Chessington World Of Adventures and Safari Hotel Review

We were asked to attend and review Chessington World of Adventures and from the moment we arrived at the theme park I could tell we were in for a treat. It felt as if we had stepped into Africa without even leaving the UK. In this review we look at the Safari Hotel and the Theme park itself, offering you some tips and advice and our completely honest experience.

We started our time at the Chessington World of adventure by staying at the onsite Holiday Inn, which is a safari themed hotel that seemingly has everything a family could ask for.

Let’s start with the Safari Hotel.

The decor is magnificent with bearded dragons on display in the reception area along with tropical fish and an African themed gift shop selling Chessington world of Adventures themed gifts. The children didn’t know where to run to first.

• Rooms.

Our room was extremely spacious with a special area where the kids slept separately which had its own lcd TV. The rooms continue with the Safari theme from Giraffe print throws to African prints on the walls. The room had breathtaking views which overlooked the Wanyama reserve which is an area where the zebras, antelopes and dorcas gazelles roam freely in the grounds.

My youngest son was glued to the window with his binoculars he had already purchased from the gift shop. How fantastic it was to be able to look out of the window on such a beautifully sunny day to see the animals playing happily in the distance, there is no other place in the UK where you can enjoy this type of experience to my knowledge.

• Meet animals up close.

We also had the chance to actually meet some animals up close from the Zoo itself in the downstairs lobby where animals are brought in daily between specific times between 4.30pm -5.30pm (during the school holidays.) Specialist trained staff attend with the animals so you and your little ones are supervised.
My son had the chance to actually meet and touch a snake, brown rat, chicken and a bearded dragon and he bravely petted them all. If that wasn’t enough for the kids extremely friendly staff gathered all the children and took them onto the terrace around the Zafari bar to play games and take part in treasure hunts.
Two hours my son spent running, laughing and making new friends, I couldn’t drag him away. This takes place between 6pm – 8pm (during school holidays).

• Hotel Activities

When he did finally come back to us he then wanted to join the children for the movie club, this is another treat Holiday Inn offer the children, and the children can chill out on massive jungle style beanbags and watch a family friendly movie.
Most of the children were so emerged in the film that parents were ordering their evening meal to be taken over to the children which the restaurant were more than happy to do.

• The Meals

Dinner in the restaurant features many different options but meat is definitely big on the menu, reservations are strongly recommended due to the volume of people staying in the hotel, I booked my table on arrival at the hotel.When the film had ended and we had sat outside on the terrace watching the animals roam as the sun came down, we headed back to our room to recharge our batteries ready to carry on our adventure the next day in the theme park.

• Privileges

After an extremely good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast with plenty of cups of coffee we headed off to our meeting point at the hotel to be taken to the theme park 45 minutes before it is open to the general public, just another little perk Holiday Inn and Chessington world of adventures provide.
In the carefully planned out 45 minutes we managed to be flown around like bats on the Transylvania, jolted around on the Rattlesnake (a favourite of my boys 14 & 9 ) and we had 4 goes on the Kobra which was very scary the 1st time but so so exciting it was my personal favourite, it’s a must do ride. The early rider let us experience the most popular rides with no queue times.

Chessington world of Adventures Review.

The park offers rides for everyone, there are no big roller coasters here like at Alton Towers, just rides aimed more at families with 4 or 5 rides that still get the adrenalin pumping.
My husband who does not like big rides found this theme park worked really well for him as they were plenty of rides he could join us on, his personal favourites were the tomb blaster (an interactive shooting game/ride)and bubble works

•  The Zoo.

The zoo was a favorite of us all, I have never been to such a well kept and beautiful Zoo as this, you can really tell the animals are well cared for you can even get up close to the squirrel monkeys, this is a must to see even if you do have to queue to see them they are worth it.
You can walk around the zoo or see the animals from above on the Zafari skyway. I have never seen lions & tigers so close up before, amazing!!!

• Park Meals.

For lunch we opted for the pizza pasta buffet and I would choose it every time as the value for money for a theme park was exceptional you can enjoy as much pizza, pasta, garlic bread and soft drinks all for £8.49 per adult and £4.99 per child.
Everyone commented on how much they enjoyed the food and they even preferred it to Pizza Hut.
The layout of the park impressed me it boasts so many great attractions all in themed area so it’s fantastic for family pictures.
I was in awe by the displays in the wild Asia land, the design and thought put into every little detail in all the lands is a really great touch. It reminded me on a smaller scale of Disney’s Epcot centre in Florida.
Chessington world of adventures – Park Facts:

• The theme park has 10 places to eat, a sea life centre, Zoo, rides & attractions.
• You can also have an amazing animal adventure (for an extra fee)where you can choose from feeding frenzy where you have exclusive access to the animals enclosures & feed Meerkats, skunks and more, I saw a family on this experience and I was extremely jealous as it looked like fantastic.
• You can also book an animal adventure tour where you come face to face with lions or tigers, meet selions, feed penguins and even sharks!
• The ultimate gorilla experience would be my choice where you get close to these amazing primates; this is the only place in Europe where you can do this so it’s pretty special.
• The last choice is the Wanyama Safari where you hand feed the Zebras on the Wanyama reserve, as you join your own personal ranger on a Kawasaki buggy for a private tour.
• These memorable experiences can be booked at the Adventures kiosk; Kids can also have their birthday party here and for a special gift why not adopt an animal for someone this Christmas.
• Your name will be proudly displayed on a special plaque outside the animal’s enclosure as well as a certificate & photo of your animal and a zoo voucher to visit your new friend. All adoption packs come complete with a soft toy of your adopted animal.

Top tips for your adventure.

The following information tells you what is available whilst you visit the chessington world of adventures.

• Bottle warming and baby changing facilities available.
• Nappies, batteries, wet ones, plasters, sun cream & headache tablets available in Chessington & from the hotel shop.
• Height checking: young adventures will be measured and issued with a wristband confirming their height in relation to rides height restrictions.
• Adventures with a disability: Adventurers services can offer assistance and provide a guide for adventures with a disability.

(We were sent to test the facilities on behalf of the Safari Hotel and Chessington world of adventures for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are of my own)