Review: the new Hyatt House Leeds hotel

This is our review of the Hyatt House Leeds hotel.

We don’t do a lot of ‘extended stay’ hotel reviews here at Head for Points, but it is becoming more relevant and you will be seeing them around more. Sonder has recently joined Marriott Bonvoy and Cheval Collection has joined Global Hotel Alliance.

Extended stay hotels often appeal to those who are away from home for longer periods. They are also attractive to the family market, either because of the extra bedrooms which are often available or the fact that all units come with kitchen facilities.

We felt it would be a good idea to cover Hyatt’s brand – Hyatt House – following the opening of a new Hyatt House in Leeds earlier this year.

‘Extended-stay’ hotels offer suites or small apartments that often include kitchen facilities and separate living and sleeping areas, but with the added services you’d expect from a regular hotel, such as housekeeping and on-site restaurants.

It is important to note that there is no minimum stay requirement despite the ‘extended stay’ branding. I was only there for one night and, a couple of weeks later, Rob also stayed for one night on a personal trip to Leeds.

Hyatt House occupies the same building as a Hyatt Place, a standard short stay hotel, and they share the communal areas such as reception, the gym and the restaurant, Zoom.

One quirk is that breakfast is free to Hyatt House guests but not Hyatt Place guests, even though they share the same restaurant!

The Hyatt Place website is here and the Hyatt House website is here.

Hyatt arranged a one night stay for review purposes. HfP paid for all extra costs, including travel.

Where is Hyatt House Leeds?

Hyatt House is a seven minute walk from Leeds train station, is approximately ten minutes’ walk from the main shopping streets and has many nearby bars and restaurants. Whilst the property literally overlooks the station, you need to make a little loop if walking from there.

The hotel is situated on a quiet pedestrianised square, set back from busy roads. On my arrival it became clear why Hyatt picked this spot for an extended stay hotel. Opposite is Leeds Building Society head office, and you are within five minutes’ walk of ASDA HQ, Direct Line Insurance, KPMG and Addleshaw Goddard amongst others.

Checking in

The lobby of Hyatt House has lofty ceilings and leads directly towards the hotel’s restaurant and bar space. Décor is contemporary, with dark wood structures ‘zoning’ the different ground floor areas, and an interesting owl artwork peering across the floor.

Reception was quiet when I arrived and I could check in immediately. The reception staff were friendly and polite and check-in took just a few minutes, before I was shown to the lifts, tucked away to the right of the main entrance.

Rooms at Hyatt House

I was given a one bedroom suite, situated on the 11^th floor. The door opens directly into a living space with views across Leeds.

To the right as you enter is a kitchen area which was sensibly designed and featured both the units and utensils you’d need in a self-catered apartment.

The kitchen elements included a microwave, small dishwasher, two ring electric hob, toaster, fridge and freezer and coffee machine, along with utensils such as sharp knives, a grater, potato peeler and whisk.

I only mention these all because I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stayed in a self-catered place that doesn’t include some of the basic things you need to cook with, but Hyatt House was very well-equipped.

There is a small table suitable for two diners where you can find the kettle, tea and mugs. Whilst most of the crockery was unremarkable white porcelain, I really liked the chunky earthenware mugs provided for a proper brew – apt in a city like Leeds that takes its tea-making seriously!

A large and comfortable corner sofa, scattered with brightly coloured cushions provides plenty of space to relax and watch the large TV. Under the TV was a sizeable set of drawers, ideal if you were there on a long-term stay.

The décor was contemporary, but fairly unadventurous – lots of grey with some brighter accent colours in the form of cushions and the dining chairs. I liked that lighting demarked the different spaces, with some pendant lights over the table, a lamp by the sofa and overhead spotlights in the kitchen area.

Bedroom

On it’s own, the bedroom would be on the small size, but as part of the overall suite, it was a suitable space, with a large bed and a wardrobe area with plenty of hanging space.

