chessington world of adventures safari room

Chessington Hotel

Leatherhead Road, Chessington, KT9 2NE, United Kingdom – Excellent location - show map

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Cleanliness

Value for money

Excellent location!

This modern hotel with a stylish safari theme is located at the Chessington World of Adventures Resort. There is free parking and free WiFi in public areas. Chessington Hotel offers rooms with air conditioning, a desk and power shower. It is an ideal meeting venue, with 6 meeting rooms and easy access from the M25. Heathrow and Gatwick airports are within a 22 mile radius. We have family rooms that have a separate children’s sleeping area with a flat-screen TV with popular kids’ channels. Close by are Epsom and Sandown racecourses, Wimbledon, Hampton Court Palace and Thorpe Park. The unique ZAFARI Bar & Grill has an impressive theatre kitchen, a sun terrace and views across the African style animal reserve, Wanyama. The menu offers flame-grilled meats, crisp salads and a range of coffees.

Couples particularly like the location — they rated it 9.0 for a two-person trip.

Distance in property description is calculated using © OpenStreetMap

• Indoor swimming pool
• Free parking
• Family rooms
• Fitness centre
• Non-smoking rooms
• Facilities for disabled guests
• Tea/coffee maker in all rooms
• Very good breakfast

Property highlights

Top location: Highly rated by recent guests (9.1)

Breakfast info

Free parking available at the hotel

Loyal customers

끖 There are more repeat guests here than most other properties.

Saved to 766 lists

Availability

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Hotel surroundings

Restaurants 2 restaurants on site.

• Cuisine International
• Ambiance Family friendly
• Dietary options Vegetarian
• Open for Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner
• Ambiance Family friendly • Modern
• Dietary options Vegetarian • Vegan

Facilities of Chessington Hotel Great facilities! Review score, 8.4

• Toilet paper
• Bath or shower
• Private bathroom
• Free toiletries
• Picnic area
• Outdoor furniture
• Sun terrace
• Electric kettle
• Socket near the bed
• Movie nights
• Evening entertainment
• Kids' club
• Entertainment staff
• Golf course (within 3 km) Additional charge
• Flat-screen TV
• Fruits Additional charge
• Wine/champagne Additional charge
• Kid-friendly buffet
• Kid meals Additional charge
• Special diet menus (on request)
• Breakfast in the room
• Tea/Coffee maker
• Electric vehicle charging station
• Accessible parking
• Concierge service
• ATM/cash machine on site
• Luggage storage
• Express check-in/check-out
• 24-hour front desk
• Daily housekeeping
• Dry cleaning Additional charge
• Fax/photocopying Additional charge
• Business centre Additional charge
• Meeting/banquet facilities Additional charge
• Fire extinguishers
• CCTV outside property
• CCTV in common areas
• Smoke alarms
• Security alarm
• Key card access
• 24-hour security
• Safety deposit box
• Vending machine (snacks)
• Vending machine (drinks)
• Designated smoking area
• Air conditioning
• Non-smoking throughout
• Laptop safe
• Upper floors accessible by elevator
• Open all year
• All ages welcome
• Hot tub/Jacuzzi Additional charge

Property practices

See availability house rules.

Guests are required to show a photo identification and credit card upon check-in

From 07:00 to 10:00

Cancellation/ prepayment

Cancellation and prepayment policies vary according to accommodation type. Please enter the dates of your stay and check the conditions of your required room.

Children and beds

Child policies

Children of any age are welcome.

To see correct prices and occupancy information, please add the number of children in your group and their ages to your search.

Cot and extra bed policies

The number of cots allowed is dependent on the option you choose. Please check your selected option for more information.

There are no extra beds available at this property.

All cots are subject to availability.

No age restriction

There is no age requirement for check-in

Pets are not allowed.

When booking more than 5 rooms, different policies and additional supplements may apply.

Accepted payment methods

Cash is not accepted Chessington Hotel accepts these cards and reserves the right to temporarily hold an amount prior to arrival.

The fine print Need-to-know information for guests at this property

Please note, tickets for the park are not included and need to be bought separately.

The property has family rooms available with separate children’s sleeping area. These areas include a flat-screen TV showing popular kids’ channels.

Groups of 5 rooms and more need to contact the hotel direct. Different terms apply and full prepayment is required 30 days prior to arrival after which we do not accept any cancellations.

Guests are required to show a photo identification and credit card upon check-in. Please note that all Special Requests are subject to availability and additional charges may apply.

FAQs about Chessington Hotel

How much does it cost to stay at chessington hotel.

The prices at Chessington Hotel may vary depending on your stay (e.g. dates you select, hotel's policy etc.). See the prices by entering your dates.

Does Chessington Hotel have a restaurant on site?

• Zafari Bar and Grill
• Temple Restaurant and Bar

Does Chessington Hotel have a pool?

Yes, this hotel has a pool. Find out the details about the pool and other facilities on this page.

Does Chessington Hotel have a hot tub for its guests?

Yes, there is a hot tub. You can find out more about this and the other facilities at Chessington Hotel on this page.

What type of room can I book at Chessington Hotel?

What kind of breakfast is served at chessington hotel.

Guests staying at Chessington Hotel can enjoy a highly-rated breakfast during their stay (guest review score: 8.5).

What is there to do at Chessington Hotel?

• Hot tub/Jacuzzi
• Golf course (within 3 km)
• Swimming Pool

What are the check-in and check-out times at Chessington Hotel?

Check-in at Chessington Hotel is from 15:00, and check-out is until 10:00.

How far is Chessington Hotel from the centre of Chessington?

Chessington Hotel is 0.7 miles from the centre of Chessington. All distances are measured in straight lines. Actual travel distances may vary.

The best of Chessington

Attractions.

