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Stargazing Pods

AstroDan said:
I'll say it again.

For the dollar they are charging these are utter rubbish. Shoddy design, lacking in theming - the ultimate cash cow.

I cannot stand them - it's everything I detest about the way Merlin run their resorts.
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I'm not even 100% convinced its entirely a Merlin issue this time as they run better quality glamping at other resorts. I've not stayed but the glamping offered at Warwick Castle looks excellent and seems to be well reviewed. I think Legoland Germany used these pods and did a far better installation than Alton Towers.
In this case it seems that it was in the plan to open more accommodation, but the park opted to go for the cheapest possible installation. Merlin seem to be able to do good basic accommodation but this particular occasion they really did cheap out.
 
AstroDan said:
I'll say it again.

For the dollar they are charging these are utter rubbish. Shoddy design, lacking in theming - the ultimate cash cow.

I cannot stand them - it's everything I detest about the way Merlin run their resorts.
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I think they've gone so cheap with the accomodation that they can't price it at a reasonable price without risking cannibalising their more expensive offerings.
 
jon81uk said:
They could quite easily price the pods at a "camping" price and then still offer hotels at hotel prices. None of the accommodation is currently "cheap".
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When I say cheap I mean the actual cost to install the sheds, I agree it's not cheap but they're a bit stuck on repricing the sheds without repricing the pricey hotels
 
imanautie said:
When I say cheap I mean the actual cost to install the sheds, I agree it's not cheap but they're a bit stuck on repricing the sheds without repricing the pricey hotels
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I don't think so, if it is clear what is being offered, that it is basically camping with a bacon roll for breakfast they can price it cheap and emphasise why Splash Landings is worth twice the price (more space, en suite, full breakfast).

The harder one to justify is why any of the on-site accommodation is worth more than Premier Inn. Yes location is better and you get breakfast included, but Premier Inn is often under £50, so why would anyone pay more to camp in shed with a shared bathroom.
 
jon81uk said:
I don't think so, if it is clear what is being offered, that it is basically camping with a bacon roll for breakfast they can price it cheap and emphasise why Splash Landings is worth twice the price (more space, en suite, full breakfast).
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To be clear I'm not saying it's not possible to do it like that, I'm saying it's not something merlin can do. They don't do well at saying why X is worth more.
 
imanautie said:
To be clear I'm not saying it's not possible to do it like that, I'm saying it's not something merlin can do. They don't do well at saying why X is worth more.
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That means they can do it if they wanted to.

But to be honest the current hotel booking website is a mess anyway.
 
imanautie said:
Ah right, that's what I mean about merlin, that's a marketing issue and they just don't do a good job of going this is expensive because.
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I don't think its marketing, the main website shows the different hotels and rooms reasonably well.
But the booking website where the prices are shown doesn't communicate why you should pay the higher price.
 
jon81uk said:
I don't think its marketing, the main website shows the different hotels and rooms reasonably well.
But the booking website where the prices are shown doesn't communicate why you should pay the higher price.
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To my knowledge marketing is still responsible for the content of the hotel booking website.
 
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