The problem is a standard room in ATH is worse than a standard Travelodge/premier Inn room (the newer hotels, not those god awful service station ones), yeah I’m sure in 1996 they were amazing, but 20+ years later and not much has changed.
The moon rooms are nice and so are the artic ones, but they’ve had budget cuts since the original ones.
But yes you are very much paying for the location and brand than anything else.
Also to make a comparison, I don't think that staying on site at Disneyworld Florida offered anything within the room that staying at Alton Towers didn't. The basic amenities (bed, coffee making, shower) are pretty similar and although the rooms are themed I don't think a majority are significantly better than anything at AT.
At Phantasialand the room was probably more authentically themed, but some of that made it worse (the bare concrete floor of our Hotel Matamba room was not comfortable) and again there was nothing in the room itself that made it exceptional, it was the theming and the other benefits (such as ERT) that really made that worthwhile.
At the end of the day in most theme park hotels you are paying a premium to stay on site.
I dont know about others but everytime I walk in to ATH it feels "special". However.... I sadly cant recall the last time I stayed there, I used to stay there all the time. The prices went up and the quality went down. However, for me one of the biggest reasons I dont stay there now is the noise. The hotel seems to amplify the noise of others staying there in a way I havent encountered in other hotels. Hence I tend to opt for a cheaper B&B nearby which guarantees peace and quiet at night!
I have to agree with the noise comments, I have tried ATH 3 times and each time have been unable to get a proper sleep due to noise. Needless to say I don't stay there anymore, whilst Enchanted Village does have drawbacks at least you can sleep at night.
I thought all the rooms already had AC? And room service does exist, I'm sure...Agreed - I would love to stay back in the hotels again, but for me it would need:
Air conditioning in the rooms
New beds (larger than double size)
Perks voucher booklet
Extra ERT (maybe 30 mins prior to pass holders ERT?)
Room service is a good one
Water park hotel guests only time is another good idea
Adult only floors in the hotel to minimise noise for people travelling without kids
Entertainment in the evenings really needs to improve
I thought all the rooms already had AC? And room service does exist, I'm sure...
Agreed - I would love to stay back in the hotels again, but for me it would need:
Air conditioning in the rooms
New beds (larger than double size)
Perks voucher booklet
Extra ERT (maybe 30 mins prior to pass holders ERT?)
Room service is a good one
Water park hotel guests only time is another good idea
Adult only floors in the hotel to minimise noise for people travelling without kids
Entertainment in the evenings really needs to improve
I also remember when the hotel had Molton Brown toiletries and things like this, little things, bring people back and make it feel special.
It’s worth noting that if you drop the park an email ahead of your visit and request a quiet room in my experience they will happily accommodate this.
We have requested this a few times and have always been put in a quieter location, such as at the end of a corridor so you don’t have kids running and screaming past your room etc..
I thought all the rooms already had AC? And room service does exist, I'm sure...
They used to have room service but not any more, I think it was around the time when ATH dropped from 4* to 3*.
In answer to @GaryH, they'll never make adult only rooms / floors in Merlin hotels, infact I don't think any theme park resort would.
Both room service & adult rooms without the bunk beds / garish vinyl theming may well be very beneficial to the conference business / overnight bookings relating to conferences, especially in the closed season.
A couple of years ago a relative had to organise a big conference for the West Midlands based company she worked for. Alton Towers was on the list as a possible venue - she visited Towers to meet up with one of their conference organisers for a tour. The Conference Centre itself ticked all the boxes, but one look at the ATH & Splash Landings rooms put Alton Towers off the possible venue list.
They ended up using the Hyatt Regency on Broad Street in Birmingham - so budget was not the issue. It was the quality / style of the accommodation that Towers could offer not being business-orientated.