The sheets were particularly soft and smooth which I appreciated, and there was a window looking out across Leeds and beyond. The window wall had thick blackout curtains all the way across, but the window itself was only approximately a third of the wall space, which I found a little confusing, but did mean they were very effective at blocking any incoming light.

I’d taken up the offer of a night in Leeds to escape being woken up at 5am by a small child, so was grateful not to be disturbed by the dastardly summer sunrise.

Good modern sockets with both USB and three prong options on both sides of the bed were easily accessible and useful.

My one complaint about this space was the alarm clock, which in our modern times I find an unnecessary inclusion. It flashed brightly even when switched off so I resorted to unplugging it from behind the bedside table and hiding it. I’m sure a reader will tell me how useful they find these alarm clocks, but personally, I don’t get it – we all have phones with alarm functions these days.

Bathroom

Whilst not large, the bathrooms was perfectly usable, with a roomy basin area with space for a couple of wash bags along with a nice bright mirror.

The shower was powerful and operated at a consistent temperature. Toiletries were KenetMD Skincare, an American skincare brand. I’d never heard of them, but shampoos retail at £27 so they must be relatively high end.

I personally much prefer when brands are given the free rein to utilise local brands, or at least adapt market by market, but that said they seemed good quality and smelled lovely.

The soap was a single-use plastic wrapped bar of generic soap. This is one of my pet hates in hotels, especially when they’ve gone to the effort of using refillable bottles in the shower.

A little like the curtained wall, I was baffled by some of the design choices in the bathroom. One wall was covered in moss green metro tiles, which looked great, but the rest of the bathroom had those large off-white laminate tiles I associate with a Travelodge. They neither stylistically, nor physically, aligned with the green tiles giving the bathroom a distinct sense that the design had changed halfway through its installation.

Big tick for a properly sized bath sheet though, I like big towels and I cannot lie.

Food and drink at Hyatt House

I had booked a dinner table at Hyatt House’s Zoom restaurant and when I arrived to see just one other guest seated in the restaurant, my heart dropped a little.

However, my pessimism was not warranted as the food was very good. I ordered cauliflower ‘wings’ and vegetable noodles and found them delicious.

The cauliflower had the right amount of bite and the noodles were really flavoursome and filled with freshly cooked veggies.

I had planned to eat about half of the generous serving, but the noodles were so moreish I demolished the lot. The service was friendly and the food came pretty quickly.

Breakfast was also decent. It was all self-service and the bacon looked well cooked, and the eggs looked fresh and appealing.

I had some pastries and fruit, both pleasant and freshly baked/cut.

There’s also a rooftop bar and restaurant called Azotea that had some impressive views and a very cool vibe. It attracts plenty of outside guests even on a Tuesday night was quite buzzy, so I can imagine it would be pretty popular on a sunny weekend evening.

I didn’t stay for a drink but the staff were very friendly and it looked like an interesting menu of Latin American-inspired food.

Azotea is run separately from the hotel but is able to charge meals to your room, meaning that the spend should still qualify for World of Hyatt points.

Gym

The gym was a decent size for a city centre hotel, had all the equipment you could need and pleasant views out across the square in front of the hotel.

Conclusion

Hyatt House Leeds is a useful kind of place to have in a city centre. Close to so many large companies based in Leeds, I can very much see it being a safe choice for management consultant or similar, particularly if they required a longer stay and wanted to have access to their own cooking facilities.

Hyatt House was clean, well-run, had warm and welcoming service and good food. Even if you don’t need any of the ‘extended stay’ facilities such as the kitchenette, it’s worth comparing the price with the Hyatt Place floors, especially as Hyatt House guests do not pay for breakfast.

Putting my parent hat on, I can also see it being a sensible place to stay for a few nights with a young kid or two in tow.  The space to prep food for fussy toddlers and then cook your own meals once the kids are down, with the added bonus of housekeeping services, is very appealing.

A suite like mine starts at a reasonable £165 per night or 11,500 World of Hyatt points a night, but smaller rooms with a kitchenette start from as little as £89 or 6,500 World of Hyatt points a night.

You can find out more and book on the Hyatt website here.