Crowne Plaza – A lease of life to Leeds
The 1st March saw the reopening of refurbished landmark Leeds hotel Crowne Plaza that was devastated by the floods on Boxing Day. Situated on Wellington Street, the hotel has undergone an impressive £1m transformation following the damage to car parks, storage facilities and vital infrastructure, caused by flood water.
Featuring 135 bedrooms, the Crowne Plaza at Leeds also houses seven meeting and events rooms, a restaurant and a full leisure centre, including gym and swimming pool. Whether travelling for business or pleasure, guests will appreciate the excellent range of facilities in place.
Contemporary and plush, the hotel has had its rooms repainted as well as having used the opportunity to install a new, faster broadband connection.
43 internal doors and 150²m of carpet have been replaced, as have the car park barriers, lifts and the hotel’s entire IT, telephone, electrical and heating systems – including the boilers and generators. The cellar and store rooms were also in need of refurbishment, leading to a £50,000 spend on general maintenance and upgrading of the hotel space.
It has been estimated that during the nine weeks that the hotel has been closed, it has lost £1.2m in revenue. Despite this, the owners are confident that the reopening of Crowne Plaza Leeds will bring a new lease of life to both the hotel and the city’s leisure and tourism offering.
Marco Frik, General Manager of the Crowne Plaza Leeds, said:
“There is no doubt that the Boxing Day floods devastated our hotel’s infrastructure and that it’s been a difficult and costly journey to get to this point.
“However, we have spent more than £1m getting the hotel back to full working order, and we’ve taken the opportunity to upgrade certain areas of the hotel such as the leisure centre, so the reopening is certainly worth the wait.”
Sir Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said:
“I’m delighted that the Crowne Plaza has reopened after suffering such severe damage in the recent floods. The Crowne Plaza is a central part of the Leeds business community and I encourage visitors to Leeds to book a stay at the hotel.
“As well as experiencing new facilities, they can show their support in helping to get flood affected businesses back on their feet. Yorkshire is open for business and we are ready to give all of our visitors a warm Yorkshire welcome.”
Since the damage took place, the Crowne Plaza Leeds’ 80-strong workforce has been redeployed to other hotels across the country, with a core group held on site to man the hotel and greet any pre-booked guests who were unaware of the hotel’s closure.
Similarly, a team has been in place at the Express by Holiday Inn Royal Armouries to continue the hotel’s work, managing staff, existing bookings and events.
Marco Frik added:
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank my wonderful colleagues who really have gone above and beyond over the last two months to get the hotel reopened. It has been a very difficult and stressful time for us, particularly as we lost all our IT systems which meant we didn’t have access to our booking information.
“My staff worked tirelessly to contact as many people as possible and use social media networks to let guests know the situation the hotel was in and that we had unfortunately had to close.
“Our customers have been extremely patient and accommodating with us, particularly our Spirit Health club members. We are absolutely delighted to now to be at the point where we can open the doors and welcome people in once again.”
CP Leeds
Leeds Decorators Ltd
Established 1992, Leeds Decorators Ltd specialise in commercial and retail decorating works for hotels, schools, offices and shopping centres. Leeds Decorators Ltd carry out all aspects of decorating works, including the supply and installation of fine wall-coverings & contract vinyl, as well as the implementation of spray painting, paint effects and French polishing.
Over the past 24 years, Leeds Decorators Ltd has worked with many leading names including Crowne Plaza, Park Plaza Hotels, Carillion Construction, Kwik Fit, Warburtons, Yorkshire Water, HSBC, Nationwide Building Society and HMRC, amongst others. Most recently, Leeds Decorators Ltd has been involved with the Crowne Plaza Leeds, where they were asked to re-decorate the bedroom corridors and lift lobbies.
Mark Gunn of Leeds Decorators Ltd, said:
“Working on the Crown Plaza project we re-polished 200 bedroom doors, as well as the woodwork in a number of client areas throughout the hotel. The work had to be completed within a tight timeframe to enable to hotel to open on schedule.”
Mark added:
“We pride ourselves on our ability to deliver a high quality finish, working with the client to ensure they have the most cost efficient decorating solution.”
