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The Hotels: A Journey

ATH - 3.5
Splash - 3.5
Enchanted Village - 4
Stargazing Pods - 4

Thorpe Shark Cabins - 3.5

Chessington Safari Hotel - 3.5
Chessington Azteca Hotel - 4

Legoland Hotel - 4

Big Blue Hotel - 4.5
Boulevard Hotel - 4

Drayton Manor Hotel - 4

Hotel Ling Bao - 4
Hotel Matamba - 4.5
Hotel Charles Lindbergh - 5

All Europa Accomidation - 4.5

Efteling Hotel - 4


No doubt Merlin are the problem, it’s been stagnant for at least a decade if not longer. Bad/non existent investment. Worse operation.

They’ve raised prices but not standards, the hotels simply are in no way worth what is being asked to pay.

Sadly there’s only a few options.
1) Complain
2) Vote with you wallet
3) Trip Advisor reviews
 
They don't care. It's been long enough now that if Merlin did, the entire hotel operation would have been top-to-bottom overhauled.

Nothing about the hotels is better now than it was 10 or 20 years ago.

Apart from an IPA on tap (but even then it's over £7 a pint).

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk
 
We want to take my niece (3yo) for her first trip which would be on a Thursday in July. For four adults and one child it’s coming up at £600 for accommodation and that doesn’t include park tickets. It’s far too expensive so we’re not going to go.
 
WillPS said:
They lost nearly £10m last year.

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

Losses near £10m as almost 1,000 jobs cut by 'worst UK chain' Britannia Hotels

The chain includes the city centre-based Sachas Hotel and Britannia Hotel
www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk
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Sadly I don't think that's necessary directly attributable to poor standards or negative publicity.

The article says they reported losses of £9.5m for the 12 months to March 31, 2021 (i.e. between March 2020 and March 2021). If they were heavily reliant on budget business travellers and suddenly everyone started working from home because of Covid that's likely to be the main cause of their current predicament. A lot of businesses have changed their outlook on 'face-to-face' meetings now that everyone is set up with home offices and webcams, so this trade isn't likely to pick up any time soon.
 
Well then...I'm glad I did get to stay at the Resort when I did and say that I have done it. Don't get me wrong, glad I did get to stay at Splash Landings when I did though would I do it again with current prices...?

Granted I haven't anything to compare to the place up here but still. Funny thing was my own mother was, after telling her about the Chained Oak accommodation nearby and how much of you guys liked it, seeing why it was liked by many. But yeah, I'm not into this topic as you can see as I really have no appetite for fear and loathing in Alton Towers but alas you can't avoid. But yeah, Merlin have it coming sooner than later one way or the other.
 
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Like so much at Towers, I'm arriving at the stage now where I'm just feeling lucky for the experiences I had in the past with the hotels as I can't imagine they'll ever be repeated now. We're in a new era.

Ariving back in our Arabian Nights suite in the early hours of the morning after a night of hotel scare mazes in 2008 with the wonderful woman I would end up starting a family with the very next year. Taking the boys to Splash Landings for the first time when they were tiny and seeing the wonder on their faces as they walked in. Evenings trying as much of the great food as possible that was in offer in Flambos. Bringing my daughter with us for the first time. Telling the kids we were going home after a long day at LLW, only for them to wake up in the back of the car at 11pm to find themselves outside ATH and them jumping around in excitement telling the lady behind the reception desk how happy they were. The summer evenings going back and forth between the bar and our porch in EV as the kids explored and played with other kids having cute conversations about their different accents and what rides they'd been on that day.

Even though the park itself has mostly been declining in quality over the years, the accommodation seemed to be holding up and felt like it was one of the last parts of golden era Towers still mostly in tact. But sadly, it too now finally seems to have joined what seems like the death spiral of decline of the park it shares the site with. It's quite sad for me as I love the place but I just can't bear to pay such an extortionate amount of money for an offering that's declined so much in such a short space of time. I'm lucky to have been able to have the great times I've had there over the years. Like most aspects of the park, I'll follow new developments with a hope that things will improve but, sadly, knowing deep down from experience that they never ever will. Not with this company running the place anyway.
 
"Telling the kids we were going home after a long day at LLW, only for them to wake up in the back of the car at 11pm to find themselves outside ATH and them jumping around in excitement telling the lady behind the reception desk how happy they were". Great parenting. Absolutely brilliant.
 
BarryZola said:
"Telling the kids we were going home after a long day at LLW, only for them to wake up in the back of the car at 11pm to find themselves outside ATH and them jumping around in excitement telling the lady behind the reception desk how happy they were". Great parenting. Absolutely brilliant.
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There's nothing like it. You never forget the looks on their faces and the magic in their eyes. I remember my parents telling me in 1993 that we were off to the yearly trip to Cornwall, but as the eldest at the time I started noticing we were headed down an empty M4 at 4am towards London in the complete opposite direction. After a short sleep we woke up in a car park at Gatwick to be told we were actually getting on a plane and off to Florida and that memory has stayed with me for 29 years.

They genuinely thought they were off home to to bed. We woke them in the car park and my youngest son got out with puffy eyes in the darkness and said "wait, why are we at Alton Towers?" They had no idea and all jumped out of the car. This was around 11pm and it took us 2 hours to get them to sleep again after we checked in.

I can't say there wasn't a selfish motive behind this from the pair of us. Nothing can make you happier than knowing your babies are so full of joy, especially after we'd just put them through the trauma of spending a day at LLW beforehand!
 