• Chessington World of Adventures
• Thorpe Park

Conference centres

• Olympia Exhibition Centre
• Hampton Court Palace
• Denbies Wine Estate
• Botleys Mansion
• Osterley Park
• Natural History Museum
• Nonsuch Park
• Crystal Palace Park

Stadiums and arenas

• The All England Lawn Tennis Club Centre Court
• Twickenham Stadium
• Stamford Bridge - Chelsea FC
• O2 Academy Brixton
• Eventim Apollo
• London Heathrow Airport (LHR) 10.2 miles
• London Gatwick Airport (LGW) 14.7 miles
• London City Airport (LCY) 19 miles

Railway stations

• Clapham Junction

Underground railway stations

• Colliers Wood
• Kew Gardens
• Hounslow West
• Boston Manor
• Northfields
• Ealing Broadway
• South Kensington Underground Station

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WANYAMA VIEW ROOM - Review of Chessington Safari Hotel

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Chessington Safari Hotel

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What an amazing stay! We were chosen as guests of the day and upgraded to a graffalo room for free. This included fast track tickets and free swimming as well as free parking. The hotel is amazing! We stayed in the safari hotel and I’d highly recommend it. Our graffalo room over looked the African animals areas which was a lovely room. The gruffalo room is amazing and I’d highly recommend paying the extra for one. With audio on entry and gruffalo ponchos to use after bathtime. A tv in the bathroom! In the kids room and in the adult room! The kids room is separated from the adult room by a bathroom so you have a little more privacy than in a normal hotel room. Everywhere is decked out in gruffalo themed furnishings and we loved the gruffalo cushion. We ate in the Aztec hotel restaurant which we’d highly recommend. It’s eat all you want and has so many different foods from pizza to roast to curry. So much to choose from. Soft drinks are included and refillable and the cheese cake is amazing! Breakfast was equally as good. Swimming needs to be booked which means the pool doesn’t get too busy. One proper rectangle pool and a splash pool with slide etc for the kids. There is also a sauna, steam room and jacuzzi. I saw a gym as well but we didn’t use that so I don’t know if it’s chargeable. Swimming was free with the gruffalo room or £3 per person for a standard room. The park was amazing, the kids loved the gruffalo river (use to be bubbleworks) and the sealife centre. Queues weren’t too bad, we went Thursday Friday and Friday was definitely more busy. The longest we waited was about 20 mins for the kiddy cars that trundle around a track. Food was expensive in the park and not amazing in the vampire restaurant so if you can I’d recommend bringing food with you. The staff were all super friendly and everywhere looked well maintained. Can’t wait until we can save enough to go back!

Dear SussexBeanSausage Thank you for recommending Britain’s Wildest Adventure to our current and future Trip Advisor Guests. We are delighted you and your family had a great visit and we look forward to seeing you again. Kind regards, Guest Experience Team

We decided to stay at this hotel due to the distance involved with travelling to visit the theme park. We travelled with a three year old and paid the extra £20 to overlook the wildlife at the back of the hotel. The room itself was clean and had the safari theme which our daughter loved. Good access to the theme park the following morning parking is directly outside the hotel. We ate at the Zafari grill and thought the food was good and the staff were very helpful and friendly throughout our stay. Only grumble for me was the prices of drinks which I thought were extortionate and we would have considered doing the added experiences (feeding giraffes etc) had it not been £20pp.

Dear bluemancunian1894 Thank you for recommending Britain’s Wildest Adventure to our current and future Trip Advisor Guests. We are delighted you and your family had a great visit and we look forward to seeing you again. Kind regards, Guest Experience Team

This is my second review of the chessington safari hotel. If you’ve seen my other review you’ll know our first visit was absolutely horrendous. This second visit was the result a generous complimentary stay feature from chessington by way apology for the appalling previous visit. This time we stayed in the gruffalo rooms, we were a group of seven and had two rooms. The gruffalo rooms are advertised as having their own designated parking space, and on arrival as promised there was a parking space with our name on it, however there was also a vehicle parked in it and when we asked at reception they were unable to find the owners of the vehicle to get it moved. Ordinarily we would have just found an alternative space but we have a large van with a ramp and wheelchairs and were unable to find an alternative space. We ended up hanging around in the car park until a space became available. Upon check in we were given our room keys and we assigned a debit card to our room. We asked for our park tickets but were told they weren’t included, after some back and forth and scrolling through emails I found the one that explicitly said there would be park tickets upon our arrival and they receptionist relented and went to print them off. At this point we asked about VIP experiences and packages that could be taken to the room. We paid on the card registered to the room for 2 gift packages to be left in the room, which were great, and were advised to go online for VIP animal encounters as it’s not something they can do at reception. Unfortunately I’d been in contact with the vip team via email in the previous fortnight to find out and book wheelchair accessible animal encounters but they’d not bothered to get back to me. We did manage to book an owl encounter on the phone for the following morning which took place in our room and was absolutely fantastic. The cost for this was charged to the card on the room. We went up to our rooms and were then questioned by cleaning staff what we were doing in there as they hadn’t checked the rooms yet. We left our luggage and headed straight into the park, leaving the cleaning team to do whatever checks they needed to do. After being in the park we headed to dinner in the temple restaurant, where I had booked a table about a month earlier. When we arrived they tried to seat us all at a table for four, I explained that clearly wouldn’t work and that id booked a table for seven, the lady replied that she ‘don’t know what’s happening in here tonight, the tables aren’t being turned around quick enough, I don’t know what you want me to do’ eventually after driving wheelchairs and a buggy between tables around the restaurant (which was a bit like running a gauntlet) they found a table. We had dinner which was pleasant, if a bit chaotic, and headed back to our rooms. Upon entering one of the rooms we were greeted with the most vile smell of rotting fish and urine. We immediately called reception who sent a member of housekeeping up to the room. Unfortunately he couldn’t speak any English and was using google translate on his phone to attempt to communicate. He ultimately sniffed all the mattresses, the carpet and the bin, before spraying a load of air freshener and leaving with a promise (via google translate) that of the smell returned he would come back with more air freshener. The smell did persist and another member of staff came back and again we were faced with ‘I don’t know what you want me to do’ we asked if we could be moved to a different room but were told they didn’t have any. He said he’d speak to another member of staff and return. He didn’t. After quite some time we called down to reception again to find out was happening, after numerous calls they eventually answered and the gentleman returned to the room with another member of staff. They advised we opened the windows, which we explained was difficult as we had a child with a medical condition that means she cannot regulate her body temperature. They said there was nothing more they could do at this time but to speak to reception the following morning. The second gruffalo room was wonderful! The theming, the cleanliness and the little touches are just perfect. There’s even a little treasure hunt for the kids that results in the children finding a book and some pop badges. IF you haven’t seen the rooms, they’re basically separated into a children’s area with a bunk bed, a pull out bed and a tv, and bathroom and then a separate space with a double bed. Unfortunately, the set up means you can’t see what the children are watching on the tv and we found ourselves in the unfortunate position of the 15 year old autistic child in our party managing to switch to an adult channel showing pornography. There are NO PARENTAL PINS on these tv’s so do be careful! During the night we had issues with noise as we’d had the previous visit, people running through the corridors etc in spite of the fact we were told this is monitored closely. The following morning we went down to reception who basically said it’s not their responsibility to put pins on the adult channels as it’s a free view tv. They agreed to investigate the situation and get back to us via email. Upon returning home we received an email saying that they would give us a 50% discount on a future booking but quite frankly I wouldn’t put myself through it lol! A couple days after we returned home I was also called by the VIP team to say there’s a ‘weird quirk in the system’ which means the things we’d paid for should have gone to different departments but hadn’t and we’d left owing them £56, so do check your bank statements etc to ensure you’ve been debuted the correct amount if you charge anything to your room. In short, I’d much rather use the premier inn down the road, a fraction of the price, cleaner and far better customer service. Honestly I’d save your money for somewhere else, you are almost definitely guaranteed to be disappointed if you stay here :(

