Chessington World of Adventures Resort Reviews 717

I experienced during my recent visit to the swimming pool facilities.

The changing rooms, lockers, toilets, and showers were extremely dirty and poorly maintained. The level of cleanliness was far below what I would expect, especially from a place that is also known as a reputable hotel and family destination. I was genuinely shocked and disappointed.

The conditions were so unhygienic that I am concerned it could potentially make visitors unwell. This is particularly worrying given that these facilities are used by families and children.

I have taken photographs as evidence of the issues and am happy to provide them to support my complaint.

Given the seriousness of this situation, I would like to request that this matter is investigated urgently. I would also like to raise a claim for compensation due to the poor experience and the unacceptable standards encountered.

Terrible from start to finish. Huge queues, badly managed, broken rides.. we eventually bought fast pass in an effort to speed up our experience and each time we tried to use it we were presented with more and more disappointment. We left after an hour or two vowing never to return.

Terrible! Letting too many people in! 2 hour queues for rides. Even queues all day for the toilets. No toilet roll or soap! Car park charges a joke, as is the so called car park! All together money grabbing and having a laugh at us all! No staff presence. Non of them knew anything about any other part of the Karl they weren’t working on. Come on Merlin sort it out!

Omg. Avoid at all cost. We had planned to treat our children to this dump. WHAT A MISTAKE. the pool and spa manager made called the security on our children because they wanted to have a little fun. They told the kids the terms and conditions clearly states you must pre book the pool for use but when you request the pool they dont any availability. You do the maths. Please dont come this place. We spent a fair amount money for no fun. Surely can spend your money in a better place

Chessington is potentially the least inclusive place on the planet for children with additional needs. I am a carer for a boy who has profound autism and learning disabilities and we take him to chessington regularly because he loves the rides but unfortunately the staff here are absolutely awful when it comes to inclusion. It is so obvious that none of them have any understand or awareness of disabilities, I assume due to a lack of training but also there is an overall poor attitude from the staff regardless of this. This means they are unwilling to make any exceptions or alterations to their usual protocols to accommodate for disabilities. I was put in an extremely dangerous situation on the Gruffalo ride when we visited on Saturday 4th April, the staff refused to stop the ride for even just 5 minutes to allow us to get the boy I care for off the boat. This can be a difficult process as he struggles with transitions, a fairly typical trait of autism. Because of their lack of any willingness to wait just a short amount of time, I ended up having to ride alone with the him whilst his mum went to get his dad to help us transition him off the ride. There was no signal on the ride for her to call him, so she had to go and find him. I told the staff explicitly this was not a safe situation because the boy I care for with is a 2:1, which is stated on his ride access pass. I was begging them to stop the ride but they told me this was not possible and sent me down even though how distressed I was I had asked them multiple times not to. Given that I'd assume safety is the number 1 priority for the rides, I was absolutely appalled by the actions of the staff that day and cannot believe such a lack of concern for me or the boy I care for. It is not very often that people have to make changes or adjustments to their days to accommodate for individuals with additional needs but the staff at the Chessington are completely unwilling to do this. They are too focused on getting as many people on the rides to stop for one second and have some empathy to what is clearly a tough situation with a severely disabled child.
The staff here are in desperate need of more training on how to interact with people with disabilities and their carers, as well as an extreme change of attitude to include empathy and concern for others in their priorities at work.

Currently stood queuing waiting for only our third ride of the day and we have been here for around three hours. Numerous rides are closed including Croc Drop and the Vampire and others have been temporarily closed whilst we are here such as Mandrill Mayhem and Tiger Rock. Just as you think you’re at the front of the queue they let a load of fast track customers on. The place is absolutely rammed full with far too many people and we will be lucky to have been on five rides by the end of the day. Why not limit the amount of people entering the park as opposed to cramming so many in meaning people/families who have paid in good faith get little to no enjoyment whatsoever? Oh that’s right, MONEY MONEY MONEY.

Upon leaving and after going on just four rides all day, I see a sign at the gate offering one last insult before we get in the car. Basically, if you’re a Merlin pass holder you get absolutely nothing and if this is your second complete dissaster of a visit (after having a previous one) you also get absolutely nothing. My view is, is that it seems far more profitable to overload the place to the point you have queue times of 1hr 40 mins and then stick a sign out at the gate offering a free visit (for which a substantial amount of customers will be ineligible for) than it is to just let a sensible amount of people in in the first place.

How hard can it be to limit the number of people entering the so that everyone can have an enjoyable day?

