CBeebies Land Hotel

Wed Nov 25, 2015 1:38 pm

Awesome!

Wed Nov 25, 2015 10:54 pm

One thing you can guarantee is that the theming will be sub-par (just above Travelodge standards) and the prices for the new rooms will be high. This is before you look at the inevitable food & beverage costs.

UK visitors need to look at what the likes of the 4* Europa Park hotels charge when compared to Alton / Merlin. Believe me, they are cheaper, far better themed & the buffet breakfast (normally included in the room rate) smashes most UK hotels breakfast offerings out of the ground.

When last at Europa Park having dinner, I even saw Roland Mack [one of the owners of Europa Park] sampling the buffet in Hotel Colosseo (he was casually dressed too, so suggesting "off-duty", i.e. no name badge on either). How many Merlin managers would take this trouble to inspect the quality of their product seemingly in their own time?

This is not a dig at Merlin - more an observation that we are ripped off in the UK for what is generally a sub-standard product (be it the theme park or their attached hotels). Much better is available a short low-cost flight away.

Thu Mar 31, 2016 12:26 pm

So they are supposed to start construction in May, do people think we'll see some sort of announcement prior to that or not? They will probably market this as a new hotel right?

Sat May 14, 2016 10:47 am

Towersstreet facebook has pictures showing construction walls have gone up now.

Sat May 14, 2016 11:01 am

Alton Towers Spa have also posted this message on the website and their social media pages which gives an idea of when the major works will be going on to connect the spa to the extension.

Due to essential maintenance work at the Alton Towers Resort, from Monday 30th May to Thursday 21st July the Aqua Relaxation Rooms at the Spa will be closed. Treatments and Spa shop will still be available at the Alton Towers Spa and so will the delicious lunch menu. If you have an existing booking during these dates, please contact us on 01538 704632 or email us at spa@alton-towers.com

Sat May 14, 2016 5:07 pm

TowersTimes Facebook page now has images of the construction site being prepared!

Here are a few, but more can be found here... https://www.facebook.com/towerstimes/po ... 4986953185

Tue May 31, 2016 3:34 pm

I agree with the post about the water park needing to be enlarged to accommodate for the extra guests as it already gets very packed. Also would like to see the existing rooms in splash landings and Alton towers having a bit of a freshen up as they are looking slightly tired.

Sun Jun 12, 2016 4:58 pm

Hi hannah486 - welcome to the forum.

I do agree with you, some of the rooms do need a little TLC. I know Alton done this a couple of years ago with Moon Voyager rooms!

Thu Jun 23, 2016 12:42 am

Not sure if anyone has made speculation on what theme this hotel will have however I've heard rumours of CBeebies which would fit nicely. I've also heard other rumours of pirate theme, simply extension of ATH. Personally I'd go with the CBeebies hotel idea I think that's the most likely outcome.

Thu Jun 23, 2016 3:16 am

I'm almost 100% sure it's just an extension to the Alton Towers hotel and I'm pretty sure that's been confirmed too.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

Thu Jun 23, 2016 9:25 am

owenrita121 wrote:I'm almost 100% sure it's just an extension to the Alton Towers hotel and I'm pretty sure that's been confirmed too.

It's an extension in structural terms but it will operate as a third hotel.

I do wonder if it could be something similar to the 'Adventure Hotel' which Heide Park and Gardaland have, which contains a variety of themes. I think a CBeebies theme for the entire hotel would too specifically target it at quite a young demographic.

Thu Jun 23, 2016 11:17 am

I wonder when they will announce it? Enchanted Village was announced by this time in 2014 right?

Thu Jun 23, 2016 9:34 pm

I was told by a reliable source in a recent conversation that it was going to be a cbeebies themed hotel, that is one of the reasons why it is having a dedicated entertainment area alongside the restaurant as will be lots of cbeebies entertainment for little ones.

Thu Jun 23, 2016 10:01 pm

I don't think the whole hotel will be CBeebies themed. It would be narrowing the target market of the accommodation far too much in my opinion which, although there is other accommodation for older guests, is something I can't see Merlin wanting to do. In the plans submitted for the development it does state:

The external appearance will maintain the ‘English Colonial’ theme of the current Alton Towers Hotel.

Whilst of course this doesn't exclude a different theme for the inside, I would be very surprised to see it fully CBeebies themed. I think Lewis' suggestion that we could see different themes in different areas could be a good possibility, and I would have though a CBeebies themed floor would work well as part of this.

Another thing to consider is the location of the extension. It sits next to the Spa, which is somewhere people go for a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere. Anything themed to CBeebies will naturally generate a great deal of noise from the higher energy entertainment and associated noise from excitable children, something which would be to the detriment of the peaceful and tranquil atmosphere of the Spa. Although the Spa operates during the day, the nature of CBeebies' target audience of young families means that they will expect entertainment earlier in the day - most likely early afternoon - which will mean noise could carry over to the Spa. Although the changing area for the stage in the hotel extension does appear to create a limited buffer between the Spa and new hotel, I'm still not convinced the noise wouldn't have a negative impact on the Spa.

Wed Jul 27, 2016 9:25 am

Well guys... It looks like this new extension is going to be the 'Worlds First CBeebies Land Hotel'!

A bit more info can be found here

Wed Jul 27, 2016 9:28 am

TheSmilerMan wrote:Not sure if anyone has made speculation on what theme this hotel will have however I've heard rumours of CBeebies which would fit nicely. I've also heard other rumours of pirate theme, simply extension of ATH. Personally I'd go with the CBeebies hotel idea I think that's the most likely outcome.

I guess my sources were correct! I for one am very excited, although it's child themed and such I think it'll still look very good and be good fun to have a look around as I think the BBC will demand a high level of finish! As for the price range I expect it to be that of the EV as that is also aimed at families, I know splash is but EV is also like CBH in that it's themed to what children will find exciting.

Wed Jul 27, 2016 10:29 am

Not sure how I feel about this one, will it be connected structurally to the AT hotel. If they market it as the worlds first cbeebies hotel though....

Wed Jul 27, 2016 10:40 am

TheSmilerMan wrote:I guess my sources were correct! I for one am very excited, although it's child themed and such I think it'll still look very good and be good fun to have a look around as I think the BBC will demand a high level of finish! As for the price range I expect it to be that of the EV as that is also aimed at families, I know splash is but EV is also like CBH in that it's themed to what children will find exciting.

Indeed they were :P Whilst I'm still not as enthusiastic about this development I can see that it is completely justified for the resort, with the reaction on social media generally positive (when people aren't complaining about the prices). I expect it will be more expensive to stay in this hotel than any of the resort's other standard accommodation, with there effectively being a premium on the rooms as a result of the IP - similar to what seems to be the case at the Legoland Hotel.

towerslover wrote:Not sure how I feel about this one, will it be connected structurally to the AT hotel. If they market it as the worlds first cbeebies hotel though....

Although it will be attached to the Alton Towers Spa building, the plans show it as a distinct hotel with its own entrance and reception, and no indoor access to ATH.

Wed Jul 27, 2016 10:46 am

Anyone know how long this ip with CBeebies is for?

Wed Jul 27, 2016 11:25 am

I feel like CBeebies is taking over a bit now. As of 2017 it will have 15 attractions, now a hotel, and if Spinball is removed, as I fear it will be soon, then a CBeebies expansion will likely take it's place. When will they reach a point when they feel they have enough CBeebies, cos if they don't then it will just be a CBeebies theme park!!

Also, I feel they should be spending more on the theme park than the resort. New hotel, enchanted village extension, soon the hotels will have to take up at least half the map!