Staying at Cbeebies Hotel Alton Towers.

When we were driving home from our visit to Alton Towers in april, the conversation in the car centered on J making a case for staying at the Cbeebies Hotel. After some persuasive arguments from him, I booked a nights stay. So now we are back home after our mini break, here is what we thought of staying at Cbeebies Hotel Alton Towers.

Our normal holidays consist of finding a nice camping place to stay so booking something like this was a first. Although Dave and I have stayed in a number of hotels, mainly for work we actually had never stayed in one together and we have been married for nearly 15 years! 

Staying at Cbeebies Hotel Alton Towers

We arrived at the Cbeebies Hotel at just after 9am. Check in starts at 3pm but you can go in and leave your luggage there to be stored even before check in time and pre check in. As it was raining I did the pre-check on my own then headed to the park.

Staying in the hotel gets you early ride access.

This gives you access to selected rides from 9:30am. (You also get early ride access when you have a Merlin Annual Pass.) This meant we could go walk straight onto the In The Night Garden ride with no queuing at all.

After weeks of dry weather, the day we arrived it was lashing it down, I was doing my normal weather watching so had come prepared for the kids but after just doing the 1 ride even Dave and my softshell jackets were soaked through. We brought ponchos at the shop, which did the trick. After a few more rides in Cbeebies Land and Cloud Cuckoo Land and a stop at the Burger Kitchen between for lunch, we headed back to the hotel.

2 Days for 1 Digipass 

With our booking, I added on a 2 days for 1 DigiPass. With the aim, this would save money on getting some of the ride photos. With a family of 4 we got 2 wristbands, as long as someone wearing a band is in the photos, the photo can be added to the pass. J and I wore one each. We used this for the walkabout photographer, Runnaway Mine, Cbeebies photo studio and Octonauts rides. Disappointingly we didn’t get all the photos scanned on the Digipass. None of the ride ones were there.

Checking into the Hotel.

It took us a while to actually get into the hotel, as the kids wanted to play on the airplane and Cbeebies bug outside the main door. Once inside the foyer had entertainment features on the walls for the kids and a magical looking book sculpture right in the middle. This afforded me some peace while I finished booking us in.

The lifts up to our room were room card controlled and had children orientated music and lights but also had a button so you could turn this off.

Our Room – Octonauts

We were in an Octonauts themed room. The kids were both in their elements as Octonauts is one of the favourites in our house. Everything in the room was clean and very child friendly.

The play wall was a hit with both J and Ro. They both loved playing with it together and on their own. The water pictures on the carpets had Ro pretend splashing in puddles all around the room. We had tea and coffee-making facilities, an under counter fridge and the toiletries provided had a little sign inviting us to take them home after our stay.  The window opened but only a small amount and the curtains cut out the light.

The kids sleeping area was separated to the main bed which is a great idea. We were all really impressed with the room.

The WindMill restaurant.

On our countdown to holiday emails, it recommended to book our tables at the restaurant for both dinner and breakfast. We decided to have both our Dinner and Breakfast there.

Dinner: Walking in J was pointing out all the cbeebies bugs and the big windmill. It was themed in sections as we were sat in the castle. Ro was mesmerised. We all had the 3 courses, and some of the dishes were fun for the kids, like the melon caterpillar and the rainbow mash. J being a fussy eater ate more than expected.

For the adults I felt the options were a bit limited for my taste, but Dave was happy with the choice.

One of the chefs came around each table seeing how we liked the food and listened to feedback . Giving the kids paper chef hats with little cbeebies bugs on them.

The meal cost a bit more than we would normally pay, but the service was great even considering how busy they were.

Breakfast: We were sat this time in the Windmill section. The breakfast options was great.  With choices like cereal, fruit, toast, pastries and full english spread to choose from.

Entertainment

Throughout the day, there is shows and entertainment for children, my kids enjoyed the disco and the Octonauts Cadet camp. we wanted to do the Hey Duggee show, but it clashed with our table booking at the restaurant. When the characters appear they also give a photo opportunity at the end.

Across the other side of the area is a bar which gives full view of the kids area. You can also pick up a schedule of activities from the reception desk so you know what is happening when. At checkout time Little Monster made an appearance near the desk. Another great idea to allow checkout in peace.

The staff were friendly and helpful and great around the kids.

Was it worth it?

I was dubious if it was worth the cost before arriving as it is quiet expensive for a nights stay. The kids had the best time ( even if Ro decided not to sleep and tell us all about the Octonauts at 11pm at night !) I didn’t have to worry about them running about. So the stay over, the entertainment, the dinning experience for the kids. I am glad J persuaded me to book.

There has been discussions on the way home this time of us doing a second trip this year and attending Scarefest for Dave and my 15 year anniversary since it’s on Halloween, as our Merlin annual passes will cover park admission. I am looking at our budget to see if we can stretch to it, after this stay I don’t need as much persuading on staying at Cbeebies hotel Alton Towers.

If we can stay again, I will give you our views on Scarefest and an autumn stay at Cbeebies.