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The Hotels: A Journey

John_P said:
At least with the beans in a cup you can dip in a sausage. Like a savoury 99.
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"You're in for a treat here"

Alton Towers clearly missed the memo of it being comedy gold. Coincidentally, just like their service is now infact.

I know whats happened. Someone at the resort got confused when it was suggested that more comedy was needed across the hotels.


From: https://youtu.be/HQ7EPVQXUM8
 
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It's all part and parcel of downgrade of all aspects of the resort over 20 years.

Ride variety, availability, hotel standards, perks, AT Transport, gardening... the list goes on.


Year after year, Merlin demonstrate their inability to force a change - whether under Kirkbi ownership or shareholder's.

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Self-service check in doesn’t bother me if the touchscreen actually works effectively. Then staff can be in places where they are really needed to assist me, bars, restaurants, luggage services. Or go to the staffed check in if you need further assistance and the self service for straightforward check in.
 
jon81uk said:
Self-service check in doesn’t bother me if the touchscreen actually works effectively. Then staff can be in places where they are really needed to assist me, bars, restaurants, luggage services. Or go to the staffed check in if you need further assistance and the self service for straightforward check in.
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It wouldn't bother me in a cheaper hotel but given what they charge I expect better. Mediocrity shouldn't be celebrated, could you let magine going to a Disney or Universal hotel with the same experience? That room service breakfast looks like something from rate my plate. What on earth has happened to standards at these hotels?
 
Relife said:
It wouldn't bother me in a cheaper hotel but given what they charge I expect better. Mediocrity shouldn't be celebrated, could you let magine going to a Disney or Universal hotel with the same experience? That room service breakfast looks like something from rate my plate. What on earth has happened to standards at these hotels?
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Disney already had automatic check in online for those who got magic bands in advance. It speeds it up for those who don’t need extra help, leaving staff to give better service to those who have unusual circumstances. Universal/Loews doesn’t have it yet, but the only things we needed front desk to do (add parking) got messed up anyway. I would have used self check in if it was available when we stayed at Universal.

I agree that “room service” breakfast looks terrible, but not sure what that’s got to do with me being okay with self-service check in?

As I said I’d rather the staff provided great service on breakfast and left the simple task of collecting room keys as self-service, so staff can do things I can’t such as room service.
 
I had that croque monsieur in SGR for lunch yesterday. What was there were perfectly nice, but to pay £13.95 before discount for what felt like one half of a sandwich and a small bowl of crisps was frankly unacceptable. I knew before ordering that the price was clearly too high, but I at the very least expected there to be some side salad. Doesn't cost much to bulk buy in bags of salad and put some dressing on.

To be honest, for that price it should have been two of the sandwiches, more crisps or even chips, and salad.

We did say to our server how poor the portion size was in comparison to the price and he openly admitted that it is daylight robbery. There is no point complaining to any of the staff in the restaurant; they know full well how bad things have got and decisions are made way way above the level they are at.
 
When we were sat in the atrium having a quick drink on Saturday afternoon after a walk in the area, it was interesting the number of people who were passing comment on the food options. We heard one older guest saying “I don’t want a big meal. I just want something light for lunch.” only to discover that unless you’re wanting to sit down in SGR your options are pretty much a packet of peanuts or a small pot of Pringles. While the croque is a slightly lighter option than a full meal, it’s interesting that guest perception of the restaurant is its “a big meal”.

I’ve been saying it for years, they desperately need to offer a grab and go alternative. Bang a couple of chiller cabinets in the gift shop and stock it with some pre-packed sandwiches, wraps and salads and maybe a couple of packaged cake slices and fruit pots. That’s all it would take and can all be bought in pre-packed so it’s just a case of someone filling the shelves and checking for expiring stock. Maybe then they could get away with offering high priced lunch options in SGR.

More than ever during closed season when the park is shut the lack of F&B options really does show. Unless you want a meal in SGR or a buffet in Flambos you really need to travel off-site. Not really what you want when you’ve paid three figures for a relaxing weekend getaway. It simply isn’t a resort.
 
Ian said:
I’ve been saying it for years, they desperately need to offer a grab and go alternative. Bang a couple of chiller cabinets in the gift shop and stock it with some pre-packed sandwiches, wraps and salads and maybe a couple of packaged cake slices and fruit pots.
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Tbh that seems a bit of a cop out for what is a supposed 4 star hotel. They should be offering a light bites menu of sandwiches etc to those in the bar. It’s pretty standard for a hotel to do this.

Pre-packed sandwiches from a chiller is a bit Travelodge.
 
We had the same problem a few years ago. We were not staying in the hotels but had been to the water park and wanted lunch before going home. We didn’t want a full on meal just something light similar to what a pub would offer at lunchtime… such as a sand which, chips etc

There was nothing available in ATH or Splash. No sandwiches to buy anywhere. We went to Flambos and was told all of us would have to pay to sit in there for food. In the end we explained it was just the child who needed food and they backed down allowing us to just pay for the child and we could sit there for free.

Naturally we just picked a few bits off the plate which the little one was eating but it was poor. Like said above, your only option really is crisps or Pringles, although they didn’t even have these in the bar in ATH on the last visit.
 
AT86 said:
Tbh that seems a bit of a cop out for what is a supposed 4 star hotel. They should be offering a light bites menu of sandwiches etc to those in the bar. It’s pretty standard for a hotel to do this.
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That Secret Garden menu is effectivly a light bites menu, it just needs to be printed on generic ATH paper and placed on the atrium tables with a note to order at the bar. The only issue is the meals are light but not priced low.
 
AT86 said:
Tbh that seems a bit of a cop out for what is a supposed 4 star hotel. They should be offering a light bites menu of sandwiches etc to those in the bar. It’s pretty standard for a hotel to do this.

Pre-packed sandwiches from a chiller is a bit Travelodge.
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Oh I agree. I’m not saying it’s the perfect solution or a silver bullet. Just giving an example of how they could improve the offering and address this sort of feedback without needing to take more drastic action like constructing whole new restaurants, scaling up kitchen operations, etc.
 
Oh dear regarding the self-check in terminals. During my recent stay at Hotel Matamba, I received some of the best customer service ever during the check in process there. It really set the tone for the rest of our trip.

I do see benefits in the self-check in process, but as others have said, it doesn't really belong at a resort offering a ''premium service''.
 
Towers do seem to flip between having SGR open and just having food in the bar area for lunch. A few years back you could just grab a side of chips or soup, etc in the bar area. Now it’s just back to being SGR again, which people will see as being more of a full meal option and definitely longer than just a quick snack while you grab a drink.
 
DistortAMG said:
A member of the public walking into ATH yesterday.

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?

It’s not the publics fault, if you read the website you are promised a “magical stay” at a resort. There is nothing to suggest what you will actually get is shoddy service, poor food, extortionate prices and an average hotel room.

Sure trip advisor is catching on with its reviews but not everyone researches these things all that deeply:
 
DistortAMG said:
I agree with that Dave. But once you've experienced the shoddy service, I can't help but think you may feel like a clown for not doing your research beforehand.

I do not speak for everyone but I know I would atleast.
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But there are a lot of people who are going for the first time, or went and had an average stay but think "its worth it because the kids like it". Not many people are having truly awful experiences. Also its only in the last two or three years the food/drink prices have skyrocketed, if you went five years ago and thought it was fine, you might not be expecting to pay £6 a pint.
 
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