We couldn’t resist booking a little stay at the Chessington hotel given we were making a short break of it. So, here are my thoughts from our stay!
Merlin Holiday Club:
When you are a Merlin Annual Passholder you receive exclusive discounts on, on-site hotels. I will pop the link here as it’s one of those perks that are incredibly helpful in saving a few pennies. The discount doesn’t typically stay the same but the minimum is 20% and I have seen it up to 50% before! Link HERE
Check In, Early Ride Time & Parking:
Checking in is simple as it’s done via your phone. You’ll receive a text to check-in and will then use the screens at the reception to then receive your card & room number. Your room number does appear on the screen but you will also receive a text too. There is a £5 holding fee required so be sure to have your card ready. This money is returned to your bank assuming you don’t cause any damage or order anything to your room.
Early ride time you have to check on your confirmation. Ours was the day we checked in rather than the day after as we had predicted. Therefore, we did miss quite a lot of that perk due to assumptions being made on our behalf. So, double-check your theme park entry date and arrive at 9 am to make the most out of this perk. A small selection of rides is opening including the Mexicana-themed area & so on. Simply show your booking confirmation for the hotel alongside a valid theme park ticket or Merlin Annual Pass at the entrance which is located next to the hotel.
Head straight to the hotel’s car park to park up. Parking is included in your stay regardless of the status of your pass I believe. A select number of rooms do have their reserved bays & their are disabled spaces also available. It is worth noting that the regular parking bays are quite small. If you’re in a bigger car it’s worth just knowing as we found it quite challenging to park up.
Hotel Facilities & Entertainment:
This hotel does have various things to enjoy throughout your stay. There is a swimming pool available but it does need pre-booking which can be done via the confirmation email or whilst booking. I’m unsure on whether it’s something you can do on the day. The safari Hotel has animal encounters at certain times too. There are also areas where films are been played with bean bags for children to sit on & watch.
Temple Restaurant & Bar – Dinner:
We headed to the Temple Restaurant & Bar due to my having allergies as it made it easier for me to eat something proper & get my money’s worth. This restaurant is gorgeously themed and even has some leaf-cutting ants around the walls which certainly provided me with some entertainment haha. The food offered was good there was plenty for someone like myself to eat. The dessert options I feel could have been more but for what there was it was still good. Again the staff were lovely which was a reoccurring pattern across the whole stay.
Safari Bar:
This bar has a lovely patio area where you can overlook the beautiful Safari view. We stayed out there watching the sunset whilst watching the animals just enjoy their habitat. It’s one of those lovely perks that come along with this hotel & it truly is magical.
The Room:
The room was a lot bigger than I had initially expected. We had to book a room with bunk beds for some reason but I’d assume they come as the standard double room. It really was big though. The window had a tinted cover on I assume because the view outside perhaps wasn’t brilliant. You can pay extra for a Safari view which is something I’m considering for next time. The bed was very comfortable I had the best night’s sleep I’ve had in a very long time. It was quite warm in the room as the air con was a bit naff. The room we had had its mini-fridge, a relatively large TV & joining rooms with next door although I believed we had no neighbours.
The bathroom was a reasonable size and had the offering of soap, shower gel & all that jazz. Unfortunately, we ended up having a shower rather than a bath & the shower wasn’t particularly great either. There was a lack of power behind the thing but that’s okay it worked for us but could have been better.
Generally speaking, the room was lovely though. As I mentioned above some minor negatives but the entire hotel stays outweighed those tiny niggles.
Temple Restaurant & Bar – Breakfast:
We booked back into the Temple Restaurant & Bar for breakfast as we enjoyed our evening meal the night prior. There was a broad selection of foods on offer and we booked for around 7:15 which was fairly busy. So, if you are not worried about the ERT perk then perhaps book for around that time if you want a quieter breakfast. The food offering reminded me of something you tend to find abroad with the fruits etc. The quality was brilliant and it’s probably one of our favourite places for breakfast across the whole Merlin Hotel offerings.
Check Out:
A nice easy check by using the express box. Simply pop your card into the box which says express checkout and you are free to leave.
Overall:
I’d say this is one of my favourite on-site hotels I’ve ever stayed at. There is simply so much to experience & it feels as if the value for money is amazing. With the gorgeous views you can get from across the hotel it really does make a difference to the experience. For someone like myself with food allergies, I also felt the costs of eating at the hotels were well worthwhile as there was such a broad variety I could eat unlike elsewhere. The staff were incredibly lovely & helpful. It’s one of those hotels I’m itching to stop at again because it was just such a lovely & relaxing atmosphere the entire stay. The rooms were incredibly spacious & the bed was extremely comfortable. I honestly believe this is one of my favourite theme park hotels I have ever stopped in.
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Have you ever stayed at the Safari Hotel? If so, what were your thoughts?
Thank you so much for reading & don’t forget if you are a Merlin Annual Passholder check out the Merlin Holiday Club!