Icould almost count the steps from Leeds’ train station to The Queens Hotel, but even if I had, the minimal step count would’ve entirely slipped my mind when I opened the door to my room on the eighth floor. It was like walking into a turn-of-the-century film location, where I was looking directly at grand Grade-II-listed buildings from each window of my room. Before I can hang up my coat, I’m dazzled by the late afternoon winter sun glinting from the glorious lime-green patina dome atop the Corinthian columns of the former Yorkshire Banking Company building (built in 1899). I cross the glossy parquet floor to bring the other window’s view closer to me: the vast expanse of Leeds’
City Square and the classical architecture of the former General Post Office (from 1896)