Dear leelo83, Thank you for your review of Chessington World of Adventures Resort. We’re disappointed to note that your recent visit did not live up to your expectations. As you mentioned, we have contacted you via email so we can investigate further. We look forward to hearing from you. Kind regards, Guest Experience Team

Came for a few days away with the kids, very excited for the penguins of Madagascar room with an xbox. Children have loved the room, clean tidy and well presented, including a little gift in the room. The restaurant was lovely food was nice, good sized portions bigger than expected, our server Sophia was lovely and took the time to talk to my daughter, which was nice. The park has changed since my last visit but still lots to do, just beware some rides are not operational, check the app. Amazing family time.

Dear Charlie8682 Thank you for recommending Britain’s Wildest Adventure to our current and future Trip Advisor Guests. We are delighted you and your family had a great visit and we look forward to seeing you again. Kind regards, Guest Experience Team

Arrived at the safari hotel today around 3pm booked as birthday treat. Check in was cold with no information on offer. Things got worse when I asked about some of the Vip experiences. The guy checking us in actually asked us to go online! Couldn’t even give us the basic details like price and times?! As we are travelling with a 16 month old we had a lot of baggage. I asked for a trolly and after a blank gaze was told ‘don’t think we have any....’ no help offered either! They could see we were struggling with our bags a pushchair, travel cot and a screaming baby. Really poor customer service We are in a standard room and I have to say the rooms are clean, spacious and well equipped. Iron, ironing board, hairdryer, tv and basic toiletries. However our excitement was short lived when i realised there was no remote for the tv!!! I called front desk and was told I would get one in 10-15 mins. 45 mins later no sign! I went down and asked again ... again told it would take 30 minutes. Almost an hour and a half later James arrived to help us out. James was brilliant and within 10-15 minutes had us sorted! However our rollercoaster experience continued. The thermostat in the shower does not work!!! Constantly stuck on the highest setting! Grateful James was on hand and called the manager whilst he was there. Spoke to the manager again who to be fair has been very responsive. I checked in at 3 it’s now 1945 and we still don’t have a working shower nor have we been able to freshen up! To add we can’t use the toilet either as the plumber is working in there!!!! On the whole the 2 caring staff that have been very helpful are let down by basic housekeeping not being checked or fixed! Fix up chessington! Empower your managers to resolve complaints at first point of contact, train you front of house to be more informative and courteous and above all check basic things are there, and in working condition before visitors check in!

Dear travellers140 Thank you for taking the time to review Chessington World of Adventures Resort on Trip Advisor. We pride ourselves on delivering incredible days out to all of our guests, and are never complacent about the experience we provide. Please email us on [email protected], where we would like to discuss further. Kind regards, Guest Experience Team

Hotel Review : Chessington Safari and Azteca hotel

Planning a visit to Chessington World of Adventures and looking for a hotel to stay overnight?  In this review we will cover our stay at the Chessington Safari hotel , one of the two on-site hotels available at Chessington World of Adventures.

In this article, we will share everything you need to know about the Chessington hotels, including its location, prices, rooms, food, drink, facilities and whether its worth booking a stay here.

It’s more than its convenience to the theme park that makes this hotel unique, it is located overlooking its Wanyama Reserve.  We loved the location of the hotel and watching the zebra and giraffe freely roaming close to the hotel, you would never know that the M25 was just 2 miles away.

There was plenty of car parking available at the hotel which was included in the room rate and some of the premium rooms like the new Jumanji rooms also come with VIP parking spaces, close to the entrance to the hotel.

