A leisure resort in Staffordshire, England, featuring a theme park, zoo, and hotel. Carl Hickinbottom worked here as Executive Chef and later Head of Hotel Operations.
Carl Hickinbottom is a seasoned hospitality professional with a career spanning nearly three decades, beginning as a chef. He has extensive experience in high-volume culinary operations across various environments,...
Drayton Manor Resort is primarily a family theme park, zoo, and hotel, rather than a standalone restaurant. The hotel offers various dining options, including a breakfast buffet and dinner, catering to families visiting the attractions. It is known for its family-friendly atmosphere, including Thomas Land and a zoo.
Customers generally have a very positive perception of Drayton Manor Resort, particularly highlighting its excellent value for money, especially when combining accommodation with theme park access. The hotel is praised for being clean, well-maintained, and designed with families in mind. Staff are frequently described as friendly, welcoming, and helpful. The breakfast buffet receives high marks for being tasty, generous, and offering a wide variety of options, including traditional British fare. Dinner is also considered tasty with good variety, though some guests found it a little expensive. The kids' pizza, however, was noted by one reviewer as being similar to a frozen supermarket pizza. The resort is highly recommended for family short breaks, with many guests expressing a desire to return.
Additional Details
Drayton Manor Resort is located in the grounds of the former Drayton Manor stately home. It features a theme park with roller coasters, Thomas Land, and a zoo. The hotel often includes perks like theme park access and fast pass cards with its stay-and-play packages. Character appearances, such as 'The Fat Controller' at breakfast, add to the family-friendly experience.
Accommodates allergiesVegetarian optionsFresh fruit options
Best Times to Visit
Based on the nature of the resort as a theme park and hotel, ideal times to visit would likely be during school holidays or weekends for family getaways. Dining experiences are available for breakfast and dinner, aligning with typical hotel meal times.
5
Absolutely loved our stay and play little holiday.
We felt there was real good value for money. With 2 days of theme park access, car park and breakfast included along with a few fast pass access cards really made our weekend.
The hotel itself was lovely and clean and the room was super cool with AC which was very much needed and a good size with a comfy bed.
The breakfast buffet was tasty and had a lot of options for everyone.
We 100% will be back in the future and wouldn't hesitate to recommend
Had the absolutely best stay here with my son and mother. Staff were so friendly and helpful, place was spotlessly clean and food was tasty, generous and good value for money. The fact we go second day park tickets made the two day stay incredibly good value. The little crazy golf course on the doorstep was an added bonus to pass the time after dinner. Will definitely be back.
We had a really enjoyable stay at the hotel. Everything was very clean, well maintained, and clearly designed with families in mind. We stayed with children and felt very comfortable throughout our visit.
The breakfast buffet was excellent. We loved the traditional British breakfast, and there was also a great selection of fresh fruit, which was a nice touch. Dinner was tasty with a good variety of options, although we felt it was a little expensive. The only food we weren’t impressed with was the pizza from the kids’ meal, which tasted like a frozen supermarket pizza.
The only real disappointment was that I had ordered a birthday teddy bear surprise for my child before our arrival, but it hadn’t been prepared. I had to go to reception and ask about it before it was sorted.
Overall, we had a lovely stay and would happily come back.
We had a lovely 2 night stay while visiting Thomas Land. Didn't get a Thomas room but the hotel has some lovely Thomas bits in common areas so my toddler was delighted. We also saw the Fat Controller at breakfast on Saturday which was brilliant - he was so good at engaging children. Restaurant was fine, the food wasn't exceptional but they took my child's allergies seriously which is so important. Play area outside didn't have much for toddlers which was a shame for us, a nice area for primary school kids though. There was also mini golf and a small games arcade which we didn't do.
We recently stayed at the Drayton Manor Hotel and had a fantastic overall experience. From the moment we arrived, the staff were amazing—polite, welcoming, and always willing to go the extra mile to help.
During our stay, we also visited the Drayton Manor Theme Park, including Thomas Land and the Drayton Manor Zoo, and all of them were absolutely brilliant. There’s something for everyone, and it really made the trip special.
We stayed in the presidential suite, which was very spacious and comfortable. However, some areas could benefit from a little TLC—particularly the fixtures and fittings, which felt slightly worn.
Overall, a wonderful stay with great experiences throughout. We’d definitely return!
