Which town to stay in when going to Thorpe Park ?

[pumpkinpie01]

I'm spending way too long googling , so thought I would ask some experts 😀 Doing a theme park tour in August - Thorpe , Chessington & Legoland in August going to go for 4 days . Which town would be nice to stay in ? Looking for one where there is some nice places to visit , nice restaurants, maybe a good park etc. Myself , Dh, FIL and ds9. Chertsey, Cobham, Guildford or none of these ? It's an area of the country I have never been to before.

Bump

Windsor

Chertsey is pretty but small. Cobham is tiny. Personally I would look at Windsor as it is very close to legoland, and fairly close to Thorpe park, but also has a lot going on for itself. You can walk by the river, across to Eton, and go inside the castle if you are that way inclined.

Less picturesque but probably a cheaper stay would be Staines. Again, river walks, cinema etc.

I don't know about Legoland but Thorpe Park and Chessington both have onsite accommodation.

Thorpe Park's Shark Hotel is made of stacked shipping containers and is basic but Chessington's hotel looks okay and has a safari theme, plus there's glamping cabins onsite which are cheaper. I'm sure Legoland will have accommodation too if you look on the Merlin website.

Do you already have a Merlin Annual Pass? You get discounts off their onsite accommodation and food in the parks with it and it might be cheaper to get this for a year than buy tickets separately for the 3 parks (however, you only need one person to have the pass to get the discounts if it's not the cheaper option for all the group).

If you're planning on breaking up your visit, I do agree that Windsor's lovely though.

Thanks all , will look at hotels in Windsor. @SleepOhHowIMissYou ( loving your name!) my son got a pass for Xmas and me and my dh are getting one as we only live an hour away from alton towers and my son loves the place. @notaflyingmonkey if Windsor is too pricy I will look at Staines , thank you .

Staines has plenty of chain hotel options including a v new Premier Inn. You won't get the noise of the aircraft either but will be able to see them if you like that kind of thing!
Staines has a nice river tow path and a couple of nice parks too. The centre has plenty of chain restaurants and there is an Asian food court too. Plenty of options.

Windsor would be the best option - I am local and my DC have worked at 2/3 of these at one stage so driving is ok
You will have a packed 4 days!

@Mumofcats5 so Staines isn't that small then if it has a premier inn ? @mumofEandE yes I don't think it's going to be a relaxing holiday , will need a break when I get back !

If you are doing full-on park days it won't really matter where you stay as you'll be exhausted!

Parking in Staines is much cheaper than Windsor.

Both have places to eat, Windsor will be much busier in August.

To be honest, if you have the choice to go another time of year...the parks will be super-busy in August.

@FleeceNavidadFromTheSheep yea we probably will be tired but we will still go out every evening rather than staying in a hotel room . I'm thinking my son might find Legoland a bit tame ( he has no fear and loves big scary rides ) so that might just be half a day .

@FleeceNavidadFromTheSheep we haven't really as my dh has 3 weeks off in August .

No OP there is a Premier Inn, Travel Lodge (about 20 years old) and a couple of other places too.

We went to Chessington in August and it was significantly quieter than an inset day in June.

@supercalifragilistic123 thank you fingers crossed that's the case . We will be there half an hour before it even opens so will be the first in the queue as my fil gets up at 4.45am , that's why I want a hotel and not an apartment so he doesn't disturb us .

@Mumofcats5 ah I see , I will get looking at Windsor then , thanks.

You mught not do legoland in half a day as queues are ofter 45min-hour. We were merlin passholders for a few years and every august people were disappointed at only going on a few rides. Chessington was similar a lot of days last august - one day we went there qere a lot of complaints.

Def worth being first iñ the queue and planning a route though :) the first ride or two will be quicker.

It would be worth joining the fb merlin annual passholders group tbh. Lots of fab advice there re accomodation and navigating the parks.

Staines is your best bet for affordable and a central position. Whilst not the most attractive town, the river at Runnymede is just a couple of miles away and beautiful and you have easy journey to the theme parks.

Hey OP, I am local to this area.

Windsor is obviously nicer but I'd think pretty pricey to stay in. Staines is a decent option, there is a Premier Inn and a Travelodge, lots of restaurants, a cinema, the river and also some good parks. You can also get a shuttle bus to Thorpe Park from Staines bus station if you didn't want to drive.

You could always stay there and do a day trip to Windsor as well :) There are some nice boat rides that go from there.

There's a Facebook group for Merlin pass holders which I think you'd find very helpful

Not for pretty walks but the tonnes of premier inns around Heathrow are pretty convenient

As pass holders you get discount for on site hotels

If your son is a thrill seeker he may well find parts of Chessington very tame too

Have you thought about doing London attractions at same time?

Oh yes that's a good idea. We did Shrek/london eye/aquarium one day (but prebooked all the slots.)

@TakeMeToYourLiar we went to London in August , really don't fancy doing it with fil tbh , could be a bit stressful me and dh will be looking after him and ds!
I have in mind a hotel with a nice garden area outside so fil could read the papers early morning and we could sit and chill when we get back rather than just have a premier inn room to go to . I'm going to get hunting !

@GlitteryGreen and @SprayedWithDettol Staines sounds bigger than where we are from so that does seem to be an option didn't want to go anywhere tiny and desolate.