Arrival and Check-In

You can either choose to collect your room cards via one of the self-service kiosks in the lobby or via the manned reception desk which is what we did for that personal touch.  Rooms are available from 3pm, and we had a notification to our phone well before 3pm informing us that our room was ready.

First Impressions

The Chessington hotel actually consists of two themed hotels (The Safari and Azteca) connected by a walkway, but both share the same reception area.

We loved the safari inspired theme as we walked into the hotel, and it brought back so many memories from previous stays.  The centerpiece in the lobby is the giant giraffe which was decorated for Mardi Gras and African themed music playing in the background.

There are lots of photo opportunities as you enter the hotel from the hot air balloon and giraffe in the lifts to the interactive penguin who answers your questions, which Holly thought was great fun.

What really captures your attention as you walk through the lobby are the panoramic views from the back of the hotel out over the Wanyama reserve where we could see Zebra and Giraffe.  It’s the UK’s equivalent of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge in Orlando, Florida and is such a unique place to stay and really extended our theme park experience once the park had closed.

There are 150 rooms at Chessington Safari hotel and 69 rooms in the Azteca hotel, across a range of different categories from standard to premium themed rooms.  We had planned on booking one of the new Jumanji themed room s but these were sold out, so we booked another of their premium rooms, themed after the penguins of Madagascar .

Premium Rooms – Penguin Themed Rooms

Stepping through the door to our room you really did feel you had been transported to the world of Madagascar.  The look on the girls’ faces as they entered the room was worth the room rate, it was so well designed and decorated from top to bottom in Madagascar theming.  We loved the attention to detail with a clever mix of jungle decoration and theming with spectacular views out over the reserve.

I was a little concerned before we arrived that we might be a little cramped with all of us sharing one room, especially with the girls now getting older but I needn’t have worried.  The premium rooms here are really spacious providing more than enough space for our family of four and all of our luggage.

Our double bed, complete with a bamboo canopy was really comfortable and the room had all the usual amenities that you would expect in a 4-star hotel – fridge, safe, flat screen TV, tea and coffee making facilities, iron and ironing board, wifi and air conditioning.

The girls section of the room was just as impressive, they loved having their own sleeping area and bunk beds, which were clad with real bamboo.  The premium rooms at Chessington, including the Gruffalo rooms where we have stayed previously feature some of the best theming I have seen in a hotel room even in comparison with Disney properties.

There are so many nice touches in these rooms for kids, the girls had fun trying to crack the safe by tracking down clues in the treasure hunt around the room.  Once they had got all the info they needed they were able to open the safe and found chocolates and a soft toy each inside.

As well as having their own TV they also had a retro gaming console, where they could play old Sega console games, which Ian had more fun with than the kids.

The bathroom was a decent size, with plenty of towels, toiletries and shower over bath.  Like the rest of the room, even the bathroom had a Madagascar makeover, with a bamboo clad mirror, lots of foliage and we even had Gloria the hippo from Madagascar on the wall behind the toilet.

There was plenty of wardrobe space and shelving providing enough space for all four of us, even on an overnight stay we never travel light.

Animal Themed Rooms

As well as other premium rooms such as the Gruffalo ( you can read our review here ) the hotel also offers animal themed rooms, ranging from tiger, giraffe and zebra rooms along with monkey temple rooms in the Azteca hotel which although aren’t as spacious or as well themed as the premium rooms are a step up from the standard rooms here.

Facilities and benefits

While many choose this hotel for its close proximity to the Chessington theme park – it’s a 5 minute walk away through a private guest entrance which made a huge difference for us, there is so much to enjoy here away from the rides at Chessington World of Adventures.

During our stay at the Chessington Safari Hotel, we were impressed by the wide range of recreational activities available for guests. Here are some of the highlights:

Swimming Pool

One of the highlights for the kids was that the Chessington hotel has an indoor pool and splash pool with water cannons and jets.  Although it’s not a huge pool at 15m long and catered more towards families with younger children we still had great fun here and it was a nice way to unwind after a busy day travelling.

If you do plan on using the pool here, you will need to book this well in advance by calling 01372 734 681 to guarantee your one-hour time slot – we were lucky to get availability the night before our visit.  Access to the pool is free for premium and animal themed rooms but if we had booked a standard room at the hotel there would be an additional charge of £3 per person, so that’s something to consider when choosing your room here.

If you are feeling energetic there was also a small but fully functional gym if you wanted a work out, but with over 20,000 steps clocked up walking around the theme park ( you can read a review of our visit here ) we had already done our workout for the day.

Seeing the animals on the Wanyama reserve

We loved being able to have the private access to the Wanyama reserve after the park closed, this is one of the benefits of being an on-site guest and a great way to spend your evenings after dinner.  We got up close to see the giraffes and zebra from a great viewpoint overlooking the reserve, but a highlight for the girls was the meerkat enclosure.

There is a small shop selling snacks and toys at the entrance to the pool but what the hotel is missing is a large gift shop selling a wide range of park merchandise like you would see at a Disney hotel.

Early ride access

Hotel guests have 1 hour early ride time each morning and this makes a huge difference especially on weekends.  We managed to ride all of the Jumanji rides by 9:30 including Mandrill Mayhem twice which meant we could then tick off some of the parks other popular rides such as Rattlesnake and Gruffalo before the 10 o clock park opening.

When you factor in a typical cost of a reserve and ride, which starts at £120 for a family of four, with other additional benefits such as early entry and designated parking its quite good value when compared to their animal themed rooms.

Evening entertainment at the hotel

For families with younger children, there was also a nightly entertainment and a character meet and greet in the ‘Rangers Club’ just off the main lobby at the hotel along with a movie zone area with lots of comfortable bean bags for kids to watch films. There was also an amusement arcade in the Safari hotel close to the swimming pool and a larger arcade at the entrance to the Azteca hotel, both of which had a wide range of arcade machines to play.

