REVIEW: CBeebies Land Hotel
"A kaleidoscopic, all-consuming paradise for younger children"
Last updated 10th Jul 2017
Words: Scott Colothan
Three years on from the launch of the phenomenally successful CBeebies Land, Alton Towers have opened the world’s only CBeebies Land Hotel. Designed specifically for pre-schoolers and young families, the fully-themed 76 room hotel features a variety of entertainment activities featuring your children’s favourite characters.
We were lucky to attend the star-studded launch night on Friday (7th July) to get a sneak peek at the hotel…
THE FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
From the moment you arrive, the CBeebies Land Hotel is a joyous sensory spectacle for adults and young children alike. Greeted by a CBeebies Land plane and impossibly polite and cheery hotel attendants, you step through the giant rainbow archway at the entrance and you’re immediately confronted with a kaleidoscope of colours at reception; a giant storybook sits in the foyer with cute multi-coloured shop fronts adorning the side of the room, while Bugbies in aeroplanes are on the ceiling. Still sleepy after nodding off on the two-hour car journey, my three-year-old daughter was quickly wide-eyed with excitement the moment she stepped inside!
THE ROOMS:
There are three tiers of hotel room; Bugbies Rooms that start at £197 a night, Premium Themed Rooms from £272 a night and Suites from £347 a night. We stayed in one of five Postman Pat themed rooms (the others are Something Special, Octonauts, Swashbuckle and In The Night Garden) and it was a sheer delight. Bedecked with images of Pat on a ‘special delivery’ alongside his friends from Greendale, the spacious room is split into three sections; a sleeping room with space for three kids featuring a bunk bed and pull-out bed, a bathroom and a main area with a sizeable and comfy double bed.
It instantly strikes you that every feature has been meticulously thought out to make the experience of staying in the CBeebies Land Hotel a pleasure for the entire family. There’s a toilet with in built-in toddler seat, steps to the sink, multiple TV screens (showing CBeebies shows of course), a baby bottle warmer, and snacks and drink making facilities that are very welcome after your journey. Nice touches too are the blackout curtains so you can have a good night’s sleep in the dark and, most importantly, there’s excellent sound proofing! If your child is crying or making a din, you have the peace of mind that you won’t be disturbing anyone. We didn’t hear a peep from our neighbours all night.
THE ENTERTAINMENT:
As we were attending the glitzy launch, the CBeebies cast including Mr Tumble himself Justin Fletcher, Mr Bloom and presenters Ben and Rebecca, were in attendance to cut the ribbon shortly outside the hotel at 7pm. All only too happy to chat and pose for selfies (honestly, I’m still a bit star struck now), Justin then treated the audience to a live performance that had all the toddlers in the room bouncing with glee before they were taken on an intriguing Octonauts adventure. Even though the Octonauts talk was blighted by sound issues, it was testament to the brilliance of the entertainment that the children remained engaged throughout.
While the CBeebies superstars were only present for the launch, there’s no shortage of entertainment for your kids. Characters including Bing, Ubercorn, Postman Pat, Tree Fu Tom and Iggle Piggle walk through the hotel and pose for pics with awestruck youngsters. My daughter couldn’t quite believe her eyes!
Then there’s the extensive 14-hour (yes, 14 hours!!!) entertainment schedule in the “musical meadow” entertainment space that kicks off at 7am and includes Ubercorn’s disco, a Bing Live Show, Andy’s Prehistoric Quest, a Swashbuckle game show, stargazing with the CBeebies Land Hotel presenters and so much more. Coupled with the wide range of attractions on the theme park itself, your child is guaranteed to be truly captivated from daybreak until they crash at bed time. ‘Boredom’ is a word that doesn’t exist at the CBeebies Land Hotel!
THE FOOD & DRINK:
Typically vibrant and eye-catching and boasting a giant yellow windmill with rotating blades as the centrepiece, the appropriately named Windmill Restaurant serves breakfast (included in the room price), light snacks at lunch and evening meals. There’s also an impressive range of drinks on offer both alcoholic non-alcoholic from the bar arena nestled at the back of the entertainment space.
Served from 7am to 10am, breakfast was great with an extensive range of cereals, yoghurts, muffins, fruits, croissants, pastries, fruit juices and more for you to help yourself to, with coffee and tea regularly delivered to the table too. There’s also a full English buffet too so you can fill up ahead of an action-packed day at the theme park.
One of the best things about Dinner (served from 4.30pm to 8.30pm) is that there’s no separate kids’ menu. Instead there’s three different sizes; small, big and a family sharer that caters for two adults and two children. There’s also a brilliant interactive menu for pizzas. My daughter concocted her pizza herself by adding stickers of the toppings to a menu sheet, even adding things she’s usually fussy about like mushrooms.
My wife and I both went for the steak with blue cheese sauce costing a premium price of £21, which was the only slight disappointment in an otherwise faultless stay at the hotel. The meat was slightly underwhelming, the potato wedges undercooked and the blue cheese sauce didn’t have any punch. Having eaten at brilliant Crooked Spoon and Secret Garden Restaurants on previous stays at Alton Towers, in terms of food quality the Windmill Restaurant isn’t quite up to their lofty standards just yet – something I’m sure will be ironed out soon.
OVERALL:
Certain to fast become another Alton Towers institution, the CBeebies Land Hotel is nothing short of a triumph and a kaleidoscopic, all-consuming paradise for younger children. The fact my daughter said she wanted to “stay here forever” is a sure-fire seal of approval.