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2017: CBeebies Land Hotel

This is the only way they can make money, then all the money they make the give back to the guests who demand refunds after they have an abysmal day in their run dow theme park
 
Imagination said:
This whole project should never have been allowed to exist. Ever.
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Why? The plans for an extension for the Alton Towers Hotel have been around for probably five years. The exterior, although yes it means there is no longer a view of the trees from the garden, is in keeping with the original ATH buildings. Many other hotels have rooms themed on characters based in the park, Drayton Manor has Thomas rooms for example.

They are pricing the CBeebies rooms too high, but I expect they will drop next year slightly and also I don't have a problem with them restricting the CBeebies entertainment to guests of that hotel wing only, its part of the reason the new hotel is more expensive, there is much, much more entertainment.
 
jon81uk said:
Why? The plans for an extension for the Alton Towers Hotel have been around for probably five years. The exterior, although yes it means there is no longer a view of the trees from the garden, is in keeping with the original ATH buildings. Many other hotels have rooms themed on characters based in the park, Drayton Manor has Thomas rooms for example.

They are pricing the CBeebies rooms too high, but I expect they will drop next year slightly and also I don't have a problem with them restricting the CBeebies entertainment to guests of that hotel wing only, its part of the reason the new hotel is more expensive, there is much, much more entertainment.
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Those plans were made purely to increase the value of the park for when the owners (at the time) came to sell it on. It was never really thought through properly.

A bad dea is still a bad idea no matter how you try to dress it up.... with vinyl prints.
 
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I think until you have children you wont realise how good this is for families. Yes the location and the way it fits in could of been better, but at least it looks like the current ATH.

As for anyone else you would hope that ATH will be more of an adult hotel without screaming kids running around
 
Disney has been taking that approach for years, it's almost as if the parks are now there to sell the hotels, which is quite an interesting development.

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I love how Alton Towers have these "premium" products.

RCR was billed as the "premium" outlet when it was opened. Yet the food is probably a lesser quality than both Secret Garden and Emperor.

CBeebies Hotel does have the entertainment, but that aside, I can't see anything premium about the rooms. Based on the example room on Towers Street, the rooms are nothing special at all.
 
@AstroDan I think they're really hanging their hats on the entertainment offerings. Also, the relatively small room count will add to the demand and exclusivity.

With regards to RCR, I thought the food was fine - I wasn't expecting anything special. It's all about the experience as a whole and the novelty factor.

It's premium vs. sitting in the rain at Burger Kitchen just up the path next to a rusty pirate ship.
 
I ate for the first time in RCR last year and it wasnt good at all. I am not alone either as if you read the reviews of the restaurant online, they are pretty shocking, with most people complaining of wrong orders and cold food.

However....... I think given all the bad reports that they are making an effort this year to get it up to scratch.
 
RCR has been up and down, quite literally.

I have had some solid meals ,but also some appalling ones.

It has been very inconsistent compared to, say, the restaurant in the hotels. We'll see what this new buffet restaurant is like - not that we'll be allowed in.
 
I visited RCR twice last season. First visit in the summer was great, great experience, food was hot and tasted great, a really nice time. Second visit during Scarefest was awful, food was stone cold, ordering food didn't go smoothly and there was a not-so-nice atmosphere in there. Looking at reviews it does seem like experiences in RCR have been mixed, which for the price you're paying it should not be like that. Hopefully this year they have ironed things out.

CBeebies Hotel... meh, it's not aimed at me. The entertainment offerings is great, although it doesn't seem like the rooms will be any better than what you can get in ATH/SLH for £300-£500 cheaper. I suppose you're paying for the IP...
 
James said:
CBeebies Hotel... meh, it's not aimed at me. The entertainment offerings is great, although it doesn't seem like the rooms will be any better than what you can get in ATH/SLH for £300-£500 cheaper. I suppose you're paying for the IP...
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Where are these prices coming from? We are there for a night in August, prices haven't shifted since we booked.

Two adults and two kids - one night, two days on park (before MAP discount -screenie here).
Cbeebies hotel - £450
Alton towers hotel - £378

That's an £18 additional cost per person for brand new rooms that the kids will love, all day entertainment and a restaurant full of families and not a Vlogstar in sight.
 