There are two restaurants to choose from here, the Zufari bar and grill in the Safari hotel serving an a la carte dinner menu and the much larger Temple restaurant in the Azteca hotel offering a self service buffet dinner.

As you might have experienced at most theme park hotels, reservations for both breakfast and dinner need to be prebooked in advance via the Chessington website.  As we booked last minute and I literally mean the day before our visit all breakfast and dinner slots were unavailable, so its worth booking these as soon as you make your reservation.  However, when we checked-in we did manage to book a breakfast reservation after speaking with staff at the Zufari bar and grill in the hotel.

We had breakfast in the Zufari bar and grill, which has the most amazing views over the Wanyama reserve.  I would recommend asking for a table by the window or if the weather is good on the outdoor decking as it’s not everyday that you get to have breakfast watching Zebra, antelope and Giraffe walking past your window.

The breakfast buffet here is your typical 4-star hotel standard offering a wide variety of breakfast items including individually boxed cereals, pastries and hot full English items.  It’s also worth booking a slot before 8:30 am as it got progressively busier as we left but staff were excellent, quickly clearing dishes away and replenishing the breakfast items.

We could have booked breakfast in the temple restaurant at the adjoining Azteca hotel which looked as if there might be an even greater breakfast choice but we wouldn’t have had the amazing views of the animals like we had at Zufari.

If you want to have dinner at the Zufari hotel you will need to book well in advance, especially on a weekend.  The restaurant was fully booked during our visit so we took advantage of the takeaway menu which offers many of the same items on the a la carte menu and ordered pizzas and fries and dined in the adjoining Zufari bar.

We also had the option of eating at the Temple restaurant in the Azteca hotel which served an all you can eat buffet, but the selection and quality of dishes seemed quite basic considering the cost per person.

It did look a really cool place to dine with kids though, we loved the theming and interactive dining experience (seemed very similar to a Rainforest Café), which looked great fun for kids – a unique touch here was the leaf cutter ants which pass by your table in glass tubes.

Pricing and discounts

Staying on-site at the Chessington Safari or Azteca hotels is expensive, especially when compared to nearby hotels such as the Premier Inn which is located literally at the entrance to Chessington.  We stayed in a penguins of Madagascar room, one of the premium themed rooms at the hotel which also include Gruffalo, Jumanji and Room and the Broom themed accommodation.

Our penguin room with views of the Wanyama reserve, start from £379 per night on a bed and breakfast rate, rising up to a really expensive £579 per night if you book a stay with your tickets to the theme park included.  To find the cheapest day to stay, there is a deal finder search on the Chessington website which highlights the dates with the cheapest nightly rates.

Standard rooms at the hotel start from £239 per night on a bed and breakfast basis and are fine for an overnight stay.  However, if you are booking an animal themed room I would look at the upgrade cost to the premium rooms as the added benefits such as the ranger reserve and ride and worth the upgrade cost.

It can often be  cheaper to book your hotel and theme park tickets separately and take advantage discounted tickets with Tesco Clubcard or the 2 for 1 ticket offers from the likes of National Rail or promotional cereal boxes.   The Chessington Safari and Azteca hotels can also be cheaper booking via the likes of the online booking sites such as Hotels.com or Expedia on a bed and breakfast rate instead of booking direct with Chessington.

If you are visiting Chessington World of Adventures, staying on-site at the Chessington Safari hotel is well worth it.  Prices are high compared to off site hotels but the benefits offered from being an on-site guest can really make a big difference to your stay, just shop around to get the best room rate.

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Chessington World of Adventures Resort

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CHESSINGTON WORLD OF ADVENTURES RESORT: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

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Review: Chessington World of Adventures & Safari Hotel with a toddler

We headed to Chessington World of Adventures on a sunny Monday in May. It was a birthday gift to our two year old son and we paid for this package ourselves, costing £250 for a Wanyama View Room for two nights, with two days park tickets, breakfast and one night’s dinner at the Temple Restaurant. They didn’t know I was coming (and wouldn’t know who I was…) and I wasn’t compensated in any way for this review, but I have used a few of their photos (with permission) to highlight the rides. William enjoyed our overnight visit to Drayton Manor and Thomas Land when he was 18 months old, but there weren’t many rides he could go on. We chose Chessington World of Adventures because it has a reputation for being very toddler friendly – and because he loves The Gruffalo!

Chessington World of Adventures is located south of London, just off the M25. For my Cardiff readers, it’s an easy 2.5 hour drive from Cardiff if you don’t hit any traffic. It’s all the way down the M4 and then around the M25 and in a very accessible location just 2 miles off the motorway. If you’re not driving, Chessington is just 30 minutes from London and the train station is under 10 minutes walk to the park. There are three car parks, general, coach and hotel.

The first thing I’m going to tell you about visiting Chessington is that you need to download the app. This is a popular park that can get very busy and it does have ride closures throughout the day for maintenance (I assume). There’s an absolutely ton of stuff to see and do, including rides, amusements, zoo animals and a sea life center, and the last thing you want to do is walk to a ride to find out the queue is insane or that it’s actually closed right now.

The app shows the queue times for every single ride and whether it’s currently open or closed. This really helps an absolute ton when planning what to do next. Many of the rides do have a digital wait time display at the entrance as well, so you don’t walk onto a ride only to realize the queue winds around forever, but if you can avoid walking to a ride by checking the app first, you’ve saved time (and sore feet!). I really liked how much thought had gone into making sure people knew how long the waits were.

