What To Expect

What‘s Included

Reviews

• Average stay at above average prices

  Chloe M,,Dec 29, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  3.00

  Having been to the resort at the same date a few years ago for my daughter’s birthday, we had expectations that sadly were not met. The hotel was fine. We stayed in splash landings hotel, which was spacious and fairly equipped. Mattresses comfortable etc. the room, like last time, was boiling hot with only thick duvets so not the best night’s sleep. The park was reduced opening due to the winter break. Last time we stayed, and when we came as Merlin pass holders a couple of years ago, this meant that all CBeebies, David Walliams rides and a few others were open. This time we had far less choice. DW closed entirely (probably due to media scandal), CBeebies partially open, with an absence of Spinball Whizzer and Go Jetters (meaning little to appeal to our 8 and 10 year olds). A couple of other rides scattered about. Hex was decent. Every single shop is now card only, which is poor. As a result the kids were unable to spend their Christmas money on souvenirs. The room was ready a little early and the shuttle buses were very regular, which was great. All staff were very helpful across both days. Check in straightforward. The panto was a pleasant surprise and I actually loved the 45 minutes length. They did a decent job and the kids really enjoyed it. Shame the venue didn’t have raised seating as visibility difficult. I had mentioned it was my daughter’s birthday when booking. Only one staff member noticed (hostess of the restaurant on night one - thank you for this). We were hoping for something to make her day special, especially when during the last birthday when we did loads of Merlin activities in London, they made an absolute fuss of her across the entire day. The evening meal was fine, but not as good as last time we stayed. Much more limited options and no drinks included. Fruit loving birthday girl was disappointed with the pudding selection. Same goes for breakfast. Last time we had options of branded cereal boxes, Nutella and fruit, all missing this time. Not as good as a Premier Inn breakfast. The waterpark was decent and not too busy. I was really unhappy to discovers a 2.5 hour time slot on arrival - different from previous years, meaning the birthday girls’s day was cut short as we were out at lunchtime. Several outdoor slides were closed and the waterpark was a bit cold for me. Staff here again were really pleasant. Overall a pleasant family break, but too many cost saving exercises at the detriment of customer experience. Wasn’t worth the £500 paid. Management will really need to pull some tricks to survive Universal’s launch if this is the best they have to offer.

• Great all round, but few cheeky prices.

  gazo662,,Dec 26, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  4.00

  So 4 stars, even though tbf it was brilliant from start to finish. Here goes, so we did the santa sleepover package, and like most people when we booked it was thought, what!!! How much?!!!, however, when you break all what's included down, and calculate it as if you was doing all the things included on a pay per go kind of way, then you would probably spend a whole lot more. So far this experience is definitely the most in terms of feeling that Christmas magic. A massive Christmas tree on the main strip, surrounded by hundreds of smaller ones all lit up and nicely decorated everywhere you turned. The elves guided us to santa through a magical woodland, and the santa himself has got to be the best one I've experienced, not just looking alike, but the voice and mainly the way he interacted with my 2 children to make them laugh and enjoy and then a decent teddy bear for each child as a present from the main man himself. Then the pantomime ( cinderella & prince charming ) Can not fault it, hilarious, the fact that the kids sat on beanbags at the front and didnt move for the whole duration of the show says it all. Not to mention a bit of very mild adult humour slipped in without the children even suspecting. So onto hotel, check in fast & simple, room spotless and perfect size for a family of 4. Evening meal was a buffet, with the option of festive dinner buffet too, a great variety for all, and end of the day you are in a family theme park having a buffet, yet both evening meal & breakfast was spot on. Next day, 2.5 hours in a spotless, clean, very well life guarded splash landings with many attractions all ages to enjoy. Lastly crazy golf, although a bit dated & a few buttons to press that didn't do anything, it still kept the kids very busy and we all enjoyed a good hilarious family round of 18 holes. Ok so why 4 stars!!! Here goes. Although the evening buffet if purchased separately would of cost us £90 for all 4, there was still no drinks available within, costing me just shy of £20 for 4 regular soft drinks. A bottle of Fanta from a vending machine £3.50, but the best one is, a whopping £20 for 10 basketballs on a " in to win " game in the theme park. Don't forget you still have the really difficult task of winning a teddy, I've bought much better teddies from local well known stores for less without the stress of winning it, yes it's the fun of taking part, I get it, but £20? You always wait for that expensive burger, or drink or whatever, i get that, but theres expensive, and theres taking the P* erm yes!!. Anyway, as a whole, the whole experience was great, the kids were happy, which meant mom and dad were happy, and that's what it's all about isn't it. Thank you Alton Towers.

• Memorable Christmas Magic

  Beccaharry,,Dec 23, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  We visited Alton Towers Resort for the Santa Sleepover from 22nd–23rd December as two adults with two toddlers, and we had such a wonderful experience from start to finish. On the first day we spent time in CBeebies Land, which the kids absolutely loved. The queues were very reasonable, with the longest wait being around 25 minutes, which is great when visiting with little ones. Meeting Santa was brilliant, it was well organised, moved quickly, and the children left very happy with their teddy gifts. The evening meal at The Crooked Spoon exceeded expectations. The all you can eat carvery was fantastic for the kids and the food quality was genuinely great. After dinner we attended the Cinderella panto. Although it was busy, the kids were seated at the front, could see everything clearly, and were thoroughly entertained. Our accommodation was perfect for what we needed, comfortable, clean, and ideal for a short family stay. The next day we visited Splash Landings, which was a highlight for all of us. We had so much fun together. Afterwards, we relaxed in the main hotel with coffees and some food before heading home. I really want to call out the staff in the main hotel, especially Finlay. After a very upsetting accident where a hot coffee was accidentally spilled on my three year old son’s legs, the staff were absolutely incredible. They acted immediately, stayed calm, reassured us, and went above and beyond to help and comfort him, even managing to make him laugh during a stressful moment. They continued checking on us and looked after us until we were confident to travel home. Thankfully, my son is absolutely fine, but the kindness and professionalism shown by Finlay and the team will stay with us. We had such a fantastic time overall and cannot wait to visit again next year. Highly recommended for families with young children.

