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Stargazing Pods

Dreading staying in the hotel if all the people in those pods decide to come into the hotel to use the bar and other facilities.
 
Its when they decide to close half the toilets for a cost saving flush that things could get messy :p
 
I apologise if I shouldn't have, but I have just changed the topic title in order to reflect the trademarked name that we recently saw.
 
5 star gazing pods? Because that's how many you can see through the hole in the roofs when they don't get repaired a few years later

Seriously though Tripsdrill manage to keep their showers and toilets pristine. I'm sure that some people will shower the the night before or earlier in the morning. Also if they follow the Tripsdrill model of building the breakfast bar a few miles away, that will help stagger the use of showers.

If you're that worried you can always have a festival shower in your room with a few wet wipes and some lynx voodoo.
 
I have grave concerns that the resort infrastructure simply won't cope with this.

The bars and restaurants are wholly inadequate to cope with the extra guests theyre trying to get in here.

I do not have much faith in Merlin's project management that this will be anything other than bare minimum.

Hope I am wrong.

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AstroDan said:
I have grave concerns that the resort infrastructure simply won't cope with this.

The bars and restaurants are wholly inadequate to cope with the extra guests theyre trying to get in here.

I do not have much faith in Merlin's project management that this will be anything other than bare minimum.

Hope I am wrong.
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I absolutely agree, non of this is giving me any faith it has been seriously considered or the impact it will have.

The toilet and shower block is not adequate for the amount of guests.
There is no further provision for any food service, on top of an existing struggling capacity (even when they all open).
There is no entertainment. None.

I also cant believe what is apparently the leading park in the UK is considering any sort of accommodation without en-suite facilities. It is absolutely alien to the majority of people and just smacks of making it the cheapest possible build with minimal maintenance.
I had hoped it was all a joke, but sadly not. Star gazing barrel... scrape the other side, theres still some scum left on it.
 
Ben said:
I absolutely agree, non of this is giving me any faith it has been seriously considered or the impact it will have.

The toilet and shower block is not adequate for the amount of guests.
There is no further provision for any food service, on top of an existing struggling capacity (even when they all open).
There is no entertainment. None.

I also cant believe what is apparently the leading park in the UK is considering any sort of accommodation without en-suite facilities. It is absolutely alien to the majority of people and just smacks of making it the cheapest possible build with minimal maintenance.
I had hoped it was all a joke, but sadly not. Star gazing barrel... scrape the other side, theres still some scum left on it.
Click to expand...
I think you're right. I happily stay in youth hostels with shared rooms, no en suite, but I would never stay in somewhere where you had to go outside for the toilet unless it was really cheap.
 
If this does go ahead then I may very well be put off staying on resort at all. Still bitter at the shambles of the evening from 2017's last day of season; the bars simply could not cope.

Or should I say, bar....
 
Guys guys, you're all assuming that this pathetic development will actually attract extra guests for it to overwhelm the infrastructure.


We've already established that more accommodation is clearly not needed.
 
I think these would be great if they just put more effort in. That large patch of grass in the centre would be great for an outdoor entertainment setup like the canopy/tent that used to be in fountain square. It could house a bar serving a basic menu.
They need to look at the type of places where these things and camping in general are successful. They are not going to attract the type of people who like to camp in an empty field, these types generally would frown at a place like towers (stereo typically) and would more than likely have their own camping setup/equipment. So really the market is people who like to stay in holiday homes/rented caravans at places like Haven.

It seems like it's a bit of a risk to be taking. I think it'll all really depend on the price.
 
A thought occurs: What if these sheds are not in addition to the current hotels.... but are intended as a replacement?
Splash sits empty for half the year as it is. Must cost them a fortune. But sheds are nice and cheap. If these go ahead, I could see them perminantly closing Splash. Maybe even bulldozing it to make way for a new car park, to make up for the lost space if they ever plan on building a coaster on the Air car park?
 
The number of TA reviews where hotel guests are angry because they have not been able to get into any of the restaurants during their stay seems to be increasing the more reviews I read. The hotels last weekend when I went were packed, with all the bar areas full. Splash had no seats available while ATH had the usual 1 person serving behind the bar and the queue out of the Dragon Bar entrance.

The lodges I stayed in were dirty, not cleaned very well, and a friend of mine who was there this weekend also had the same experience with poor housekeeping. Seems to be a common theme with the lodges again reading the reviews.

I have NO faith whatsoever in this development and think it is the most moronic dumbest idea I have ever heard. It will break the resort, and it will put people off staying as the existing hotels/bars/restaurants/waterpark just cannot cope now on busy days - and neither can the theme park.

The sad thing is that Merlin seem to forget (or not care) that it was the theme park that put Alton Towers on the map and made it what it is today. Its the theme park people travel hours and hundreds of miles to go to. Its about time they started putting the investment back into it and holding off on building any more "enchanted sheds" until such time the park is fully back up to speed and "world class" again.
 
Had to laugh last week. Popped into the main Hotel in the morning to go in the gift shop and cheekily use the bathroom. When walking down to the next level I saw a massive queue of people on the lower level waiting to even get into the restaurant for breakfast. Is this normal?

I mean, if I stayed at a hotel and had paid a decent price for it, I would expect to not have to wait to be seated for breakfast. I especially wouldn't want to be queueing halfway across the middle of the hotel with a load of people already in front of me. The queues at AT start even before you get to the monorail or the theme park if you stay in the hotel by the looks of it (unless they were just having a bad day for whatever reason). No way I would even consider staying there again if that happened to me. God knows what time those people would have made it onto a ride in the theme park on that day.
 
When we stayed last June (2017) yes you had to queue for breakfast and had to book s time slot, this was doubly insulting because the restaurant was only ever a third full.
 
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