Disgusting customer service.

WARNING TO HONEST GUESTS! Make sure you ask for the room furnishings check list before entering the room. I have been changed for a cushion that was not in my room when we arrived. We didn’t know there was meant to be a cushion in the room as no list of items is provided. They charge your credit card without telling you and then say it was there before arrival and not on departure. Very very dishonest hotel procedure. I have been charged for something we don’t have and don’t know what it looks like.

Hotel was fab but park was shockingly bad! Let’s start off positive, we stayed in the paw patrol room and it was so much fun for the kids and very clean. We had a 2 day pass for park, we spent an hour in the park but soon noticed everything was shut. You couldn’t even walk round the park as they had shut all the gates. The only parts you can see is the aquarium and few animals. We booked not knowing everything else was shut. I asked at the reception about the rides which she informed me they won’t be opening until the end of March. I asked if there was anything close that we could do as we literally finished the park in a hour and have a 2 day pass and she said there’s nothing around the area and to google it. We had lunch in the hot restaurant as there was nothing else open and just to find something to do. Overall very disappointed as it was for my son’s 4th birthday. First time visiting and last

We went to the zoo today, theme park wasn’t open which we knew. Access to the zoo was via one of the hotels, no signpost to show where to go. Nowhere in the zoo to buy food or drink, only place to eat was the hotel restaurant which didn’t open til 12 and didn’t offer snacks. Only one baby change. No lions or tigers. Not worth the money.

Took granddaughter and her two children to the zoo which at £14.50 I thought was reasonable. Parking for 2 cars added another £16. Arrived at one pm and saw few small animals (lions gone) then aquarium . At2 pm the kids were thirsty; no outlets opened and no drink machines so we were sent into hotel with hands stamped for return. Took an hour to have lunch…burgers £20 and coke £5! So nearly hundred for lunch(which I was not expecting!) …took ages so went back at 3 pm to be refused entry as it was closing at 3 pm!!
No signs advertised this
Nothing on the tickets
We were just told it’s on website so should have looked! How ridiculous!
The kids were upset not to see the zebras, giraffes and emus that we had promised them.
Customer services refused to let us have tix to see the animals we missed…we would only have taken an hour and prob we would have bought stuff from shop.
Probably usual standard letter they send out in multiples every day saying ..oh sorry but your comments have helped us help others! It is their job to plan customer experiences not ours.
Very badly organised . I asked for CEO email but they replied she wouldn’t be interested and complaint would be sent back to them! Really ? If I was running a business I would be very interested in such poor service after all is £200 an hour for a few animals good value? I don’t think so! They should be ashamed of the way Chessington is run.

Totally agree with reviews. Rides shut, rides broken, too many people in park so rides that are open and not shut for technical difficulties are over an hour ..don't bother. Other things have to pay for . Awful

Terrible experience as all but one big ride are all closed, yet no information on website without digging through pages upon pages.

Spoke to people at information desk & nothing they can do which is disgusting, no refund or partial refund. Absolute robbery. Will do my best to spread this to as many people as possible. Won't be coming back that's for sure.

We visited Chessington World of Adventures on Tuesday 17th February (half term) as a family of four, two adults and two children (10 and 13), and unfortunately the park experience was extremely poor for the price being charged.

First up: we couldn’t get an Access Pass because they were fully booked. Fair enough, I suppose, but it says it all that the Access Pass queue is now longer than the standard queue. I’ll leave that there, given the negative media coverage Chessington has already had on the subject.

We were staying in the hotel, so arrived around 11am and spent the best part of 15 minutes negotiating a chaotically packed car park. Once inside the park, we found that only a couple of the big rides were open, with many kiosks shut, meaning massive queues for the few attractions that were operating. During half term, and with full price tickets, you’d expect the full experience, save for genuine mechanical downtime. This felt like a stripped-back offering.

If we weren’t Platinum Pass holders, I’d have been absolutely disgusted.

Food pricing was another low point. We went to buy a hot dog and found they were £15 each, served plain in a bun with nothing else. It looked miserable (as did the poor lad serving them). £60 for four sad hot dogs… we came to our senses and walked away. Crikey, even Turpin wore a mask. (I couldn't write his first name, computer says no)

We eventually gave up on the rides and walked around the zoo for a bit, which the kids did enjoy. Then we received the text: “your room is ready” slightly ahead of schedule, which is always welcome… until we discovered we’d been put in a smaller room than we’d paid for. To be fair, the two gents at reception were excellent: very apologetic and they upgraded us to a Room on the Broom themed room, which met the original spec (separate children’s area) and the theme was genuinely fun.

