DistortAMG
TS Member
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Altochwitz seems to have really come along.
Do the gas chambers come free or?...
Do the gas chambers come free or?...
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Stargazing Pods
- Thread starter Matt N
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Alastair
TS Team
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Agreed, think the Auschwitz comparisons have been done to death in this thread already anyway.
EDIT - Just realised the wording of that sentence was in no way meant to be a pun!
DistortAMG
TS Member
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I apologise for my comments. I have not seen them in person no. Although people have used the age old argument of 'you can't judge unless you have seen them in person' nonsense. That may have been true 20 years ago, not today!
While it won't be exactly the same as visiting in reality no, cameras technology is so good now and at the point of which a very good general idea of what something is going to be like can be translated through the camera to the persons home. This rule would apply far far less to someone watching a roller coaster POV for example or a dark ride POV. But for something as mundane as some sheds, I think the general idea can be translated through a photo or video pretty well. There are going to be no hidden pockets of airtime that the video did not pick up that will woo your panties off, had you gone in person rather than saw the sheds beforehand, as there would be with a coaster.
Altonadvocate1
TS Member
I may be completely wrong.
Personally, I think they detract from the escapism and fun of what I consider to be an absolutely fantastic theme park, but...
... Glamping has become very popular and is massive to a certain demographic. I'm less sure that the glamping demographic and theme park demographic go together though, and I don't see these people paying the sort of money that Merlin are asking for.
Of course when the novelty wears off and the price comes down, it COULD be hugely popular with this new generation of hippies and Merlin will be looking to ride the wave.
Oh wow man!
Personally, I think they detract from the escapism and fun of what I consider to be an absolutely fantastic theme park, but...
... Glamping has become very popular and is massive to a certain demographic. I'm less sure that the glamping demographic and theme park demographic go together though, and I don't see these people paying the sort of money that Merlin are asking for.
Of course when the novelty wears off and the price comes down, it COULD be hugely popular with this new generation of hippies and Merlin will be looking to ride the wave.
Oh wow man!
Dave
TS Founding Member
This isn’t glamping, Warwick castles tent thing is glamping. This is a camping option that is popular and could potentially have an audience but the execution is mixed and the prices are waaaaaaay too high.
ScottishChris
TS Member
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I just had a quick look - £318 (without park tickets) for 2 nights! And people are paying it -quite a few nights are sold out.
I know we like to criticise Merlin - but Bravo. How much profit are they making? It must be more than £100 per shed per night. I can imagine overheads are that much.
I know we like to criticise Merlin - but Bravo. How much profit are they making? It must be more than £100 per shed per night. I can imagine overheads are that much.
AT86
TS Member
Bear in mind the pods are only open weekends and school holidays, so depending on the dates you have looked at it might just be shut, not full.
Danny
TS Contributor
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Had a proper look around this afternoon. Whilst they do look better than when they earned the Towschwitz nickname, there's still a general cheap feeling when navigating the site.
Given it said "last few rooms remaining" when attempting to book tonight, only a few looked to be occupied from the night before or had people attempting to haul suitcases across the messy turf to them after the park had closed. Clearly it'll look better once the trees have grown in, but that doesn't detract from the hideous path finishes and gravel messes.
The toilet and shower block is rather uninspiring; no theming and was already dirty and unclean after two days of operation. I was also astounded at the fact the shower/toilet block only contains six showers (in the men's) for the entire facilities. There's almost triple that amount in the waterpark's changing rooms....
But the most laughable aspect comes down to the tent.
This photo was taken 30 minutes after it had opened to guests and as you can see, only two of us were in there. Whilst guests from the other hotels began to settle into Dragon Bar and Ma's respectively, this tent was seemingly invisible to guests over at the pod site. Guests would either walk past entirely, open the door/pop head in then swiftly leave/ or come to hear what all the noise was about, admire its source then swiftly leave.
The noise needless to say was not coming from the "bustling" nature of its occupants. It was however coming from an excellent addition to the resort entertainment in the form of a self-playing piano. Genuinely the best contribution of this whole development, plinking and plonking out recognisable hits from the 80's through to now, and also playing ITHOTMK and The Smiler soundtrack (didn't hear any others, but hopefully the other ride soundtracks do feature).
That said however, the tent is totally void of atmosphere (irrespective of lack of guests), has a very limited drink offering at the god awful temporary looking bar, and the only the drink it did have on draught wasn't functioning.There are blankets provided thankfully for when it's cold (they are somewhat needed as today was not the warmest of days by far) but other than the piano, the entire tent is a bit of a farce.
As is the entire Stargazing Pods development for that matter. And given prices for Splash can easily fall within a cheaper price bracket, with ATH not exactly a premium pricing in comparison either, you'd actually be mad to stay in one. A notion it seems that is shared by those already starting on their Easter holidays, as the pods really didn't seem to be receiving much attention at all tonight in comparison to the other resort offerings.
Given it said "last few rooms remaining" when attempting to book tonight, only a few looked to be occupied from the night before or had people attempting to haul suitcases across the messy turf to them after the park had closed. Clearly it'll look better once the trees have grown in, but that doesn't detract from the hideous path finishes and gravel messes.
