Splash Landings Hotel (Splash Landings Hotel (Alton Towers))

Member Name: vixfiesta

Product:	Splash Landings Hotel (Alton Towers)
Date:	02/02/09 (124 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good for families

Disadvantages: Cheap and tacky, strong chlorine smell

I vistited Splash Landing Hotel with 12 friends in September last year. We'd managed to get a fairly good deal of £67 each for a night in the hotel and 2 days in the park. The downside was, we had to have 3/4 people in each room to get that price. We had looked at the main hotel, but were told that it was fully booked.

On checking in, the first thing I noticed was the over powering smell of chlorine. Understandably, the Carriba Creek waterpark is in the middle of the hotel, but surely the whole hotel shouldn't smell that much? The whole of reception was covered in huge, bright, tropical decorations, and carribean music was playing quite loudly int he background. The staff on reception were very helpful, we left or luggage with them and went to enjoy the park for the day.

Upon returning to the hotel, we decided to shower and then meet for dinner. The rooms are extremely small, and the beds are much smaller than a normal size, not really suitable for 3 adults in a room. We had a small double bed, and tiny bunk beds, which I guess is the same for all the rooms after talking to friends. I was impressed with how clean the room was, the bathroom was spotless - which is a good thing to see in a hotel! The decoration was horrible though, bright, lairy carpets and walls, and the bedsheets were enough to give you a headache. We had a room that overlooked the waterpark, and we could still smell chlorine in our room.

We met for dinner and decided to check out the restaurant. I wasn't too hungry, but the only thing on offer was a buffet style meal, with chinese, thai and british food. It cost £19-95 per person, which we all agreed was far too expensive, so we went back to the bar to look at the menu there. Here they did more simple food, such as pizzas, which were a lot cheaper - so we stuck with this option. We couldn't complain about the food, it came quickly and was good value for money compared to the buffet.

The bar at the hotel wasn't very busy at all, by 9.30 we were the only guests left. The barman did his best to entertain us and even brought our drinks over to our tables for us. After an hour we heard that there was a band on in the main hotel, so we headed over.

As soon as we got to the main hotel, I think we all had the same thoughts - why hadn't we stayed here instead? It's a very impressive hotel, high ceilings and huge staircases - really somethign to look at. After seeing the bar and arcades in this hotel, ours seemed very cheap and tacky in comparison. There was much more of a 'buzz' and atmosphere here, and the live entertainment was a good touch, The whole bar area was packed, with no kids running around.

I personally wouldn't stay at Splash Landings again, I'd stay in the main hotel. I can see why it would be good for families with children, but for those who are older, it's just like being in a kid's playground.

Summary: Not worth the money