Swimming was another frustration. A few days before we’d tried to book via the “My Booking” section on the app, as advised, only to be instructed to call instead. When you finally do get hold of someone, we were told it was fully booked, and to “try on the day” as cancellations sometimes happen. On the day, a pleasant young lady suggested we could try at 5pm because larger bookings don’t always show up, but we didn’t bother in the end.

We’ve previously had a poor experience in the dining area, so we opted for a KFC in the room this time, then a few beers in the bar while the kids played in the arcade.

The room (second time lucky) was great, we slept well, and the buffet breakfast the next morning was genuinely nice.

Staff highlights: the two gents who sorted the room issue, the lady at the pool, and a sweet young barmaid with glasses were all excellent. The hotel itself was good.

But the park? Extremely disappointing and very poor value for money. Not having the big rides running properly during half term while charging normal prices feels like a dirty trick, likely opting to save a few quid on labour over guest experience. Deplorable. And sadly, in the current climate, it’s exactly what you’d expect from the once-great, now struggling UK theme park trade.

Hotel: yes. Park: not at these prices and with this level of operation.

I am writing to formally express my disappointment regarding our family visit to Chessington World of Adventures today. Unfortunately, what was meant to be an enjoyable day out turned into a very frustrating and upsetting experience.

To begin with, the lack of clear signage directing traffic to the park caused significant confusion. Many vehicles, including ours, were diverted to an adjacent construction site, as there were no clear signs indicating the correct route. It was only thanks to the construction site staff that vehicles were redirected to the park. Additionally, the car park arrangements were unclear. Several car parks were visible along the main road, but there was no clear guidance as to which one visitors should use. Even after parking, there were no clear directional signs guiding guests to the main entrance, which made navigating the site unnecessarily difficult.

There were also roadworks around the entrance area, which further delayed arrival times. This information was not clearly communicated on their website in advance, which would have allowed visitors to plan accordingly.

Upon arrival at the entrance, the situation did not improve. There were only two ticket checking points operating, despite a large number of families queueing in cold and rainy weather. We witnessed disabled families with young children struggling to find assistance while waiting in the rain. At one point, our ticket scanning queue was brought to a halt when a staff member left the gate unattended for several minutes, with no other staff stepping in to manage the situation. This resulted in disorderly queues, with some guests pushing ahead and not enough staff present to manage or assist.

Most disappointingly, a large number of rides were closed without clear prior notice. It was only after we returned home that we tried to check their website to see whether ride closures had been clearly stated in advance. We discovered that this information is not displayed prominently on the main booking page. Instead, it can only be found by navigating through the main menu, and even then, it does not clearly specify the extent of the closures. There was no clear statement that the majority of rides were closed, nor that only 2 major thrill rides were operating on the day of our visit. This lack of transparency during the booking process is extremely concerning, as it significantly influenced the value of our visit.

On the day itself, only 2 of the major thrill rides were operating, and one of those closed shortly after due to rain. As a result, queues for the smaller rides became excessively long, we waited approximately 1.5 hours just for Sea Dragons. This was extremely disappointing, especially considering the time and money spent. In fact, we spent more time travelling to and from the park than we did enjoying functioning attractions.

To make matters worse, the exit process was equally chaotic. The lifting barrier at the parking exit broke down, causing yet another queue of vehicles trying to leave. We waited until a member of staff eventually arrived to manually lift the barrier and allow cars to exit. However, just 20 metres ahead, the traffic lights outside the park entrance were also not functioning properly, resulting in further congestion and at least an additional 10-15 minute delay waiting for the lights to change. After an already disappointing day, this was extremely frustrating for families simply trying to return home.

Overall, this experience fell far below the standard we expected and certainly did not reflect what we paid for. Given the significant number of ride closures, poor organisation, lack of clear communication during the booking process, and the additional delays both entering and exiting the park, we will not come back again.

Booked a weekend hotel and theme park stay for a family of 4. My son has taken very unwell and needs to go to hospital, we don't want our daughter to miss out so I phoned and asked if there was any way we could get a voucher or a day pass to make up for the fact me and my son can't go. I even said I would get the gp letter as proof. I was told I will get no reimbursement of any kind!mr husband and daughter are still going but the fact they offered no goodwill gesture at all is appalling!

Chessington is more focused on selling tickets and making money than on ensuring happy guests and children who can actually enjoy their day.