• Worst experience

  aimeeroll,,Dec 11, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  3.00

  My family and I have been returning to Alton towers Santa sleepover weekend repeatedly over the last 5 years. This year was the worse year! They opened less rides, next to no entertainment, did not cater for all ages and overall the effort just felt minimal. It was hugely disappointing for our family and not sure we will return again.

• Wonderful festive weekend

  victoriapD127GW,,Dec 7, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  We had a wonderful family Christmas weekend at Alton Towers. Our boys (5 and 2) absolutely loved it! There was a gorgeous show on at the park (Sprout Saves Christmas), we saw Santa and the elves and the usual CBeebies rides were running. After the park we headed to the hotel for a panto, which was hilarious. We then had a lovely Christmas dinner as a family and enjoyed the fantastic singing entertainment in the bar afterwards. The next day we had a buffet breakfast and enjoyed the brilliant Splash Landings. It was a bit wet for golf but we were given passes to come back later in the year! A special mention to all of the staff who were so friendly and helpful and really helped make the weekend extra special. Such a brilliant festive weekend, would highly recommend!

• Magical Santa experience

  Wanderer47691316173,,Dec 2, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  4.00

  We stayed at The CBeebies Hotel. Staff were so friendly and helpful. You can get express parking and head straight to theme park or use shuttle bus. Hotel was well set up for young children with entertainment in the evening. Some games or toys/ drawing for older children would have been useful. Bedrooms were well equipped although the fridge wasn’t very cold. Room was very hot and although could adjust it still didn’t really cool down. Shower good and nice clean linen. Food was ok, nothing special and a bit cold. It was a Christmas carvery. There were no pizzas or salad bar. Kids menu was good. All buffet. Breakfast was fine, again nothing special but we all had enough to eat. The park has limited rides but with the shoes there was enough to do. Food in the park was limited and therefore very slow, not very good and expensive. Would recommend bringing your own food. The highlight was Santa. So well done and made the kids feel very special. A lovely gift which they will treasure. The waterpark was great fun and kids slid, swam and played for hours. 20p for lockers and you can hire towels if you forget. Overall a fabulous weekend making special memories with young children. Thank you to all the staff in hotel and Santa experience.

• Trip of a lifetime

  sofiatS2115IU,,Nov 21, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  this was the best place I have ever gone with my family for a 2 day stay honestly loved it and don’t regret. This was so fun and best theme park ever! All staff were so nice and respectful. I went on a Sunday for my first day and it was not that busy longest queue was for smiler with only 40 minutes ( apart from wicker man with an 1 hour & 30 minutes) and we got on basically everything. We stayed in these fairy lodges and honestly so nice and very comfy beds. The second day there was many long queues but not surprised honestly best place ever but we got on a few rides again anyways but I thank my parents for taking my on the amazing trip

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

• Fantastic unless you are Celiac

  KrisR478,,Nov 10, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  4.00

  We stayed at the Alton Towers Hotel and the kids loved it, the staff were friendly and the room was nice and clean. The park was great, queue times were not too bad and we managed to get on everything we wanted. My only criticism is that one of my family is celiac and it was a real struggle to find gluten free food in the park that wasn't just salad or chips. Previously this wasn't an issue so I don't know what has changed. We will bring our own food next time.

• Avoid fireworks if you don’t like excessive crowds

  GlobeTrotting555191,,Nov 9, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  4.00

  Rides were amazing, splash landings hotel was good but run down, carpets desperately need replacing. Evening entertainment at the bar was awesome. Breakfast was ok. Queues were horrendous. Weather was not good which they couldn’t help but would be good have some places undercover. Food in the park is really really good we had snacks rather than proper meals, expensive but wasn’t too bad either the Merlin pass. Fireworks were incredible but, were too busy, it didn’t feel safe. All the park shut down and everyone was pushed into a small area, my son was terrified of the crowds, it was really scary. We couldn’t move anywhere and we felt trapped. I saw one woman pushing a buggy begging people to move in tears saying she didn’t feel safe. We would defo go again, glad to see the fireworks but if I knew it would be like that we would miss it. I personally don’t like rides (I know) but my family do, so I go on the tame ones like wickerman and Rita, but the rest of the time I was waiting around. Please can we have more warm areas to wait!!

• Amazing place with below par breakfast

  Camper02065702729,,Nov 9, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  4.00

  The roller coasters are world class. Hex is absolutely a mind blowing technical marvel. Oblivion is an epic adrenaline rush. The fireworks extravaganza was world class. Genuinely amazing. The trip was only four stars though because the breakfast at the crooked spoon was awful. Orange juice is watered down , ingredients not restocked. Hash browns were good but the sausages were very low quality. It was difficult to find a clean glass.

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