REVIEW: Our Blackpool Staycation

Not sure why it has taken me so long to write this up but yay here we go! So we ended our summer holidays with a staycation to Blackpool for 3 nights. It wasn’t just myself and little miss this time which was nice. Some of my aunts, my uncle and my cousins joined us too! Big family holidays are always fun!

The journey.

There was absolutely no way I was driving all that way from London. It was over 4 hours in the car and I’m not even sure I could stay awake for that long. The coach journey is much cheaper but even longer so I went for the train. I used my family and friends railcard to get return tickets for £66. Without it, it would’ve cost us well over £100. I honestly can’t believe how expensive it is!

If you have no idea what a family and friends railcard is, I suggest you tap this link and get one as it’s a great way to save money on trains if you have kids aged 5+

You can see our train tickets below so you can get an idea of what our journey was like.

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The hotel

Was incredibly awful! We stayed at The Grand Hotel and let me tell you there’s absolutely nothing grand about this hotel at all 😆

Please bear in mind I didn’t pick this hotel. One of my cousins did and I trusted his judgment. Silly me 😂

Little did I know it was a Britannia hotel which was named the worst U.K. hotel chain for the 8th year in a row last year! I’m sure they’ll win again this haha! It’s my understanding that they also own Pontins 😳

The good

• When a customer was racist to my aunt (unprovoked) the check-in staff refused to check that woman in and provided my aunt with a free upgrade.
• The swimming pool was decent
• It’s close to the beach and Blackpool North train station

The bad

• The hotel is dirty. So many customers were at reception complaining that their rooms were not cleaned
• One of the receptionist openly admitted that they don’t really clean the rooms below the 5th floor! Wtf!
• Many of staff members are rude. I appreciate they may get abuse day in day out but maybe just clean the rooms to avoid that?
• Breakfast did not taste good
• One of my aunts had an infestation of sand flies in her room.
• One of my cousins had dried up pasta in her room
• The hotel needs a huge update. The decor is really outdated.
• I had missing lightbulbs and no toilet roll in my room and practically had to beg them for some.

Overall it was just a crap experience and I do not recommend this hotel at all. You couldn’t pay me to stay there again!

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I booked this hotel on hotels.com because I think their rewards system is pretty cool. When you book 10 nights through the website or app, you’ll earn a free night. You have to make sure you’re logged in to get the reward. As you can see from the screenshot, I have 4 more nights to go.

Getting around Blackpool.

The easiest way to get around Blackpool is by using the trams. It’s a good idea to download the BPL Transport app where you can buy tickets and just show them on your phone. Under 5s are FREE!

What can you do in Blackpool?

• Madame Tussaud’s
• Sandcastle Waterpark
• Sea life
• The Blackpool Tower
• Check out the piers (there’s more than one)
• The Blackpool Tower Dungeons
• Coral Island
• Heritage Tram Tours
• Blackpool Model Village & Gardens
• Pleasure Beach
• Horse and carriage rides

Discounts

Before you book anything, make sure you check out Wowcher, Groupon, the Tesco Clubcard app and Kids pass to see if you can save some money!

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What we got up on to in Blackpool.

I must say I wasn’t expecting to find a Caribbean bar and restaurant in Blackpool but I’m glad we did because we really enjoyed it. It’s called Marley’s and I definitely recommend it!

We checked out a few of the piers. Make sure you take your cash out before you head there as the machines there will charge you. It’s always fun to go to these kind of places. You have lots of fun rides and plenty of coin games!

There’s sand at Blackpool beach! I’m not a fan of pebble beaches so it was nice to see! It wasn’t that warm so we didn’t spend too much time there but we will when we go back hopefully next summer.

Pleasure Beach

AD|Press trip

We were kindly invited to Pleasure Beach and we had a blast! It is one of the best places we’ve ever been to!

First things first, discounts! You can use your Tesco Clubcard vouchers to get money off the entry price!

Price

The price for tickets all depends on the day you’re going and your age. I’ve seen tickets from £32 on the website.

Make sure you have a proper read of their FAQS before you buy tickets as they operate different from most theme parks. For example if your child can walk unaided, they’ll need a ticket. You can read all about it here.

All children are able to ride 19 rides at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, irrespective of their height, provided the child meets the following criteria:*

• The child must be able to walk unaided i.e. they may not be carried.
• The child must be wearing suitable footwear.
• The child possesses an eTicket

Reasons why we loved Blackpool Pleasure beach

• The rides are awesome! There really is something for everyone here. The young kids and the thrill seekers!
• The queues were not too crazy!
• Nickelodeon land was awesome! They even do special meet and greets with some of the characters.
• It’s very easy to find
• The Tango Ice blast machines!!
• The food was reasonably priced and tasted quite nice too
• Friendly and helpful staff
• The Wallace and Gromit ride was fab!

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Minor inconvenience

Im not sure why they do this but you basically have to scan your ticket every time you go on a ride. It’s very annoying because you need the internet to access your tickets and I’m not sure whether it was just my network provider but I has pretty much no service the whole day. Also their WiFi is not the best.

It’s a good idea to take screenshots of your tickets! Also you have to make sure you have a fully charged phone. I always bring my portable chargers with me but I’m sure there are many people that don’t. What happens then? Will they just not be able to go in the rides?

Top rides you should definitely check out

• Avalanche
• Grand National
• Steeplechase
• Wallace and Gromit thrill-o-matic
• Alice ride
• Everything in Nickelodeon land!

Despite the terrible hotel, we did have a good time in Blackpool. We didn’t do everything we wanted to do but that just means we will have to visit again!

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