Step inside the Metropolitan Hotel and its easy to understand why this hotel is fast becoming the jewel in the crown of the city’s hospitality scene. In fact it would be true to say, that after a grand programme of renovation, restoration and refurbishment – the Met as its known is back where it belongs.

A Leeds landmark and a hotel of historic significance the hotel dates back to the late 1800s and opened its doors in June 1899.

It was the brainchild of local architects Messrs Chorley, Connon & Chorley and a glittering new addition to Leeds, ready to welcome the great, the good, and the gloriously well-to-do.

It quickly became a magnet for wealthy businessmen, traders, and upper-middle-class leisure seekers, not to mention a favourite backdrop for formal civic soirées and the occasional overindulgent dinner party.

In the Victorian days, of course, everything was done with flair, drama, and a healthy disregard for subtlety. Nothing was done by halves, and this hotel was no exception. Built from gloriously decorative red brick and terracotta, and crowned at its pinnacle with the original 1860s stone cupola from Leeds’ demolished Fourth White Cloth Hall, giving it a rather grand (and slightly mismatched) top hat.

Inside, the hotel boasted  an opulent entrance hall, a billiard room, a drawing room, a reading room, and a grand dining saloon, all adorned with high ceilings and decorative cornicing.

During the Second World War, the southwest corner of the building was bombed, and the upper floors suffered. The hotel’s upper floors were rebuilt, though not quite with the same style and charm as the original design.

In the 70s, the building underwent a stylish redecoration. Sadly, some original decorative elements were lost or covered, such as the original fireplace openings, mosaic floors, tiled walls, and stained glass laylights in the dining room ceiling.

Thankfully, many of these beautiful features have survived the decades and now sit proudly under the watchful protection of a Grade II listing.

In November of this year, The Met, as it is now known, entered a new era in its landmark history; it is now brighter, bolder and wonderfully reimagined, yet still retains its Victorian charm.

Enter the Met through the heavy oak automatic doors and what unfurls before you will take your breath away.

The black and white swirled marble floor is stunning. The foyer has an amazing vibrance and most of all space with bright pops of colour. Marble pillars dominate and potted trees are strategically placed amidst well placed tables set around pink woollen winged chairs.

There is a plethora of other seating with bright artisan upholstery  whilst modern and stylish lighting  adds to the total picture. This is truly a masterpiece of ‘antique meets stylishly modern’.

Visible from the foyer is the ballroom with its pillars and glass adornments which has been lovingly renovated taking it back to elegant Victorian Times.

Even the reception is a comfortable and welcoming place tucked away from the foyer yet large and comfortable. Our check in was seamless and we were soon in the lift and on the way to our first floor suite.

If hotel corridors freak you out then you will be ecstatic with the corridors at The Met. They are light and airy and the carpet mirrors the floor design of the foyer plus some lovely pieces of large modern art are displayed on walls.

We opened the door to our suite and we were amazed by the eclectic design styles. A large welcoming flame fire set in a Victorian fire place complete with a mantelpiece looked amazing and blended with the more modern features including an ingeniously placed large flat screen T.V. built on a well designed unit that blended into the room, a sofa, a lovely winged armchair with foot stool and lots of storage space in the form of a wardrobe and drawers.

The en-suite bathroom had a very large rainwater shower, a deep washbasin, white fluffy towels, robes and slippers  and lots of mirrors and excellent lighting.

But just around the corner  in a  room size alcove  was the biggest surprise – a wonderfully deep bathtub and a dressing table ideal to store your cosmetics and to do hair and makeup.

Completing the luxury of the room was a super emperor size bed that was just too comfortable for words.

The suite was spacious to say the least and so well planned with even coat hooks in the entrance plus all the things you need in respect of modern technology.

After being stuck in roadworks and in the rush hour traffic we really appreciated being able to relax in our suite and I adored having a long relaxing soak in the bathtub.

