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Chessington World of Adventures Resort

I actually think they look cool, but maybe out of step with the times. When I was a kid I always wanted to go to The Alton Towers Hotel and stay in the Cadbury’s Room or the Coca Cola Room (or was it a Celebration Room? You know the one I mean). I never did get to stay there, but it was a childhood dream.

I’m sure a new generation of kids will dream of staying in these rooms. I’m not so keen on the Oreo one, blue looks a bit cold, but the Capri Sun one does actually look really fun.

But when you look at what’s happened with junk food and childhood obesity, I’m not sure it’s such a good idea. If I were a parent, I wouldn’t want my children to stay in it.
 
It’s a weird pairing. Could almost understand Oreo given that Merlin have a stake in Cadbury World but Capri Sun doesn’t have anything to do with anyone
 
Yikes, neither of those are very restful! Not sure about the neon Capri Sun logo over the double bed but the slide would be a hit with @Chimpy I reckon
 
Funcone said:
I actually think they look cool, but maybe out of step with the times. When I was a kid I always wanted to go to The Alton Towers Hotel and stay in the Cadbury’s Room or the Coca Cola Room (or was it a Celebration Room? You know the one I mean). I never did get to stay there, but it was a childhood dream.

I’m sure a new generation of kids will dream of staying in these rooms. I’m not so keen on the Oreo one, blue looks a bit cold, but the Capri Sun one does actually look really fun.

But when you look at what’s happened with junk food and childhood obesity, I’m not sure it’s such a good idea. If I were a parent, I wouldn’t want my children to stay in it.
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Theme parks and good nutrition are two subjects as far apart as you can possibly get!

And tbh, i think the concept of it being a "once in a lifetime" type of treat makes it less of an issue. It's like having a birthday cake once a year.

The Tofu and Broccoli rooms would be less appealing certainly.

Anyway the reality is the Merlin parks are absolutely covered in junk food and associated branding and they get worse every year.

We went to the Cadbury's Room last year and there wasn't even that much chocolate in the room. I'm sure the Coca Cola room used to have it on tap.
 
Maybe I am in the minority then, I think that Oreo room looks so tacky - with all the sophistication of a nightclub toilet.

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The random commercial tie ins that are clearly there for nothing other than cashing in on the IP are also very jarring.

If this is what the ‘new’ Merlin are aiming for with their accommodation, I’m not a fan.
 
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Bowser said:
Theme parks and good nutrition are two subjects as far apart as you can possibly get!

And tbh, i think the concept of it being a "once in a lifetime" type of treat makes it less of an issue. It's like having a birthday cake once a year.

The Tofu and Broccoli rooms would be less appealing certainly.

Anyway the reality is the Merlin parks are absolutely covered in junk food and associated branding and they get worse every year.

We went to the Cadbury's Room last year and there wasn't even that much chocolate in the room. I'm sure the Coca Cola room used to have it on tap.
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I get the joke, but clearly the alternative to these rooms wasn’t a room themed to tofu or broccoli.

I suppose you could argue that when a kid eats junk food at a theme park, they associate the fun of the theme park with the junk food. But I wouldn’t say it’s quite the same thing either. I’d say a closer comparison would be to adverts for junk food during children’s TV. The UK does have one of the highest rates of childhood obesity in the world. This isn’t just about the occasional treat. It’s about how it’s acceptable for junk food to be marketed to children, and the long term impact on what the child wants to eat.

On one hand you’ve got campaigners trying to tackle childhood obesity, and on the other hand you’ve got this.

I know to some people I will sound like a kill joy, and you could argue that staying in a room themed to junk food is no different to taking your kids to Cadbury’s World. But when you look at how prevalent childhood obesity is now (and obesity in general) this feels like something that would have been a bit of fun in the 90s, but to me it feels a bit irresponsible now.
 
Funcone said:
I get the joke, but clearly the alternative to these rooms wasn’t a room themed to tofu or broccoli.

I suppose you could argue that when a kid eats junk food at a theme park, they associate the fun of the theme park with the junk food. But I wouldn’t say it’s quite the same thing either. I’d say a closer comparison would be to adverts for junk food during children’s TV. The UK does have one of the highest rates of childhood obesity in the world. This isn’t just about the occasional treat. It’s about how it’s acceptable for junk food to be marketed to children, and the long term impact on what the child wants to eat.

On one hand you’ve got campaigners trying to tackle childhood obesity, and on the other hand you’ve got this.

I know to some people I will sound like a kill joy, and you could argue that staying in a room themed to junk food is no different to taking your kids to Cadbury’s World. But when you look at how prevalent childhood obesity is now (and obesity in general) this feels like something that would have been a bit of fun in the 90s, but to me it feels a bit irresponsible now.
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I do get your point. I think the distinction i would draw is that bombarding children with junk food adverts on tv/social media is relentless and creates the long term cultural impact you mention whereas a trip to a theme park (and especially a hotel within) is for most people with children an occasional treat.

Anyway as the original post says, i think the main issue is it's a bit rubbish that it's a completely unrelated branding that has nothing to do with the hotel theme or any of the attractions but then they do already have Jumanji and Gruffalo rooms so i think it's pretty harmless in the grand scheme of things.
 
Random date in April for one adult in one of these new "themed" rooms would cost £239, a notable increase in the £109 it'd be for a normal room. I get that there's a bag of Oreos or a box of Capri-Sun in each, but considering how intensely tacky those rooms look, can hardly say it's worth the price...
 
The theme itself isn't necessarily something that appeals to our family BUT the novelty of having a slide would appeal to the boys and the Capri Sun room also appears to have a loose nod to the jungle/animal elements of the hotels. We would be likely to pay extra for something like this as we often stay in the park hotels & the kids love the quirkiness (Big Pyjama Room at AT is my fav!). Oreo seems like it'd be more at home at AT or Thorpe for some reason!

Both rooms are very... loud... but nice to see they can still create weird & wacky experiences at Merlin hotels.
 
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