Chessington World of Adventure Theme Park Review

On with the review! We arrived at the park at around 10:30am on a Monday morning. If you’re staying in the hotel, you can use the hotel only car park which has its own entrance into Chessington World of Adventures. There was absolutely no queue at this entrance so we walked straight in, with our barcodes on our tickets being scanned. We headed to guest services to get our son measured. He’s 91cm so just above the 90cm minimum so we opted for a wristband. It turned out we didn’t really need it, as we only went on one ride that was for over 90cm but under 1.1m and to be honest, he didn’t enjoy it as I think at just turned two, it was a little fast for him. Learning from that, we decided to stick to the baby rides!

It was term-time, but the week before half-term and there were a few coaches of school groups in the park. It was bustling, but not too busy. The longest wait we had was 20 minutes for The Gruffalo River Ride, which was well worth it – but be warned, there’s a chance you’ll get a little wet! It’s a really fun ride which takes you through The Gruffalo story on a river raft. It’s very gentle and suitable for all ages, but does have a few “scary moments” with optics, fog and the Gruffalo statue that kept William wide eyed and pointing at everything.

Being rather more weighty than my husband and son combined, the raft leaned in my direction meaning I got the worst of the water, which my husband was extremely amused about.

The two biggest rides in the park, Vampire and Dragon’s Fury only had 10 minute queue times which was excellent, but if you’re there on a busy day with a toddler, I’d recommend getting the parent swap tickets from guest services (they’re free!). This means one parent can queue whilst the other watches the kids and then you can swap over and cut the queue for the second parent. Pretty neat! They’re not big thrill coasters, but they are still fun and can be enjoyed by anyone over 1.1m so would be ideal for older children and teenagers. I’m really looking forward to going back when he’s older as there are so many family-friendly rides you can all go on together.

Chessington World of Adventures with a Toddler

In addition to the Gruffalo River Ride which was suitable for all ages, there were tons of rides a toddler could go on. His absolute favourite was possibly one of the gentlest as he wasn’t strapped in and had a seat all to himself, which was Sea Dragons, but he also enjoyed Toadie’s Crazy Cars, Dragon’s Playhouse (soft play), Adventure Tree (carousel) and Canopy Capers. I thought there was a great mix of rides to suit families with mixed ages, and there were more rides that a toddler could go on than at Drayton Manor and Thomasland which we’d previously visited. Pretty much all of the toddler rides were walk straight on, or wait for a few minutes at most so if you have the liberty of going during term time with a toddler, take it.

I particularly liked the Adventure Tree Carousel, because it had a real mix of larger animals, smaller animals, and also open tea-cup and boat-type seats that parents could sit in with the kids on. There was plenty of space for parents to stand next to the kids as well, so it was really good for even the littlest of adventurers.

Mixed in between the rides are animal attractions and Chessington World of Adventure have really managed to create immersive themed areas. When you walk into Trail of the Kings, you don’t feel like you’re in a theme park anymore, with ambience all around to fit the Gorilla’s, Lions and other animals. The tiger enclosure in Land of the Tiger was really well integrated into the surrounding rides, with overhead paths the tigers could walk on above you to move to a different enclosure. The zoo-safari area was relaxing and quiet, and the sealife centre filled an hour as well and was extremely educational, with a walk through tunnel and small shark and stingrays. We watched the sea horses for ages!

There were lots of shows throughout the day as well, such as the sea lion show, various animal talks, animal feeding and entertainment displays and you could pay £2 per pot to feed the lorikeets, which we did!

As we had a two-day pass and were staying at the hotel, we didn’t feel rushed at all. You could do everything in one day, but I’d highly recommend a second day if you’re staying in the area so you don’t feel pressured to run around. However… we didn’t actually get to enjoy our second day because of a visit to A&E (toddler life!), so read on for that drama…

We didn’t eat in the park, but there were a variety of restaurants and food stands. We took packed lunch and had no problem finding a picnic table to eat on. We did get the £8 refillable drink, which to be honest I regret. It was made of very cheap plastic and the top constantly leaked and we only found one machine in the park that was open and working to refill. We asked in a few places that served food and they all said they didn’t do it and we walked past two drinks stations that were closed. It also advertised Oasis, as I wanted something that wasn’t fizzy and this was the only option, but when I filled it, it was just water and the staff member then told me they don’t do Oasis anymore, so I had Sprite Zero instead. But there were no child-suitable options. Even just a blackcurrant squash would have been a nice extra. Sadly, due to the leakage of the bottle I threw it away at the end of the day, which made me feel pretty bad as I’d been intending to bring it home and re-use it as it’s hard plastic. I asked a staff member if there was any recycling for them and they said no, which is a real shame. So I’d give that a miss if returning – I’m going to write to them and give my feedback on that as I think they should be stepping up their game in regards to waste. Either product a product people can actually re-use at home, or provide recycling facilities. Ideally, both!

At around 5pm (when the rides close) we headed out of the park and to the Safari Hotel, two minutes walk away.

Chessington World of Adventures, Safari Hotel Review

I absolutely loved this hotel and the decor in it. It was bright and airy, with lots of animal-themed decorations and massive windows with amazing views. There was an iguana exhibit in the main reception, and fish tanks in the Temple restaurant. The best part is it overlooks the safari enclosure of the zoo. We upgraded to a Wanyama View Room which is an absolute must in my opinion and right outside our window we could see Zebra, Ostrich and lots of other African deer/cattle as well as loads of birds. There was a pond just in front of our window too, which had a heron at the edge and some turtles swimming in it! Looking out of the window was just incredibly peaceful and we got to watch the sun rise over it the next morning.

Look at this view from our Wanyama View bedroom window!

I read some complaints about the view so was a bit worried, but all I can say is for us, on the first floor, it was absolutely stunning. I got up at 6am the next morning and the animals were all out and grazing already – early birds for sure!

The room itself was great – spacious and comfortable – and the bunk beds were very cute, although William is still in a cot overnight. It was spacious and had everything we needed except for a mini-fridge, that would have been a nice addition for families bringing milk for little ones. We had requested a cot as well and there wasn’t one in our room, but it was no problem to get one from reception. They offered to set it up, but we did it ourselves and it took 5 minutes. As is standard with cots, make sure you take your own sheet.