AstroDan said:
CBeebies Hotel does have the entertainment, but that aside, I can't see anything premium about the rooms. Based on the example room on Towers Street, the rooms are nothing special at all.
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I think it has the improved room format doesn't it? Similar to the lodges where the bunk beds are separated off from the double bed. They are already charging a premium for that format of rooms, as Splash is cheapest, then ATH standard, then moon voyager & lodges, then CBeebies most expensvie as it has new room style and is newest.
 
Rick said:
Where are these prices coming from? We are there for a night in August, prices haven't shifted since we booked.

Two adults and two kids - one night, two days on park (before MAP discount -screenie here).
Cbeebies hotel - £450
Alton towers hotel - £378

That's an £18 additional cost per person for brand new rooms that the kids will love, all day entertainment and a restaurant full of families and not a Vlogstar in sight.
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Yeah but when you say cost per person, lets face it, its not really, its the additional cost to the parents, not the kids, so you can basically say its another £72 for the parents, or if we really want to be picky, £32 per parent if they have seperate bank accounts!!

Its obviously aimed at kids called Tarquin who have a pony at home and the family car is a Range Rover or Porsche Cayenne ;)
 
GaryH said:
Yeah but when you say cost per person, lets face it, its not really, its the additional cost to the parents, not the kids, so you can basically say its another £72 for the parents, or if we really want to be picky, £32 per parent if they have seperate bank accounts!!
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You are being ridiculous and picky. The cost is per person, but you are quite correct, most 6 and 8 year olds don't have a bank account and if they do, it typically doesn't come with a debit card. Therefore, the cost per person is picked up by the parents - as is the cost of anything else that you ever do with your kids.

If the two parents go to Paris for the weekend, the ~£800 cost is picked up by parents themselves, at a cost of *does sums in head* £400 each.

There is a difference between spending £800 on four people and £800 on just the two of you. Cost per person is an important factor when you're determining the value of a product. That £800 is a slice of my monthly earnings, so I need to establish if four people are having a fun time for that £800, or if only two are? It matters.

GaryH said:
Its obviously aimed at kids called Tarquin who have a pony at home and the family car is a Range Rover or Porsche Cayenne ;)
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I don't agree - but so what if it was? For some perspective, the castle hotel at Legoland is £610 for the same night (before MAP discount). I hope they've got the helipad sorted for the kind of guests that will be dropping in there ;):cool:
 
Rick said:
You are being ridiculous and picky. The cost is per person, but you are quite correct, most 6 and 8 year olds don't have a bank account and if they do, it typically doesn't come with a debit card. Therefore, the cost per person is picked up by the parents - as is the cost of anything else that you ever do with your kids.

There is a difference between spending £800 on four people and £800 on just the two of you. Cost per person is an important factor when you're determining the value of a product. That £800 is a slice of my monthly earnings, so I need to establish if four people are having a fun time for that £800, or if only two are? It matters.
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I dont think I am being ridiculous. Its a valid point. If you want to base the cost on it being per person then it depends how many people are paying for it. If four of us go to Alton and stay in the Enchanted Village, and we each pay £70 towards it, then it could be argued its not bad value, particularly if we are all aged as such that we will make the most from our stay. If 4 of us go and only 2 of us are paying then it changes the value factor.

That's also what most parents are saying on the Alton Towers media channels - £430 a night to stay in a glorified B&B is somewhat extortionate! And ok, lets split it by 4 people then, £107.50 per person, when 2 of those people may be aged under 6 for example is very expensive for what you are getting. Again, is it value for money that a young kid who will be asleep by 7pm pays over £100 to stay in this hotel, even when you cant check into the room from 3pm, and they want you out by 10am?!

I don't agree - but so what if it was? For some perspective, the castle hotel at Legoland is £610 for the same night (before MAP discount). I hope they've got the helipad sorted for the kind of guests that will be dropping in there ;):cool:
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Anyone who pays £610 a night needs their head read personally, but hey, if Alton want to gear their offerings to those with more money than sense then let them do so, but for some of us as novel as it is to stay in the resort hotels, the price just no longer matches the quality of the product, particularly when you look at some of the extremely nice and more value for money offerings in the local area.

Buy hey, its your money you do as you choose and as long as people continue to book rooms there, Merlin will continue to up the prices. Anyway - rightly so, its your money, you earn it, you do as you choose, but I thought the subject we were discussing here was the hotel and whether its value for money - my personal view is no its not. Others may disagree.

PS. ATH used to actually have a helipad to the left of the hotel where enchanted village now stands - like you say, they could do with another one by the sounds of it!
 
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