Thursday 6 April 2017

Legoland Windsor Resort Hotel Review & How To Bag A Bargain Stay!



A couple of weeks ago, we were very kindly treated to a night at the Legoland Windsor Resort Hotel and a day at the theme park by my parents as a gift for the boys upcoming birthdays - none of us had visited before and we were all quite excited to see what Legoland would have in store for us!

Now I have to admit, I've never really been a fan of Lego - even as a child it used to irritate me and it winds me up even more as a Mum of Lego-mad little boys! The bits laying around everywhere, the pain when you step on them, how bloody long it takes to build the sodding sets - it all just winds me up to be honest, so I wasn't entirely sure how much I was going to enjoy a day surrounded by the tiny plastic bricks of doom!

We arrived at Legoland Hotel around 3 pm on a Wednesday, and the boys were so excited from the moment we pulled up - there are lego figures right outside, the hotel itself looks like its made of Lego and there's a big dragon who really breathes smoke outside. The lobby was really something - with Lego creations spinning around on a carousel, life size Lego figures dotted about and even a Lego Brick Pit for the kids to dive into and get creating - the check in was very quiet and we were dealt with really quickly, which is always a plus with three impatient children in tow!


We set off to explore our rooms - even the lifts were themed with a Lego character voice talking to us and Lego pictures everywhere!





We were staying on the Pirate floor and the theming really was something else - everything from the carpet to the walls were done to the pirate theme in the corridor, and once we stepped inside our room it was like stepping aboard the Jolly Roger! There were Lego creations on the wall, Pirate themed beds for both the kids and us, and even a treasure chest with a Lego monkey sitting on the top!

We soon found a treasure map with clues and the boys set about solving them to unlock their hidden treasure, which turned out to be 3 lovely Lego sets which went down a storm!

After our treasure hunt, we headed down to the pool which - again - was done to the Lego Pirate theme very well, the kids loved the slides and the see saw in the pool, and there was lots for Sailor to play with too which was a bonus. We had worried that we wouldn't get in due to the 1 adult to 1 child ratio, but as long as Sailor and Noah both wore arm bands it was fine (I do wish we'd taken these with us though, as it cost us nearly £20 to buy them in the Lego shop!)

After swimming, we made our way to Bricks Family Restaurant which serves buffet food - it's priced at around £25 per adult and children under 3 eat free, soft drinks are included in the price of the meal. I didn't think the price was too bad, especially considering that the children were free, but unfortunately the quality of the food was really not good at all and I couldn't bring myself to eat any of it - I complained to the manager and he quickly refunded my money with no argument, and offered me a meal from the a la carte menu at the Skyline Bar - I ordered a burger and fries, and this was much nicer. I'm sure it came from the same kitchen but the fact that it hadn't been sat out all evening probably helped!

Jon and the kids did eat the buffet food and seemed fine with it, so it is worth noting that I am admittedly fussier than most diners would probably be.





We were slightly disappointed that there were none of the famous Lego Shaped Chips on offer the night we visited, as Tyne had seen them online and was excited about those kinds of little details but we were visiting out of season so perhaps this is why.

In hindsight, I probably wouldn't choose to dine at Bricks again as I'm really not a fan of buffet style restaurants and I didn't think the choice on offer for children was that good (there was nothing that my 12 month old could eat, I had to ask for something special to be made and he ended up with a bowl of spaghetti hoops!).
 There were other family friendly restaurants and fast food venues a short drive away, so I would go off site to eat if we were to visit again.

Although there was some children's entertainment on during the evening in the form of party dances and some games we did feel that they could have done with more play areas for the little ones - however we found out the next morning that there is actually a Lego Lounge on the first floor which is open until 10 pm and has lego building areas for the kids with movies playing, I do wish that had been better advertised as we would definitely have made use of it! It was quite hidden away, so a mention of it during check in would be best.

The next morning we had breakfast at Bricks as this is included in the cost of your stay, and thankfully the breakfast was a HUGE improvement on dinner - there was plenty of choice for everybody, and all of the food was hot and of good quality.

