Flood-hit Leeds hotel's £4.5 million new look is a winner

The hotel, on Wellington street, has been undergoing a refit since February 2017.

Last year it spent £1.2 million on repairs after floods in December 2015 left its basement and car park submerged and staff and guests stranded there.

Lynda Coaley, the hotel’s general manager, said the revamp marked the end of the journey to improve the hotel.

“We’re proud of how far the hotel has come since the floods.

“It was a tough time for our team but we pulled together and we can celebrate the start of a new era for the Crowne Plaza Leeds hotel,” she said.

The revamp has seen the arrival of a new club-level lounge, as well as a new look lobby, mezzanine, grand staircase and a break-out area for events and meetings.

These join a new bar and restaurant,a function bar, 135 redecorated bedrooms, a new club room and suites and £25,000 worth of new technology in its meeting rooms.

Jennifer Young, of Visit Leeds, said the results of the refit were “fantastic.”

“The hotel is going from strength to strength. This multi-million pound makeover will only serve to reinforce its position as one of our city’s most prominent and popular hotels,” she said.

Nicolas Northam, managing director at Interstate Europe Hotels and Resorts, who own Crowne Plaza, said he was sure the results of the revamp would be well received.

“Leeds is a really vibrant, buzzing city at present, and the Crowne Plaza Leeds’ new look really embodies that feel,” he said.

The new look marks a comeback for the hotel. It was gutted by floodwater on Boxing day 2015. Its basement flooded, outing its IT systems and plunging staff and guests into darkness.

Staff later earned an industry award for ensuring guests were looked after that night.