Axon had their summer party at the new (opened June) Splash Landings hotel at Alton Towers.

We drove up there on Saturday and arrived in time for lunch and a pint of beer.  The bar was open for the afternoon, we did not take advantage of this and went off for a swim in the water park. 

This was a pool with flumes which you rode on rubber rings.  The best, and Rosemarys worst, was the one which went uphill, rotated you and sent you through pitch black tunnels.  There were many places by the pool where water was poured on top of you, and you had the bonus of being able to set traps and pour buckets of water over others from platforms.  The childeren really loved this.  There was one place where several thousand gallons of water would be poured down on top of you.  When the bell rang, people would run up and stand and wait for the deluge.

After the swim, a rest and then the evening meal.  This meal was held in the hotel next door,  Alton Towers Hotel.  There was lots to drink, the food though was not up to power.  After the meal there was a limbo dancing.  When this finished the usual 70s 80s disco took over playing Abba.  Why can’t we have some real Rock? We stayed at this until the end and then went back to bed.

Next day breakfast and back home.  Very tired.

The Splash Landings Hotel was themed on West Indies Style.  The roof was all corrugated iron, with wooden walls.  Inside the corrugated iron was painted to make it look like there was rusted iron underneath.  The walls were done to look like they were decaying in the damp and heat.  Of course underneath all this was the standard reinforced concrete.  It was pretty effective, and example of the Tussauds imagination.

The hotel was not very efficient, booking in took along time, there were thousands of staff, but most were hanging around.  I have never seen so many life guards in my life at a pool.  I wonder what it would be like in a years time.

Oh and we never went to the Alton Towers park for the rides.