All in all the children really loved our stay at Legoland Windsor and have been asking to go back every day which is always a good sign, I wouldn't say it was one of my Top 5 places we've visited but if I'd known about the Lego lounge and had chosen somewhere else to eat I think I would have enjoyed the stay far more - so lessons learned for next time!





So How Did We Get It Cheap?

Well when I say "cheap", don't be fooled - it was hardly the bargain of the century! But it was a LOT more cost effective than the prices advertised to us on the Legoland website.

When I first started pricing up our visit I was quite simply astounded by the cost of a stay in the hotel and even Legoland themselves seemed to be pushing their partner hotels rather than their own, as if they knew that the prices they were asking for were astronomical!

We were quoted anywhere from £400 - £629 for a 1 night stay at the Legoland Hotel - Yes you read that correctly, they were asking for over £600 for ONE NIGHT at the Legoland hotel!! I just could not believe my eyes...you could stay for 3 nights at Disneyland Paris for that price! No way was I going to pay that for a night at Legoland!

We were ready to call the whole thing off, when I suddenly discovered a way to make our stay a whole lot cheaper.

If you book a night at the Legoland Hotel on one of their special Splash & Stay breaks, the cost is £99 for a family of four - this price does not include entry to the park (but you can still sort this out, read on for how...) as the website warns you that the park will be closed for one or more days of your trip. What the price includes is your stay at the Legoland Hotel in one of their themed rooms, breakfast and entry to the pool.

However, you can look at the Parks opening schedule and determine when the park will be opening again - and you can usually tie this in with a Splash & Stay visit the night before.

When I booked our break, I made sure that the park would be opening on Thursday 23rd March - and once I had this confirmed, I booked a £99 Splash & Stay break for Wednesday 22nd March. Meaning we arrived on Wednesday, stayed in the hotel and enjoyed the pool...before going into the park for the day on Thursday.

I then booked our park entry tickets separately through the Legoland website, for a total of £90 (2 adults and 1 child...our infants didn't need tickets) which meant that our night at the Legoland hotel and day at the Legoland park only cost us £189 as opposed to the £400+ they were asking for!!

Hopefully this tip can be of use to some of you out there who, like me, are reluctant to pay Legoland's crazy hotel prices but still want to experience the fun of their hotel!

*Please note: If you do try this method, make sure that you confirm that the park will be open the day after your hotel visit before you book your Splash & Stay break!

To read our thoughts on the Legoland park, pop back on Monday for our full review! Or to see our YouTube video of our time at the hotel and park, please take a look below:




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17 comments

  1. Thanks for sharing. You've got me thinking about this. We stayed in travel lodge windsor last time which was about £99. There was more choice for evening meals but I think my 4 year old would love the hotel!

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  2. This is a genius idea, as the hotel costs SO much otherwise! The price you got is so much better, I'm off to look at dates now!

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  3. Great tips! I'd love to visit legoland one day but have been put off by the crazy prices... this doesn't seem too bad actually!

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  4. Despite some hiccups, it sounds like you had a nice visit. And what a great tip regarding price! #SundayBest

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  5. Fab tips on getting a stay cheaper Hayley. It's a shame about the food but the hotel accommodation and attention to detail sound fantastic! Thanks for linking up with #MondayEscapes x

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  6. We looked at staying here for our visit in July but the prices were shocking. I'm with you I'm not keen on a buffet dinner either. The room sounds fab though. My pirate mad boy would love to stay there. #mondayescapes

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  7. thats an awesome tip! thanks!! Hubby is desperate for Ben to love lego so they can enjoy playtime together! I'm sure this will be a place that he wants to visit! #sundaybest

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  8. Interesting comments and thanks for the feature. We have for many years used our Tesco club card vouchers for tickets and overnight stay at Hilton hotel in Bracknell. Would love to try the actual hotel on the Legoland site as watched it being built.

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  9. I love your money saving tips! It's amazing what deals you can find sometimes if you know where to look. This place looks like a Lego lovers paradise. I used to love Lego when I was little. My husband still has some of his from when he was a child. A few years ago our city suffered a major power outage which lasted for several days. With no tv or internet for entertainment we pulled out the old Legos and built a Lego city in our living room. Obviously this was before we became parents. #SundayBest

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