Why it’s good for business
In the past few years, 42 The Calls and Quebecs – both owned by the Eton
Collection - have been the top of the list for business travellers wanting
to stay in a contemporary boutique hotel on their trips to Leeds. However,
42 The Calls is in need of a revamp and both Eton hotels are now facing
competition from a stylish newcomer – The Ellington – which opened on 8
September. The Ellington is a five-star property and the extra attention to
detail, in terms of the quality of the furniture and fittings really shows.
The Ellington is on York Place, in the middle of Leeds’ financial district,
not too far from the Leeds office of the Bank of England. Walking down York
Place, it is difficult to spot the hotel entrance, hidden quietly behind
plain red-brick exterior.
The hotel is run by Pantin Hotels, named after David Pantin, a former managing
director at Rocco Forte hotels. The name is a tribute to Duke Ellington who,
although having no connection with Leeds other than playing the city’s 1958
music festival, has clearly inspired the hotel’s décor – all art deco and
funky New Orleans jazz-inspired.
The lounge bar sets the tone as soon as you walk in – there are beautiful
armchairs in crushed burgundy and purple velvet, big brown leather thrones
and plenty of groovy Italian light fittings.
The room
Although each room has the touches that every contemporary boutique hotel has
to have these days – the flat screens, the Nespresso machines and the funky
artwork – it also avoids the cliché of coffee colours everywhere. The look
is unashamedly jazzy – there are fringed lampshades and glass bead curtains
that would not look out of a place in a voodoo mama’s boudoir.
The whopping beds have enormous headboards, continuing the jazz theme in their
design, and are perfect if you like sitting up in bed hunched over the next
day’s presentation.
The bathrooms are fairly standard – square wall-mounted sinks and squared-off
baths in sparkling white with modern Hansgröhe fittings. The toiletries,
supplied by Bulgari, are unshamedly five-star.
A place to meet
Both of the Ellington’s meeting rooms have natural daylight. The Boardroom
feels like it could be on board as 1930s transatlantic liner and has a
plasma screen hidden behind its jazzy wooden panels if you plan a serious
presentation. It’s also good for private dining and has a separate entrance
form the street. If you want to have a more informal get-together, take a
seat in one of those crushed velvet chairs in the lounge bar and get in a
couple of Armagnacs while you discuss business.
Technology credentials