We did have a hiccup with the restaurant. We’d prepurchased the Temple Restaurant with our package, but this restaurant was closed. We were told we could transfer this to the Zafari Restaurant, but the fact is, £40 at the Temple Restaurant got us a buffet of unlimited starters, mains, desserts AND soft drinks for the three of us (as under 3s are free!). The cheapest kids meal in the Zafari restaurant was £7.49, with mains being around the £15 mark. There is no way we could have even had two mains, a kids meal and drinks for £40, so it’s not comparable value. On top of that, we arrived at 3pm and were told to go to the tablet to book dinner, and even though it was off-peak term time, the restaurant was fully booked until 8:30pm – far too late to eat with a toddler. When we left for dinner at 5:30pm the restaurant was empty, and when we got back at 7pm it was still half empty, so I don’t know what was going on there.

We headed to the nearby Beefeater called Puzzle Monkey, which is about a 15 minute walk or 2 minutes in the car down the road, where we got a kids meal, two adult meals and three drinks for £26! If you go before 6:30pm Monday to Saturday they do an excellent savers menu and honestly, the menu was far more extensive than at the hotel. It’s also directly next to the Premiere Inn, should you want a cheaper alternative to the on-site hotel. I can’t comment on the rooms, but the hotel was definitely within easy walking distance of the park.

Since we couldn’t get a table at all, I asked for a refund on my pre-purchase which they were very accommodating and understanding about it. The staff were all extremely helpful. We even had a phone call after we left to let us know the refund had been processed and to check everything was okay so top marks for customer service. My tip here is to book the restaurant earlier than your arrival if you want to eat at the hotel. If not, there are plenty of options in the surrounding area.

Just remember that when you leave the car park you need a free exit ticket from hotel reception. These only work once so you need to get a new one when you want to leave again. It took 15 minutes for 8 cars to get out of the car park because three people didn’t have a ticket and got wedged up to the barrier. A staff member released two, whilst a third legged it into the hotel whilst we all waited. So just grab your ticket when you walk past reception so you can get out – the car park is totally free for hotel guests but it is barriered on entrance and exit. I think this is something that the check in staff need to make clearer, as we specifically had to ask about it rather than being given the information when we checked in.

Breakfast in the Temple Restaurant at Chessington World of Adventures

Breakfast the next morning was excellent, served in the Temple Restaurant. It was buffet style but with a ridiculously large amount of things to eat. Sausages, vegetarian sausages, bacon, hash browns, scrambled eggs, hard boiled eggs, fried eggs, beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, yogurt station with fresh strawberries, raising, berries and apricots, loads and loads of fruit, ham and continental meats, cheeses, cereals, pastries, muffins, three different types of bread to toast, as well as 5 different types of juice and a serve-yourself coffee machine that made excellent cappuccino and hot chocolate well as lots of different tea bags and regular coffee. The staff were super at clearing away quickly and making sure food was put out immediately when needed. Breakfast being included in the price was a big bonus, as these days a lot of hotels have started charging £10-15 per person for breakfast!

It was busy even being in term time, so I would recommend booking. We booked for 7:45am and it was about half full then, but by the time we left at 8:30am people were eating in the bar area and outside due to a lack of tables. I’d say 8-9am is likely to be the peak time and breakfast was running from 6:45am to 9:45am.

The best bits of Chessington World of Adventures:

• Fantastic selection of family-friendly rides
• Loads for toddlers to do as well as older children
• Animal exhibits very immersive and well designed
• Beautiful hotel with amazing views
• Fabulous breakfast
• Good value holiday packages
• Lots of toilet facilities and baby changes that were clean

The things that needed improvement:

• Poor quality plastic refillable cup and few refill stations
• Safari Restaurant was fully booked, despite seeming empty
• Temple Restaurant we’d pre-booked was closed
• Some confusion with the car park exit for some guests
• No mini fridge in rooms
• No room service

Who would I recommend Chessington World of Adventures to?

I’d recommend it to families primarily. It doesn’t have any massive thrill rides so doesn’t really compare for adults to theme parks like Alton Towers and Thorpe Park. But for families, this is definitely the one to choose – especially if you have younger children or a family with a mix of ages. It’s also ideal for animal lovers, fans of Julia Donaldson’s The Gruffalo and for those wanting a unique hotel experience with the themed rooms or safari view.

Would I recommend it over Drayton Manor?

Drayton Manor has Thomas Land which is ideal for toddlers and Thomas the Tank Engine fans. We really like Drayton Manor, but I have to say I think Chessington World of Adventure has more immersive animal exhibits and more rides suitable for toddlers. It also has those amazing hotel views. But who can choose just one? If you can, visit both!

Read my review of Drayton Manor Theme Park and Hotel.

Why did we go home early?

Unfortunately, as you’ll know if you follow me on Twitter , we had a bit of drama. William fell over in the hotel room and rolled very badly on his ankle. He tripped over his own shoes so entirely his fault! He has a condition called irritable hip which has unfortunately made his walking a bit unstable, and I blame myself for letting him walk so much during the day, but he was running everywhere like a mad man and it’s hard to keep a toddler still. We decided that if he wasn’t putting any weight on it the next morning we’d consult a doctor and indeed, by 11am the next day he still would not stand or put any weight on the leg and was being very unhappy and crying when it was touched. We called NHS Direct and were advised since he wouldn’t put any weight on it at all, we should get it checked out. We headed home a night earlier than planned which I’m gutted about – but these things happen.