I am contacting you regarding the Wowcher promotion associated with your hotel. I have repeatedly attempted to reach both your team and Wowcher, but neither has provided a proper response.
At this point, I am unable to book any suitable date, and Wowcher is not addressing my requests. Since the service offered cannot be accessed and communication has been ineffective on all sides, I am now requesting the cancellation of my voucher and an official statement from your hotel confirming the situation.
Your confirmation is essential, as Wowcher is refusing to provide a real answer and continues sending only automated messages. Without your cooperation, I cannot proceed with my refund, and the lack of support is causing significant inconvenience.
I therefore request:

A clear statement from the hotel confirming whether the dates for this promotion are unavailable or not being accepted, and
Written confirmation that I was unable to secure a booking despite multiple attempts.

Your prompt reply is required so I can take the necessary steps to resolve this matter. I expect your position as soon as possible.

Nearly time to close the zoo it is past it's best.if you stay at the hotel evening entertainment is nothing at all what a waste of time.

I have always enjoyed this park, that is until I took my son for an overnight stay at the zufari hotel (21/22 Dec). While I can’t fault the hotel , what happened next was a series of awful events leaving my son in tears most of the time. The exciting extra hour in the park in the morning - nothing was open - not so much as a coffee shop. The rides - almost everything was closed with a number such as the vampire closed for maintenance. Animals, tigers, gorilla and lions section all closed. Jumanji world - the big roller was mostly closed , then when it did briefly open it broke leaving people stranded and stuck in the ride. Such a disappointment :(

Worse Christmas winter tail and visit to Santa ever!

After a mixed day at Chessington, going on a few rides and not being able to see many of the animals - due to highlights being within the winter tail and lions and tiger now not even at Chessington, we thought our winter tail visit would improve the day, this was not the case - we had booked a 4.30 time slot, however this only got us into a very dull token of a winter space and a massive queue to see Santa that we stood in for over 1hour 30 mins, there were head phones for a silent disco - but for most kids (and adults), there is only so much you can take of this!!! There was no entertainment and no beautiful Christmas displays to look at whilst waiting.
Kids in the queue were bored and crying.

There was only a handful of staff, and they knew very little, several families were complaining and asking how long the queue would be, no one knew anything and even the staff were saying what an awful experience it was.
A token member of ‘management’ arrived, as there were so many complaints, but even he didn’t get the frustrations and said he would talk to someone else and come back - but surprise he never did.

What was supposed to be a lovely start to Christmas turned out to be the nightmare before Christmas. When eventually getting to see Santa, we were in and out within a couple of minutes! The reindeer pen at the end was in darkness, so the children couldn’t even see them.

It just felt like a money grabbing exercise by Chessington - we would definitely NOT recommend going, Chessington Garden centre down the road is a much better experience, as are other Santa visits we have had elsewhere.

We also paid for a VIP giraffe experience during our visit, again the staff leading this were late, we had received no information before our visit as to where this was taking place, on arrival we asked and were told to go to the giraffe area, but the VIP hosts were waiting in one of the hotels and were radioed x3 by another member of staff before arriving. And whilst seeing the giraffes up close was amazing, again the experience feels rushed and another money making exercise for Chessington.

Our recommendation is to look elsewhere before spending extortionate amounts of money at Chessington.

Was supposed to have an overnight stay here on the 13/12/2025 to experience winter tail and the kids santa visit for this year. The park was way too busy, staff were clearly struggling to keep up with the workload and the hotel system went down so we couldn't get into our room. In total we went on 2 rides and was told by staff to 'go away and come back later' as we were 10 minutes early to get into winter village. The kids didnt even want to stay here anymore and due to the system being down we were luckily refunded the room (with huge thanks to the hotel manager and the lady he put me in touch with they were highly professional and friendly), we was told by customer services via phone call to contact the chessington feedback by email to get a refund for our second day that we would be missing out on due to not staying overnight. They have now emailed back saying the refund for the room only is being treated as 'compensation' for the whole trip and no other goodwill can be offered.

Clearly they have no communication and happy to misinform visitors. Terrible experience from the moment we arrived, I would fully recommended staying clear of the winter tail and especially go elsewhere if you are visiting with someone disabled as pre applying for ride access or mobility aids does not mean they will be available.

Due to how busy it was we missed out on the santa visit also, the kids didnt care about it in the end and just wanted to leave!

Apart from the one rude member of staff, the rest were lovely and I felt so bad for them with what they had to put up with throughout the day. The park is far from equipped to deal with what they are trying to offer.