Where-ever you are in the Met space and privacy prevail. Before dinner in the sophisticated Gotts Kitchen and Bar  we indulged in an aperitif. The bar is well designed with blue marled chairs both of the wing variety plus comfy sinkable ones placed around tables of varying sizes.

The Met has a great cocktail menu and although  my partner’s choice was not on the menu the mixologist volunteered to make him what he wanted a Long Island Tea which was made perfectly. I wanted to try one of the cocktails that represented The Yorkshire Triangle – well what else would a Yorkshire lass want to try? My choice of The Yorkshire Triangle cocktail was perfect with a mix of gin, rhubarb liqueur, crème de cassia and lemon.

Gotts Kitchen is fast gaining a high reputation for its dining experience with a creative menu designed by  head chef Harlon Hayes

Harlon admits to “having a passion” for creating, cooking and designing menu dishes. “My menus here celebrate the best local product and reflect how far The Met has come”.

Gotts Kitchen can only be described as contemporary with exceptional style with tables well choreographed, chairs comfortable and tastefully upholstered and a well thought out designer lighting.

Our server was efficient and really knew everything about the menu. She was also friendly and nothing was too much trouble for her.

We chose our starter from the selection of small plates. I opted for the ham hock croquettes and my choice could not have been better. The ham had been slow braised to retain its flavour and was beautifully blended with a flavoursome Wensleydale cheese and milt-in the-mouth potato. It came with a side dish of yellow pickled sauce – which tasted and resembled my gran’s home made piccalilli without the vegetables.

My partner was attracted by the Seekh Lamb Flatbread. It came with a lightly marinated good portion size of Seekh Lamb Kofta perfectly spiced plus a spiced yoghurt which melted into the flatbread. “It was a good combination” he admitted and a very tasty starter.

For main course I indulged in my favourite – salmon – always a test for any restaurant as few get the texture right as sometimes it can be overcooked and dry or even undercooked and slimy. But the Met got it one hundred per cent right. My large portion was cooked to perfection.

It had the perfect accompaniment with a potato gratin and sautéed greens including beans, onions, peas and asparagus.

From the Grill my partner chose the lamb rump. It was cooked to perfection exactly as requested and came with watercress, skin on fries and a Bearnaise sauce. The meat was succulent  and full of flavour and very tender.

As an extra side he chose a portion of Onion Bhargis. He couldn’t stop singing their praised. They were just so good and had a new take in shape which exacerbated the taste and made them more flavoursome.

For dessert I was attracted by he Met Opera Cake. This for me was heaven on a plate. The chocolate layered sponge was so light and the chocolate sauce just the right texture and was presented beautifully on my plate.

My partner usually forgoes the dessert course but he was attracted by the Lemon Meringue Pie. The pie was obviously home made with a lovely light warm pastry and the meringue was also as light as air. The raspberry coulis was the perfect accompaniment to the lemon and served warm this was a great sweet with a tangy taste.

After dinner we retired to the bar for a digestif and I couldn’t resist another cocktail made by the Met’s expert mixologist. I must say that his Expresso Martinis, my favourite cocktail tipple, are superb.

Next morning we had breakfast in Gotts Kitchen and the selection on offer was really amazing with lots of choices for a continental breakfast – including Banana Cake which I for one love and haven’t seen on a breakfast menu since I was in the Caribbean. The choices for the cooked breakfast was also superb and I loved the fact that eggs whatever style you wanted were cooked to order.

After breakfast duty called for us and I had to put on my editor’s hat and return to duty whilst my partner could relax as he was on leave.

The Met is a real boon to the city of Leeds, where grand style hotels were torn down in the 50’s,60’s and early 70’s and replaced with modernistic most concrete clad chain hotels with  very little character.

As we left we knew it was not goodbye but arrivederci – and to quote a famous film character we knew “we would be back” again at some point in the future.

The Met Hotel, King Street, Leeds LS1 2HQ

Gotts Bar and Kitchen is open to non residents and food is served there from 12noon to 10.00pm

www.leedsmet-hotel.com  0113 245 0841

Liz Coggins is a member of The British Guild of Travel Writers