nigelmhealey
Google
I went to visit one of my children who lives in Leeds. I have fond memories of Headingley (Skyrack, Original Oak, Woodies, Salvo's), having been a postgraduate student at the University of Leeds and a lecturer at Leeds Beckett University in the late 1980s.||I booked Headingley Lodge online with www.booking.com (alert: book using the App and you may get a 10% discount over booking online on your laptop... I did!). The price was £75.66 (no breakfast). I found the hotel difficult to locate at first, despite driving up and down Michaels Lane with my SatNav repeatedly telling me "YOU HAVE ARRIVED AT YOUR DESTINATION, WHAT DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?". It is actually an integral part of Headingley Cricket Ground (I was looking for a standalone hotel). The car park is inside the stadium perimeter with a gate house (barrier controlled) and super secure (24/7 security).||The reception area is very unprepossessing. It looks like the porters' desk at a budget student accommodation block, but travel up three floors in the elevator and the rooms are Premier Inn plus: large double bed, desk+chair, two arm chairs, big flatscreen, fridge, iron and board, hair dryer and en-suite bathroom. And the view: over the pitch at Headingley Cricket Stadium, woah! I talked with the staff and the rooms are converted into 12-seat hospitality suites for test matches (if you need to ask how much, you can't afford it... I did, and I couldn't). The French window (locked) from the bedroom opens onto the top tier of the seating over the pitch. BTW: the reception staff are lovely and friendly and there are a few hotel chains that should visit to see how customer service can be personal and authentic. I'd forgotten how much I miss Yorkshire hospitality.