As serviced apartments have soared in popularity, there are now many conveniently dotted around cities such as Leeds and Manchester.

I recently stayed in a serviced apartment in Leeds which was fabulous - around twice the size of the average hotel room. The colour scheme was a striking red and black – trendy without trying too hard.

The lounge for instance featured black leather sofas and plump red cushions to snuggle and snooze in. I stayed in an avant-garde hotel in Barcelona a couple of years ago and the design of the serviced apartment, by pure coincidence, had strong echoes of that.

Playing on light and dark in serviced apartments

The designers had clearly paid a lot of attention to the lighting and ambience in this particular serviced apartment. Floor-to-ceiling windows allowed natural sunlight to flood in, while the bedroom played more on light and dark, with up-lighters and down-lighters providing soft illumination.

Some of the most impressive features of the serviced apartment which contributed to what can only be described as a luxurious experience, included:

• Intelligent locks on the doors (this gave us greater privacy and security)
• High-pressure walk-in shower
• 42-inch LCD television
• Complementary wireless Internet throughout
• Private gymnasium on site

The location of the apartment was also very convenient. A modern bar and grill was situated below the serviced apartments, and there was also a mini supermarket, newsagent and a takeaway. Being in the centre of Leeds, the apartment was also very close to all major transport links. As serviced apartments go, this was most certainly top spec.