Hotel of the week – Legoland Windsor Resort hotel

The £25 million Legoland Windsor Resort Hotel opened to the public this weekend hoping to entice its regular domestic visitors to stay longer and to attract more of the overseas market.  A few steps from the park, the newly built hotel offers a unique and longer lasting Lego experience.

To say excitement was reaching fever pitch is no understatement – sadly for both me and the children. Minutes from the drab world of London traffic and circling airplanes, the spanking new hotel emerged resembling Noddy’s toytown with colourful blocks on the walls and guarded by an interactive dragon. Built to cash in on the increasing number of visitors heading to the park, the hotel offers a little bit more magic. Many of its Lego models are one-off designs built by a lucky team of ‘Lego builders’. It’s a wonder you ever get past the foyer to find your room.

We were allocated a Pirate themed room which had all the trappings you’d expect and more. The attention to detail does not go unnoticed with shrieks of ‘look!’ and ‘wow!’ from all corners. It feels fun and there’s plenty to amuse while also offering comfort. It’s not often hotels focus more on the children than their hard working parents but when my kids fell silent, I could see the benefits. Each room has a safe with a code to crack. Inside were Lego toys to create. They had their own TV and a tub of Lego on hand with a daily Lego building challenge. Each room has a safe with a code to crack. Inside were Lego toys to create.  Ingenious.

Emerging rested (me) and eager to explore (all of us), we headed down to sample dinner in the Bricks family restaurant. It’s no mean feat navigating around the hotel, not least because they’ve introduced a security measure which means you need your room key to activate the lifts and the ground floor door to the stairs.

The restaurant was slick and easy, offering plenty of child-friendly options – including Lego chips – as well as good tasting food. After dinner there was entertainment in the form of a disco with a celebrity appearance from ‘Pink Brick’ – the dancing Lego brick, for those who think they’ve had too many refreshments. Ours shared their time between the disco, playing football outside and watching movies upstairs. A pirate splash pool is also due to open by next week.

Breakfast was just as straightforward and plentiful leaving us ready for the park. We got early bird access, which like so many of these deals only includes certain rides but it’s still worth getting in before the masses.  A Q-bot system allows you to ‘queue jump’ any of the busy rides.

New for 2012 is the amazing Star Wars Miniland experience. In my day Star Wars was ground breaking enough far less turning the ships and figures into Lego builds – like the Millennium Falcon which took 143 hours to build and design and used 19,200 Lego pieces.

The new polished hotel doesn’t have to sell itself to children – after all, who wouldn’t want to be surrounded by bright colours, Lego and Lego characters. But it’s attracting the adults that it stands to gain most from.  Owner Merlin Entertainments Group is hoping not only the parents – who are likely to come in droves if the hotel keeps children happy – but all adults are attracted to its offerings. Park visitors, room only stays and business travellers are all on the wish list. The hotel’s executive suite can host corporate events, conferences of up to 320 delegates, private parties, teambuilding days, exhibitions and even weddings. I’m sure the opportunity to set teams of corporate ‘Lego builders’ against each other will appeal to most.

Steps from the Legoland park, as well as driving distance from central London and Heathrow airport, the new hotel allows you to sleep in the heart of Legoland, living and breathing its magical air.  It’s a unique experience for anyone who has a soft spot for the plastic brick.

By Diane Evans