You’ll be happy to know that after a 2 hour visit to A&E and X-rays he was diagnosed with a sprained ankle, instructions to rest up and take calpol, and the next day had started to walk again – and no more carefully than before! In retrospect we could have continued to enjoy our stay by taking him around in the pram, but of course retrospect is a wonderful thing, and I know I’d have felt guilty and not enjoyed my day worrying about whether he’d injured himself or not. I know I’m a bit over cautious, but I think we made the right call given the information we had to hand.

We didn’t quite get to see and do everything since our stay was cut short, but we will definitely visit again!

We love visiting family friendly attractions, zoos and theme parks, so if you have a suggestion for a good family day out, please leave it in the comments!

You might like to read some of my other zoo reviews .

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20 comments.

Looks like a fun day out for the whole family. Glad William was ok in the end though.

Thanks! He’s running around like crazy again now, they heal fast!

We LOVE Chessington. It’s a bit tired in places but we used to go there every weekend on the Merlin Pass when we lived about 40 minutes away. If you’re local the Merlin pass makes it a pretty good deal + all the other sights in London too.

The Merlin Pass looks great! It’s definitely something we will look into when William is older and can enjoy all the attractions because we love short UK breaks and are often visiting theme parks and attractions!

A good level review, I actually lived not far from Chessington once but never visited the theme park #KCACOLS

Thanks Fiona!

The theme park looks amazing and so many things to do! Loved the photos. Thanks for sharing ♥️ ♥️ Interested in doing collabs? xx

Hi Tiffany, I’m happy to work with people or collab. Just drop me an email, listed on that link 🙂

Love the app idea. Why don’t all parks do this?! And that room looks very lovely. Great review. #KCACOLS

This looks like a neat place to go visit. I love anything that has to do with animals. This looks like an advanced zoo. #KCACOLS

Looks fantastic family day out. I have a merlin pass so hoping to check this place out soon X #kcacols

What a sensible idea to have an app so you know how long you’ll need to queue for. #KCACOLS

We last visited Chessington a few years ago, it was before the hotels etc were there and the Gruffello ride was professor pops factory lol. I would love to visit again, but my kids are older now and they want the “big” rides, me, not so much lol. I am glad William was ok after his tumble. #KCACOLS

I think it’s insane that they close rides in the middle of the day. Can’t they do maintenance after hours? Other than that it sounds and looks fabulous. I know both of my girls would love it. Thanks so much for linking up at #KCACOLS. Hope you come back again next time.

That is a good point! It is a bit weird that the rides go on and off so often. I don’t know how their maintenance schedule works but they seem to have to close some of the busiest rides every few hours for 10-15 minutes. The toddler rides I didn’t see closed at all.

We stayed here with all three kids last year – it was fine & they loved it, especially the ant colony in the restaurant! #KCACOLS

Oh my gosh, the adventure tree carousel looks incredible. This looks like so much fun! And I love the idea of the swap tickets because I do have a toddler so that really is the only way we could manage it. The pictures you took are beautiful. Oh maybe one day…..! #KCACOLS

Chessington looks fantastic, I hope we’ll be able to visit it some time! The app for seeing queueing times seems really helpful. What a shame you had to cut your stay short. Though you still managed to see and do a lot there! x #KCACOLS

This looks amazing, my boys would love it.

Your detailed account of the experience, especially with a toddler, is very helpful for families planning a visit. Thanks for sharing!

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Highlighting Themed Experiences

New Themed Hotel Rooms Open at Chessington World of Adventures Resort

by Theme Park Magazine

Chessington World of Adventures Resort has recently introduced two new themed hotel rooms, adding a unique twist to its themed accommodation offerings. Located in the resort’s Safari Hotel, these rooms are designed around popular children’s snacks and drinks, Oreo cookies, and Capri-Sun juice drinks, offering guests a unique experience.

Capri-Sun Inspired Accommodation

The first of these new additions draws inspiration from the Capri-Sun juice drink, incorporating elements of the jungle in its design to reflect the drink’s adventurous spirit. This room features jungle-inspired bedding and bathroom decor, neon lighting, and a mini-bar stocked with Capri-Sun drinks. A unique feature of this room is a slide, adding an element of fun and playfulness to the guest experience.

The Oreo-Themed Room

The second room is entirely themed after Oreo cookies. It features a custom bed that resembles an Oreo cookie, allowing guests to ‘sandwich’ themselves in for the night. The room is decorated with images of hundreds of Oreos, from a milk trail leading to a bunk bed that mimics a stack of cookies to wallpaper in the bathroom showcasing the iconic biscuit design. The hotel ensures that guests have an ample supply of Oreo cookies to enjoy during their stay, fully embracing the theme.

Additional Perks and Amenities

Karl Phipp, Hotel Operations Director at Chessington World of Adventures Resort, highlighted the new rooms as additions to the variety of themed rooms already available at the Safari Hotel.

“We’re excited to add these two tasty new hotel bedrooms to the existing themed rooms already at our Safari Hotel,” said Phipp. “Hopefully, families will find them ‘delicious’ and after a day enjoying our theme park and zoo, a stay in a room with your own slide or OREO-shaped bed simply continues the fun.”

Benefits for guests staying in these themed rooms include early check-in and early access to the theme park and rides, as well as complimentary access to the hotel’s Savannah Splash Pool and free parking.

A Diverse Range of Themed Rooms

Chessington World of Adventures Resort is known for its themed hotel accommodations, offering guests a range of rooms inspired by various adventures, animals, and now, popular snack and drink brands. These include the Jumanji Room, Gruffalo Room, Room on the Broom Room, and others inspired by African wildlife and adventures.

The introduction of the Oreo and Capri-Sun themed rooms marks a creative approach to hotel accommodations, blending the excitement of the theme park with the novelty of staying in a room inspired by beloved treats. These rooms are available for booking, offering families and theme park enthusiasts a new way to experience their stay at Chessington World of Adventures Resort.

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