Alton Towers Resort Hotel - Dancing with the Stars

Alton Towers Resort Hotel - Dancing with the Stars.

Faye and Mandy on the red carpet with a banner behind.
 Faye is wearing an orange dress and Mandy is wearing a red dress, both are smiling 

I have never been to Alton Towers. I could take or leave theme parks. But when my mum heard about the Strictly Dance weekend (a show she loves), we had to book!

It’s not near a train station, so we drove. It was down narrow, country lanes and surrounded by farmland.

Upon arriving, we asked where the disabled parking was and were told, 'now, that is the question!' We found it and went in. The entrance has no steps, but is a bit bumpy, so manual wheelchair users be aware. As the hotel faces north and south, it is naturally quite dark, with dim, artificial lighting, so not great for visually impaired people.

The staff couldn’t be more helpful. One man saw the cane and began directing me. The room wasn’t huge. It had a double and single bed, a desk, chair, drawers, tv, and bin all crammed in. The single bed had a kids colouring set, which was a nice touch however, had the bed and desk etc not been there, I would have been able to manoeuvre easier. As it was, I got into the bathroom and out of the room by doing a kind of 4-point turn.

The bathroom is small. I couldn’t turn in it. It did have contrasting colours of white sink with a shelled rim to hold onto, a white square shaped toilet and white bath, the rest being black. I was glad it had both a wall and toilet side grab rails, as not all hotels do.

There were lifts to all floors. The hotel has a ship theme, so the lift lights dimmed and the chosen floor button flashed. One of the lifts said, 'Welcome to the Alton Towers Hotel. Going down.' It was a bit hard to hear over the jolly sailor music, but fun for kids.

The bar area was a bit tricky to navigate, with obstacles, like, chairs, tables, people in the way. Luckily most moved and were kind.

In the restaurant, staff were so accommodating and sorted my bowl/spoon/straw and drink combo. I have to have a lot of tablets in the morning, at home, I have a smoothie as I struggle to swallow them with juice. We asked the people in the restaurant to blend the fruit into a drink. They weren't sure what to do or how. My mum explained and gave instructions. It came back with bits of peel in, which was fine, my mum just added apple juice and stirred it up. The next day, my mum peeled the apple and cut it up, they then blended it.

Overall, it was good for wheelchair access. For visually impaired, it could have been better lit, and for hearing impaired the lift sound could have been less confusing. The staff were great. As I said at the start, one man knew what the cane is and the restaurant waiting staff, although unsure what a smoothie was, they were willing to learn, which is good and shows promise.

What I learnt about dancing was, it’s very inaccessible to me as a visually impaired powerchair user. There was a laminated wooden floor for those learning to practise on, but I wasn't allowed on, for fear my tyres would damage the floor. Three quarters of the classes I did were held in the same room, I was encouraged to watch from the side lines, but as I couldn't see them, I went back to the little 2 metre x 1 metre patch of carpet I had had been placed at originally and did my own interpretation.

If I’d been just visually impaired, hearing impaired or used a manual wheelchair, I probably could’ve joined in better. The dance teachers were good and gave clear precise instructions. My mum and I, by the third day, were able to use the space in the little patch of carpeted square. I held my mums hand and moved the chair as she did the steps.

When I was a little girl, I did ballet and tap dancing and performed in a show. Back then, I didn't fully appreciate how amazing it was. At this event, as I watched the beginners in the classes my mum and I attended, and later, the intermediates dance as the live band played, I felt both happy and jealous.

For me, it was kind of like taking a chocoholic to a chocolate factory, surrounding them with people eating chocolates, and saying to the chocoholic, 'you can't have any chocolates.' I so wanted to get up on the dance floor. I wanted to stamp the jive, elegantly foxtrot, cha cha cha, twist and swirl like a ribbon, but all I could do was watch and shake my shoulders.

Last Christmas, a friend gave my mum a Giovanni Pernice mask. The plan was for my mum to wear it and make an impression, which we did. My mum chickened out, saying she'd be too 'embarrassed' or some such nonsense.
So I wore it. We went to open the door of the dance studio, when Giovanni and Lauren, who had just arrived, looked over. Gio nudged his dance partner, saying, 'Look, Lauren!' I think, going by his laughter, Gio liked the mask of his face 🤣😂😀.

Picture of Mandy, Faye and Giovanni - Faye is holding the mask also and they are all smiling.

At night, we watched the experts shimmy their moves before the professionals took over. Giovanni is an excellent showman and had the audience laughing at his cheekiness. Afterwards we went up to the photo call. I waved the mask at him. Gio grinned and came over. I gave him a hug and got two kisses in return!

When it was Kai and Nadya's turn to try and teach us, we were lucky enough to have a little chat with them!

Despite feeling my disability, by not having the dances made accessible (both my mum and I made Donna Hayes aware), at least the dance teachers and the strictly stars seemed aware as they spoke each instruction clearly, the buzz of positivity I felt was great. I'd definitely go again 😀👍

Giovanni and Lauren on the red carpet

Kai and Nadya on the red carpet with Faye in the foreground smiling.