speedy
TS Member
I stayed in Splash Landings once on a a school trip. Perhaps if school trips are a large chunk of income, that's why they have cut back. School kids aren't paying for it so they're less likely to complain!
2020: General Discussion
- Thread starter Danny
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RicketyCricket
TS Member
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- Taron
Used to stay in the main hotel once a year back when I wasn't the one paying for it. Haven't stayed there in about 15 years now but occasionally nip in for a nostalgia blast.
We stay wherever is cheapest within a 5 mile radius now
We stay wherever is cheapest within a 5 mile radius now
RicketyCricket
TS Member
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- Taron
Why have I never done this before? That's a great shout.
Alastair
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- Indiana Jones Adventure
I realise it's been mentioned before, but perhaps we could try to steer clear of these kinds of comparisons going forwards. I think as much as we all know it's not meant with any malice, Auschwitz in particular is a rather sensitive and awful subject matter to put against a theme park development! Thanks.
It’s a 320 mile round trip for me so I want to cram in as much as possible. So when they have the evening midweek races between may and July it makes it worthwhile. Plus there’s a spoons in uttoxeter so cheap breakfast in the morning or cheap beer in the evening.
Rojo
TS Member
I realise it's been mentioned before, but perhaps we could try to steer clear of these kinds of comparisons going forwards. I think as much as we all know it's not meant with any malice, Auschwitz in particular is a rather sensitive and awful subject matter to put against a theme park development! Thanks.
Great point Alistair!
P.s. I'd have gone Southport Pontins!
jon81uk
TS Member
I now only visit for fireworks but we find stay at ATH is then much more convenient, but we stay the Sunday night which is cheapest and I refuse to pay more than £150 for the night with breakfast. Being able to just walk back to the hotel after an evening in the park is much easier than driving somewhere. Yes the hotels are more expensive but you pay for the location. Also they are hotels not B&Bs so they have a restaurant and bar you can use in the evening.
But we have also stayed at the Chained Oak B&B in the summer which is fantastic too with a great breakfast.
Jonathan
TS Member
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- Helix <3
I only live 40 minutes from Towers, so see no real point in staying on resort during the season. I often tend to stay at Fireworks, though, as a once-a-year treat. Plus Fireworks is usually close to my birthday, so I consider it as something of a celebration.
jon81uk
TS Member
I do sort of wonder how Premier Inn can sell some rooms so cheap. I've booked for £30 and its ridiculously low really.
But in terms of choosing a hotel it also depends what you value most. If having a nice bar within the hotel is important then a Premier Inn probably isn't great. Whereas if all you worry about is a clean functional room they are perfect
siralgenon
TS Member
If having a nice bar within the hotel is important then Towers probably isn't great either.
jon81uk
TS Member
If having a nice bar within the hotel is important then Towers probably isn't great either.
I've been in far worse....
Its definitely better than the Beefeater restaurant bar area you get at a Premier Inn.
siralgenon
TS Member
Having got in the queue for the Dragon Bar before a show and not getting my drink until the show had ended, I have to disagree.
Plus there have been many times where I've had to remove dirty glasses that have been stuck to the table or sit amongst five bags of spilt popcorn. Aesthetically yes they look very nice, but look beyond that and I think you'll find higher standards in a pub.
jon81uk
TS Member
Okay yes I agree with you completely there the glass collecting standard is bad, they just need more staff. But again I've been in much busier bars that suffer from the same issues on some nights and I have also queued for unacceptable times in some bars. I think the problem ATH has is that they don't put extra staff on for busy weekends, so the quality suffers. Its not always the standard of anything, just the right number of staff compared to the number of guests to be able to serve and clean up with that number of guests.
siralgenon
TS Member
Which I get, but I'm not paying £200 to sit in a pub bar, but I am doing at the Alton Towers Hotels. You're right there isn't enough staff, but they never have enough staff on which leads to the problem, and the ones they do have are horrendously slow.
Like I said the bars themselves are lovely, but the service just lets them down. Tell me another hotel you've been to where you have to wait 30 minutes at the bar for a drink, it just doesn't happen.
jon81uk
TS Member
I've been to weddings at remote hotels and waited over 15 minutes to be served. Other than Alton Towers thats the only time I've been in a remote hotel and used the bar really.
Its hard to compare ATH to a majority of hotels really. If I'm in a city centre there are hundreds of other cheaper options so I don't use the hotel bar (even though I am paying £200 to stay in the hotel) and most guests do the same so the demand at the bar is lower.
I'm not justifying that the standard of service is good, just that it is hard to compare to other hotels.
I do agree that they need to fix the staffing issue, I think their must think that people are still spending the money anyway (as guests have no where else to go easily), which is of course the wrong attitude.
We should be complaining and asking for the manager while on-site really I guess to make sure they know to do something (which in itself shouldn't be needed if things are run correctly in the first place).
The complaining makes me think of a horrendous experiance I had in JD Sports queuing for a click and collect order for over 20 minutes and management didn't care as they were the shoes manager not the tills manager!
Steve74
TS Member
Not necessarily - I think Duel would ok as long as it's only 1 friend/family group per car. Hex, possible closure - depends how many can go in per ride with all the distancing in place. If it's down to 1m by 4th July, then it probably has a better chance of opening. Same goes for Sharkbait I guess.
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