Chessington World of Adventures Resort

[Bob]

^ But not at other parks? May I remind you of Gloomy Wood and Dark Forest, the Alton Towers Hotel (a very, very unimaginative name). And then there is themed lands called The Swarm Island and SAW Island at Thorpe Park. And let's not forget the On-Site Hotel (the new crash pad), all those names are far worse than then names at Chessington.

It's not a race to the bottom you know. We could all do better then name a hotel 'Safari Hotel' I could throw out Serengeti Lodge for example and it already sounds less generic then Chessington's efforts.

Besides, Chessington in a million years would never name a ride The Smiler, that takes a whole lot of guts. They'd stick to something like 14 looper or Monkey Looper or Safari Looper. Gone are the days where imaginative ride names like Rameses Revenge, Bubbleworks and Smugglers Galleon were commonplace.

 

[Rob]

^ But not at other parks? May I remind you of Gloomy Wood and Dark Forest, the Alton Towers Hotel (a very, very unimaginative name). And then there is themed lands called The Swarm Island and SAW Island at Thorpe Park. And let's not forget the On-Site Hotel (the new crash pad), all those names are far worse than then names at Chessington.

I think the point is that Zufari, Zafari and Safari all sound pretty much exactly the same!

As for the Alton Towers Hotel, it might not seem like a very imaginative name but I think it is a classic name, just like say Disneyland Hotel. The name just sounds slightly magical to me, and it fits the style of the hotel perfectly.

 

[Benzin]

Isn't the new Thorpe hotel called "Riverside Hotel"?

Stuff doesn't have to be imaginative and unique, but it'd be nice if it wasn't so boring or similarly named to other things already on park...

Hell, Wanyama Lodge would fit into the theme of the nearby area and suit the pre-existing theme...

 

[Quetzal]

Yeah, if it were the only thing in the park with a name sounding like safari, it wouldn't be too bad, but Zufari, Zafari and Safari is just a bit too much.

I see what they're trying to do with Azteca and Safari though.

 

[siralgenon]

Why they couldn't keep the original 'Safari Lodge Hotel' name, I don't know - it sounded a lot better.

 

[James]

Don't see the problem with the name. At least they didn't name it "Chessington Hotel".

They are giving the hotel it's own name and identity. Safari sounds quite fun. Most people know what they are and without even seeing concept images or the place you know just by seeing that name it will be full of life and character.

In regards to Alton Towers Hotel, that sounds right for the hotel as it fits in with the 'classic' feel of the hotel and at the time fitted in with the "Disney of UK" identity. The name even now still works very well - it implies class which ATH does have thematically.

 

[_nemesis_]

Why they couldn't keep the original 'Safari Lodge Hotel' name, I don't know - it sounded a lot better.

I would assume that the name Safari Lodge Hotel is copyrighted by Holiday Inn.

As for the Thorpe Park waterfront hotel, all of that branding has been removed from the website, and replaced with the On-Site Hotel. :

It's not a race to the bottom you know.

I didnt mean it like that, was just pointing out that it's not just Chessington that have bad names. Sorry if I'm getting annoying or pessimistic, it's been a long closed season.

 

[djtruefitt]

I'm not sure if it has been posted in here but here is the new (well old) hotels logo:

 

[thefatone]

As for the Thorpe Park waterfront hotel, all of that branding has been removed from the website, and replaced with the On-Site Hotel. :

That's cos they haven't finalised the name for it yet. It's obviously not called the on-site hotel.

It's good to see Holiday Inn going, hopefully we'll get more varied room rates again (which was essentially prevented due to the way IHG did bookings - the lower a room rate, the lower the average night cost which'd be no true representation of actual cost for a typical guest).

 

[_nemesis_]

I would like the family rooms in the Safari Hotel to receive some variations. As they already have grand plans for the Azteca rooms, I think they could change some of the Standard and Family rooms to a variety of themed rooms.

They could have a Wild Asia room, Bubbleworks room, Forbidden Kingdom room and a Madagascar room, they are all moderately African/Asian (obviously excluding Bubbleworks). It could work really well. Obviously these would be the rooms that don't overlook Wanyama.

 

[jon81uk]

They could have a Wild Asia room, Bubbleworks room, Forbidden Kingdom room and a Madagascar room, they are all moderately African/Asian (obviously excluding Bubbleworks). It could work really well. Obviously these would be the rooms that don't overlook Wanyama.

But if you theme the rooms to the Chesingon areas then you might as well just call it the Chessington Hotel. Safari hotel with some rooms with safari views makes sense and then the Aztec Hotel with some rooms with Monkey views.

 

[_nemesis_]

^ Splash Landings Hotel has Ice Age rooms though!

 

[Anonymous]

^ Splash Landings Hotel has Ice Age rooms though!

Yes, but Chessington's hotel is more business centric due to it's location, so they need to be careful not to alienate part of their target audience.

 

[Enter Valhalla]

I would guess that it's for this reason why we are actually seeing a second hotel/ hotel extention, whichever way you look at it.

Business people would have to make up a big chunk of hotel guests. Whilst you do see a few families staying there, I doubt many people would want or need to stay the night at a park which is as small and, quite frankly, as dull and disinteresting as Chessington. It's also hardly a nice surrounding area for a family to spend a short break, I'm actually baffled that this second hotel is even being built and can only assume it is primarily for business travellers.

 

[_nemesis_]

^ Err the hotel is almost always fully booked. I would estimate 85% of the bookings are families. Even when the Theme Park (and sometimes Chessington Zoo) are closed. You only need to look at the first review on their Facebook page to know that families are very pleased by the hotel. They need to build a second Hotel as the current one can't cope with the demand.

As for the surrounding area, it couldn't be better! It's near/on Green Belt Land, so nothing too major or permanent can be build, making it a nice, peaceful area of Greater London. As it's in that area, and is close to the M25, families or thrill seekers can visit Thorpe of LEGOLAND before/after staying.
The actual current hotel overlooks Wanyama, and has a beautiful setting, especially on an evening sunset in the Summer!

There is also a golf course on Leatherhead road, only a three minute drive down the road.

 

[Rob]

As for the surrounding area, it couldn't be better! It's near/on Green Belt Land, so nothing too major or permanent can be build, making it a nice, peaceful area of Greater London.

And perfect for theme park developments...

 

[electricBlll]

I doubt many people would want or need to stay the night at a park which is as small and, quite frankly, as dull and disinteresting as Chessington. It's also hardly a nice surrounding area for a family to spend a short break, I'm actually baffled that this second hotel is even being built

Have you ever been in the hotel? It's actually a very nice place to be with a surprisingly pleasant surrounding.

Loads of families want to stay at Chessington because they know how to have fun there, and it is helpfully near London. Chessington is not "disintegrating" just because the theme park isn't great like it once was; compared to the last 10 years, general maintenance/aesthetic refurbishments have increased massively. Combine this with the new branding introduced in 2010, which was very well received by the public, and it isn't hard to see why there is demand for a new hotel.

 

[Dave]

The hotel also integrates with the zoo which works really well.

I enjoyed staying at Chessingtons hotel.

 

[TheMan]

It would be fine if they didn't already have Zafari and Zufari. There's a severe lack of imagination when it comes to naming new additions at Chessington.

I redact my earlier statement :twirly:

 

[thefatone]

85% of the bookings are families.

Would love to see where you've plucked that from.

But either way, the hotel is absolutely gorgeous. It's by far my favourite out of the merlin offering.