elevators. Quite a difference between the two elevators!

The hotel has a restaurant that seats 120, a bar and a cafe. They are all located in the same spot; just parts are allocated to each section. We stopped in the bar and ordered a few cocktails, which were hotel cocktail prices (around £8). The bar was quite busy (it was a Saturday night around 7.30) and had lots of couches to sit in, the bar seats 36. The bar staff on this night were a little slow, and when someone finally served me they didn't know what my drink was, even though it was on their bar menu, so I had to wait for someone else to serve me. The bar also has bar snacks on sale.

We had been lucky enough to book on a rate that offered the room for £55 a night, but room rates vary. They also offer suites, family rooms and of course double rooms. There is also a family plan for anyone taking along young children (under 5) where they can stay free.

Hilton hotels have a reward program called HH Honours which you can get points from hotels and 55 airlines. There are more than 2,700 participating hotels. You can join this at: www.hiltonhhonors.com/myway.

You can check out either at the reception desk or via an express checkout facility, where you just return your room key with a card they give you on arrival (as long as they have your credit card details). Checkout is by 12, though you can request a late checkout.

Aside from Credit cards and pounds they will also accept Australian Dollar, British Pound, Canadian Dollars, Euro, Japanese Yen, Norwegian Krone, Swedish Krona, Us Dollar and Swiss Franc for payment. Though exchange rates at hotels are always poor.

All in all a nice hotel, an impression is definitely created when you first enter. Staff were quite friendly and helpful which helped add to that impression that even though you only paid £55 for two nights you were staying in a HILTON hotel.

The hotel is Neville Street LS1 4BX, which is 2 miles from Leeds Football club.

Phone : 44 (0) 113 2442000
Fax: 44 (0) 113 2433577
Email: reservations.leedscity@hilton.com
And web: http://www.hilton.co.uk/leedscity

Just quickly answering some questions in comments on this review..

The gym was a "Living Well gym" which I don't think is actually owned by Hilton. I don't remember prices but my friend uses the gym a bit and she did comment that they were standard gym prices. The gym is open from early morning till about 10 on weeknights and 8 on weekends. A gym pricelist was left in the information pack in your room.

The service elevators was a one off and isn't a usual situation. But I would say (not having any experience with this myself) that it shouldn't cause much of a problem for anyone with a disability. They are just located behind the normal elevators and is was more of a style complaint (hey they are service elevators) than anything else. I am pretty sure the floor numbers weren't written in Braille, I remember this as the floor numbers were worn off from so much use. But there did seem to be many Hilton staff just wandering around that could accompany someone if required.
 

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