Matt.GC said:
There's nothing like it. You never forget the looks on their faces and the magic in their eyes. I remember my parents telling me in 1993 that we were off to the yearly trip to Cornwall, but as the eldest at the time I started noticing we were headed down an empty M4 at 4am towards London in the complete opposite direction. After a short sleep we woke up in a car park at Gatwick to be told we were actually getting on a plane and off to Florida and that memory has stayed with me for 29 years.

They genuinely thought they were off home to to bed. We woke them in the car park and my youngest son got out with puffy eyes in the darkness and said "wait, why are we at Alton Towers?" They had no idea and all jumped out of the car. This was around 11pm and it took us 2 hours to get them to sleep again after we checked in.

I can't say there wasn't a selfish motive behind this from the pair of us. Nothing can make you happier than knowing your babies are so full of joy, especially after we'd just put them through the trauma of spending a day at LLW beforehand!
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It's almost enough to bring a tear to my eye, now having a young niece and nephew and knowing that a lot of the joy in life is now seeing them have a good time. I can only imagine what it's like when they're your own kids. Amazing.

I remember my own experience with my brother in the back of the car, mom and dad in front (luckily, twice a year usually, day trips), Elton John or Queen on the tape player being the latest memories as a youngster and driving up the road and seeing the top of the Thunder Looper at some point. For me, the most memorable song was 'Don't let the sun go down on me' by Elton. It was absolute magic when doing the final bits of the journey. Obviously, it'll never get better than those days. Neither should it. It's all about the kids enjoying their innocence and suspending disbelief as long as possible. There's a long time afterwards to realise how crap the world really is.

Edit - I obviously wouldn't have consciously considered it at a young age, but there's a lyric in that Elton song about allowing a fragment of your life to wonder free. That fragment probably slipped into my unconscious mind in the form of AT. I wouldn't be the first or last. A bit of escapism.
 
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Sometimes that trick also works on fully grown adults. As part of my proposal plan after doing 2 days at Toverland and Walibi for their Halloween events, I had secretly booked a day at Efteling what with being the favourite park, and using the excuse of "needing to catch the flight", everything fell into place as now wife fell asleep on the way there and woke up in the car park.

Whether I'll go to such a degree with little one remains to be seen.


Haven't stayed in Towers Hotel for a while now. Had some good stays there though. But things have slowly gone downhill over the years with little bits and pieces being taken away etc. The pricing as well is just off putting for the most part when I could spend the same amount to go abroad instead. Then again currently I wouldn't want to spend more than a day at the park.
 
Benzin said:
The pricing as well is just off putting for the most part when I could spend the same amount to go abroad instead. Then again currently I wouldn't want to spend more than a day at the park.
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Totally agree. Myself & a friend both have significant birthdays within a couple of months of each other & we are doing a 6 day trip to Germany (PhantasiaLand & Europa Park) to celebrate. The estimated total cost of this trip is about £700 each (excluding fuel for the hire car & food). This will get us 2 days in each park. Admittedly, we are not staying in on-park hotels, but nearby hotels to keep the cost down.

Towers / Merlin need to wake up & realise that there are way better theme parks out there in Europe that can be reached quite cheaply thanks to Ryanair & easyJet. I, like many on here, have been to both PhantasiaLand & Europa Park in the past and their standards blow Towers out of the water.
 
havaska said:
We want to take my niece (3yo) for her first trip which would be on a Thursday in July. For four adults and one child it’s coming up at £600 for accommodation and that doesn’t include park tickets. It’s far too expensive so we’re not going to go.
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Highly recommend the chained oak B&B just 5 mins down the road. They have various rooms, we stay in a room with a double bed and bunk with en-suite and it’s £115 a night which includes freshly cooked quality cooked breakfast. There’s a trampoline, lake, tree swings and grassy areas to play on for the kids and inside the reception there’s seating areas with board games. Really recommend it.
 
GaryH said:
Highly recommend the chained oak B&B just 5 mins down the road. They have various rooms, we stay in a room with a double bed and bunk with en-suite and it’s £115 a night which includes freshly cooked quality cooked breakfast. There’s a trampoline, lake, tree swings and grassy areas to play on for the kids and inside the reception there’s seating areas with board games. Really recommend it.
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Just checked it out and it does look good. Think we’ll go here then! Many thanks.
 
The post for those who want to see it:

From: https://www.facebook.com/TowersStreet/posts/pfbid02LFek5Ff1Lfdy4LQTSAe6oRbLfYfz74b8h3ZbgUizCZVQAVhTuKZM9755i7dnYt78l

The state of that croque monsieur is embarrassing. The sandwich looks "ok", but what sort of chef thinks putting that with a packet of crisps in a bowl is acceptable? The whole thing just looks so bland and beige. Not a single splash of colour on there to try and make the dish look vaguely interesting and appetising. A few leaves and a bit of dressing? Pennies to create in the grand scheme of things and would at least try to make an attempt to justify the ridiculous prices being charged.
 
Craig said:
The post for those who want to see it:

From: https://www.facebook.com/TowersStreet/posts/pfbid02LFek5Ff1Lfdy4LQTSAe6oRbLfYfz74b8h3ZbgUizCZVQAVhTuKZM9755i7dnYt78l

The state of that croque monsieur is embarrassing. The sandwich looks "ok", but what sort of chef thinks putting that with a packet of crisps in a bowl is acceptable? The whole thing just looks so bland and beige. Not a single splash of colour on there to try and make the dish look vaguely interesting and appetising. A few leaves and a bit of dressing? Pennies to create in the grand scheme of things and would at least try to make an attempt to justify the ridiculous prices being charged.
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I've seen better from my local Spoons tbf.

I would not be happy paying more than £6 or £7 for that, anything more and I would feel short changed. Someone should open a gourmet takeaway food van opposite the Alton Towers gates, try strong arm them into improving the atrocious value.
 
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