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Swiss Cottage

Alastair

Alastair

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Wondering if anyone on here has any photos of the Swiss Cottage à la carte restaurant as it was in the 80s? I've scoured this forum (and Google) however most of the old image links are broken that were originally posted by @BarryZola. I know there are a few images from guidebooks also (thanks to @Rick), and there is a small picture on the '87 guidebook (below). Are there any, higher quality pictures from inside or outside available anywhere else though? :)

TheCarousel_AltonTowersGuidebook1987_11.jpg
 
There are internal / external photos on page 41 of the Sunflower guide from 1986. Not sure if that is online anywhere, can scan and send it over if not.

Also on page 38 of the same book in the 1987 version.
 
Rick said:
There are internal / external photos on page 41 of the Sunflower guide from 1986. Not sure if that is online anywhere, can scan and send it over if not.

Also on page 38 of the same book in the 1987 version.
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Not that I can find! Would be great if you could scan & add it to your site for future reference also :)
 
I know it’s the complete opposite of what you asked for, but your post reminded me of this.

The condition of the inside now.

 
No, that was a misprint in 1897 that carried forward for centuries.
It was built for a blind drunk welshman who was always half p!ssed.
Sat at those very outside tables with my mum for afternoon tea.
She also had a full meal inside (on another day) while I went for a second go on corky.
No idea of the menu, stunning view.
 
I suppose now it just would work, and I guess the reason for it closing. I think the last mention on the park map is 1996 or 1997, and I guess it’s been closed since then.

It’s just too far out the way as the theme park got popular and the gardens for less popular.

I believe it was turned in to offices for a while, as the rooms are all full of plugs and stuff now. But no idea when that ended, I assume a while back, as again it’s a bit out of a way to be used as an office.

It’s a shame it’s in such a state now, as clearly here is a leak somewhere, which has damaged the floor and ceiling.

That’s the next building I would like to see refurbished, even if it’s just to make it watertight and repaint the outside.

However I’ve no idea what you could actually use it for as it’s just too far out the way.
 
MattyH said:
Open it as a small cafe, tea and cake, advertise it a bit.
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Would never work and not make the money. If you actually walk there from the towers you will see it’s just too far and hidden for anyone to actually bother to go there.

I mean if towers bar and grill doesn’t work, the Swiss Cottage never would.

I dread to think how much it would actually cost to refurbish it for any kind of food or drink outlet now. Just replacing the bar and kitchen would cost a fortune, and that’s before you actually fix the leaks and clean the building up.
 
To be fair, they could just put some tables and chairs out and have one guy (or girl!) with a portable ice-cream fridge to sell drinks/snacks out of. Or even better just make the downstairs available to the seller to keep stuff in fridges to sell without letting the public in as the re-fit would be too expensive for now. Would be no good on cold/rainy days but would be a nice touch in nice weather. Probably wouldn't make enough money for them to bother though. It's not actually that far away from the Towers either really. Just would need proper signage.
 
djtruefitt said:
Would never work and not make the money. If you actually walk there from the towers you will see it’s just too far and hidden for anyone to actually bother to go there.

I mean if towers bar and grill doesn’t work, the Swiss Cottage never would.
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I take the second point, but how did it work in the 80's? It's in the same place as it was then, just as far away from the rest of the attractions. With a bit of advertising and signage, it's not too far from the back entrance to DF and could easily be signed from just outside of the Towers next to the food kiosk. Of course it'll never happen nowadays seeing as Towers' philosophy seems to be to eliminate any form of table service from the entire park.

On another note - does anyone know where exactly the Rail Car Steak Bar was? Looks very cool.
 
Alastair said:
I take the second point, but how did it work in the 80's? It's in the same place as it was then, just as far away from the rest of the attractions. With a bit of advertising and signage, it's not too far from the back entrance to DF and could easily be signed from just outside of the Towers next to the food kiosk. Of course it'll never happen nowadays seeing as Towers' philosophy seems to be to eliminate any form of table service from the entire park.

On another note - does anyone know where exactly the Rail Car Steak Bar was? Looks very cool.
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Back in the 80s I think the gardens were a much bigger part of the day out. Its not til Tussauds started building out the theme park in the 90s that the emphasis switched to the day out being more about the rides and staged entertainment. Its likely back in the 80s there were just more people out for a walk in the gardens.

I don't think they are trying to eliminate table service, there is more now than there was 20 years ago (back then Towers St was cafeteria style and everything else fast food).
It was 2007 when Rita's chicken and ribs opened when table service started to return to the park (I recall as well for the first season most staff had come over from the hotel to ensure there were people more used to table service).
Since then Towers St was changed to the same order at the bar table service instead of cafeteria and the Rollercoaster Restaurant also opened so there is more table service than there has been since the 80s really. It did feel like there was a switch a few years ago away from traditional theme park fast food.
 
jon81uk said:
Back in the 80s I think the gardens were a much bigger part of the day out. Its not til Tussauds started building out the theme park in the 90s that the emphasis switched to the day out being more about the rides and staged entertainment. Its likely back in the 80s there were just more people out for a walk in the gardens.

I don't think they are trying to eliminate table service, there is more now than there was 20 years ago (back then Towers St was cafeteria style and everything else fast food).
It was 2007 when Rita's chicken and ribs opened when table service started to return to the park (I recall as well for the first season most staff had come over from the hotel to ensure there were people more used to table service).
Since then Towers St was changed to the same order at the bar table service instead of cafeteria and the Rollercoaster Restaurant also opened so there is more table service than there has been since the 80s really. It did feel like there was a switch a few years ago away from traditional theme park fast food.
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Good point regarding the gardens - I'm assuming there must have been a brief period in the 90's though where the Swiss Cottage was still open and the park was much closer to what we have today than it was in the earlier 80's? Perhaps that's where the hope could lie ;)

And I'd say it was a bit of a stretch to call the Rollercoaster Restaurant table service (sure, food does come to your table but it's hardly a personal service). If there's a market for people paying £80-100 a day for fastrack then surely there must be one for a higher end restaurant with a proper table service and high quality food? Seems to work and be the case at many other parks at least (Schloss Balthasar at EP for example).
 
Can't they turn the Swiss cottage into a bar? Would be great to have open on non alcohol days, just don't tell the annual guest o_O
 
Alastair said:
And I'd say it was a bit of a stretch to call the Rollercoaster Restaurant table service (sure, food does come to your table but it's hardly a personal service). If there's a market for people paying £80-100 a day for fastrack then surely there must be one for a higher end restaurant with a proper table service and high quality food? Seems to work and be the case at many other parks at least (Schloss Balthasar at EP for example).
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I know it isn't true table service, but they are at least trying to make rollercoaster restaurant the most high-end restaurant inside the park. It is the highest priced outlet, but some of that of course is for the novelty of the rollercoaster. For evening dining then Secret Garden is probably slightly better quality.
I don't think there is the demand for fine dining at lunchtime inside a UK theme park unfortunately. But I did feel that opening Rita's/Woodcutters was a good move towards giving more options and rollercoaster restaurant adds another.
 
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