The toilet and shower block is rather uninspiring; no theming and was already dirty and unclean after two days of operation. I was also astounded at the fact the shower/toilet block only contains six showers (in the men's) for the entire facilities. There's almost triple that amount in the waterpark's changing rooms....
But the most laughable aspect comes down to the tent.
This photo was taken 30 minutes after it had opened to guests and as you can see, only two of us were in there. Whilst guests from the other hotels began to settle into Dragon Bar and Ma's respectively, this tent was seemingly invisible to guests over at the pod site. Guests would either walk past entirely, open the door/pop head in then swiftly leave/ or come to hear what all the noise was about, admire its source then swiftly leave.
The noise needless to say was not coming from the "bustling" nature of its occupants. It was however coming from an excellent addition to the resort entertainment in the form of a self-playing piano. Genuinely the best contribution of this whole development, plinking and plonking out recognisable hits from the 80's through to now, and also playing ITHOTMK and The Smiler soundtrack (didn't hear any others, but hopefully the other ride soundtracks do feature).
That said however, the tent is totally void of atmosphere (irrespective of lack of guests), has a very limited drink offering at the god awful temporary looking bar, and the only the drink it did have on draught wasn't functioning.There are blankets provided thankfully for when it's cold (they are somewhat needed as today was not the warmest of days by far) but other than the piano, the entire tent is a bit of a farce.
As is the entire Stargazing Pods development for that matter. And given prices for Splash can easily fall within a cheaper price bracket, with ATH not exactly a premium pricing in comparison either, you'd actually be mad to stay in one. A notion it seems that is shared by those already starting on their Easter holidays, as the pods really didn't seem to be receiving much attention at all tonight in comparison to the other resort offerings.
I'm not surprised that the marquee is empty, anyone who pops their heads in can see that the Germans have already clearly beaten the Brits to the seating by reserving them with a towel
djtruefitt
TS Team
Having had a look round the pods the other day, they look alright, but a lot of the area looks very bare and dull at the moment, I guess it will look better once it’s grown a little.
However some of the little details are awful, the reception check in area is a joke, and barely looks like they have done anything to even clean or tidy it after being shut for years.
The Tipi is not too bad inside, and is bigger than it looks outside, however the bar looks as if it could fall over if you pushed it and the drinks selection is poor, fine if you don’t mind paying £1.35 for a can of coke served in a plastic glass.
Also there’s no heating or air con, so I imagine it will either be freezing or boiling. Was quite funny because the bar manager actually left to go get his coat it was that cold in there. Just don’t know why they haven’t added some kind of heaters or something.
Finally the outside of the bar looks shocking, you’ll be mistaken to think it was a staff smoking area with how unfinished it looks. It’s got gravel on the floor, and just some wooden doors for the entrance with no signage or anything.
However some of the little details are awful, the reception check in area is a joke, and barely looks like they have done anything to even clean or tidy it after being shut for years.
The Tipi is not too bad inside, and is bigger than it looks outside, however the bar looks as if it could fall over if you pushed it and the drinks selection is poor, fine if you don’t mind paying £1.35 for a can of coke served in a plastic glass.
Also there’s no heating or air con, so I imagine it will either be freezing or boiling. Was quite funny because the bar manager actually left to go get his coat it was that cold in there. Just don’t know why they haven’t added some kind of heaters or something.
Finally the outside of the bar looks shocking, you’ll be mistaken to think it was a staff smoking area with how unfinished it looks. It’s got gravel on the floor, and just some wooden doors for the entrance with no signage or anything.
venny
TS Member
I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that the set-up of the bar looks more temporary than pretty much any temporary bar I’ve seen. And I’m not joking.
Think of any festival, event etc - nowadays you can expect a bar set-up with a cosy atmosphere, decent sound system, fires (or some way to get warm other than a blanket) and a generally decent drinks selection. That’s for bars which are there for a few days. This has none of those amenities and it’s (allegedly) permanent.
The piano looks cool, but the rest of it is worse than poor.
Think of any festival, event etc - nowadays you can expect a bar set-up with a cosy atmosphere, decent sound system, fires (or some way to get warm other than a blanket) and a generally decent drinks selection. That’s for bars which are there for a few days. This has none of those amenities and it’s (allegedly) permanent.
The piano looks cool, but the rest of it is worse than poor.
MattyH
TS Member
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For what they are? Yes. They look like nice sheds. But as accommodation, no. Are you that nieve?
I'd actually agree that for what they are (camping) they look fine. However I'd say you cannot view them in isolation, the facilities are not up to scratch for the potential number of visitors. Not to mention that they are not sold as a camping option, they are sold as a premium(ish) product.
Its safe to say that you can get far better than that for the same price just minutes away. Sure it has its "on park" tax added, but I think for most visitors this will be deemed as poor value for money.
There is actually quite a lot of accommodation nearby Alton towers, especially if you include the likes of airb&b. Towers have more competition than ever, and I don't think this is the right investment to make staying on park the most attractive option.