Drayton Manor Hotel

Just weeks after it opened, Mumsnet was invited to try out the new Drayton Manor Hotel which has just opened as part of the Tamworth theme park.

It was our family's first visit to Drayton Manor and we were really impressed. The park wasn't too busy, queues for the rides we went on were pretty minimal and there was loads for a family with younger kids to do, particularly if they're into Thomas the Tank Engine.

The hotel itself is at the gates of the park, meaning you're well positioned to be on site as the gates open which is always a plus. Brand-new, it has 150 rooms, all of which have wi-fi access, air-conditioning, an en-suite bathroom and LCD TVs, iron & ironing board and fridge which can you fill with your own drinks.

We tried out a standard family room which was a pretty decent size, although it felt a little cramped for the four of us when the sofa bed was set up for the kids. The bathroom was ultra modern and very nicely designed, although we were surprised to only find shampoo/bodywash rather than the usual selection of body lotions, soaps etc - and there was no shower cap, which is a bit of a pain if you're trying to give the kids a quick shower after the park. But generally speaking the room had all the mod cons and was well soundproofed.

The hotel has two restaurants and a separate bar, all of which offer different menus. The main restaurant has a buffet carvery and a posher brasserie. As the hotel was pretty packed on a Saturday night, we decided instead to try the new Drayton Manor Grill restaurant just a minute's walk from the hotel. We had a great meal here - really much better than we expected.

We had breakfast in the hotel the following day which we thought pretty good. It would have been nicer to see some breakfast rolls or more pastry choices, but the cooked breakfast we tried was very nice.

A lot of thought has been put into looking after their smaller guests - visits from the Fat Controller at breakfast time were clearly a highlight for a lot of children, and there are beanbags and toys in reception and children's menus at all of the restaurants. Best of all the staff were incredibly friendly from reception through to the restaurants and bars, which makes a real change from a lot of hotels we've been to.

Our 'stay and play package' including one night's bed and breakfast and tickets at the park for a family of four would have cost around £126 which is pretty good value - but it looks as though weekends are already getting pretty booked up, so the hotel's proving popular.

Top tip: a lot of guests arrive for a day at the park and then head back to the hotel to check in when the park closes at 5.30pm. There was just two receptionists checking in a whole sea of people at this point, so it's probably best to nip back and check in a bit earlier before the mad dash.