`Can we just stay in the hotel, please?`

66 THURSDAY, APRIL 5 TO WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 2012
www.thisisexeter.co.uk EXPRESS & ECHO
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Travel
Rising above: Try bread-making at Bedruthan
Steps, Cornwall
Lots of offers
this Easter
My friend: Lydia and her octopus
Hotels near Disneyland
Paris can be just as
entertaining as the themepark itself, as Richard Birch
discovered
S
O here we are, just five minutes
from Disneyland Paris and our
four-year-old says, “can we just
stay in the hotel?”.
It should immediately be pointed
out that this is in no way a
denigration of what the Disney parks
have to offer. Far from it. The broad
smile she has been wearing amid the
colourful and imaginative rides and
familiar characters attests to this.
It has much more to do with the
love affair she appears to have
embarked on with a 12-foot high
octopus at the heart of the Thomas
Cook Explorers Hotel. That and her
desire to explore the pirate ship, the
swimming pool and its three slides,
soft-play area, etc, etc, etc.
There are seven Disney hotels next
to the two theme parks but only a
little further afield, and linked to the
main resort by regular free shuttle
buses, are seven partner hotels.
And the family experiences they
offer are by no means diminished by
not being “directly Disney” as our
stay in Thomas Cook’s offering more
than proved.
The concept here is a hotel based on
the mansion of legendary explorer
Archibald De Bacle. What this means,
in actuality, is a resort designed
principally with children in mind,
with a series of features to inspire and
captivate young minds, from the
roaring dragon near reception to the
water-cannons on board the indoor
heated pool’s galleon.
We were slightly spoiled with a stay
in the snake and monkey-festooned
Jungle Suite (a blessing, in many
respects, as it offered the opportunity
to give our infant twins their own
room) but the more standard crew
rooms will be large enough for most
families.
Friendly and multi-lingual staff
were always available, with a
selection of food and drink for all ages
and tastes on offer at the three
restaurants and two bars. There’s also
a Disney boutique on site, a fitness
centre for children, free parking and a
lovely setting away from the hubbub
of the main parks and overlooking the
nearby town.
As stated, there is also a free shuttle
to the Marne-la-Vallée-Chessy train
station and the parks, which was ideal
as we arrived following a comfortable
journey on Eurostar (and here, it
should be noted, there was a sharp
contrast in the attitude of British and
French immigration officers with the
latter allowing us to pass through
with pushchair intact and the former
insisting on frisking what had been
sleeping twins – I suppose we should
be thankful for their thoroughness...
grumble, grumble).
Disneyland Park and the Walt
Plenty to do: The Thomas Cook Explorers Hotel had a host of entertaining options on site
‘Can we just stay in
the hotel, please?’
IF you still haven’t booked an Easter
break. Here are some of the deals on
offer.
● Hell Bay on the ruggedly beautiful
island of Brhyer, Isles of Scilly, is
celebrating Easter with a ‘short
break’ saving. When staying 4-nights
(from April 6 through to May 27) with
dinner and breakfast included –
guests save £200 per person. The hotel
is perched on the shore looking over
the Atlantic. Luxury suites boast
private patios and balconies to
capture the best Scilly views, while
the 3 AA Rosette awarded restaurant
serves the freshest seafood and
homegrown veggies from its kitchen
garden. Details on: www.hellbay.co.uk
● Treat yourself to an Easter break at
Hotel du Vin & Bistro from only £99
per room. Choose from hotels in
Henley, Edinburgh or one of the other
12 in England and Scotland. Available
until April 15, excluding Saturday
nights. Subject to availability. Book on
www.hotelduvin.com or call 0845 365
4438 and quote “East”.
● The family owned Bedruthan Steps
is one of Cornwall’s most established
and best located hotels. Sitting high
on the cliff tops, looking over the
golden sweep of Mawgan Porth, it
really captures the magic of the north
coast.
The Easter holiday programme
includes family egg hunts, learning to
make Easter treats with the chef, kite
flying and a circus skills workshop.
Plus yoga sessions for parents and a
chance to have a try at clay pigeon
shooting. Double Rooms at Bedruthan
Steps in April start from £101. Details:
01637 860555.
A break in
the art scene
Holiday fun: Clockwise from above, the children’s Jungle Suite was a godsend; Disneyland Paris is a free shuttle ride away; the hotel’s pool area and
pirate ship; the impressive entrance hall; the Explorers Hotel is set in its own grounds
Disney Studios Park were at the tailend of the Magical Moments festival
during our stay, but the 20th
anniversary celebrations have now
begun with new shows and
attractions, including new parades.
A particular highlight was the Toy
Story-themed area at the studios and,
although many of the rides are
designed with the very young in
mind, with the chance to relive the
tales of Pinocchio, Peter Pan and
Alice In Wonderland, there are more
than enough thrills available for older
children and adults from the Twilight
Zone Tower Of Terror to Space
Mountain: Mission 2. For the
Francophobes, language is rarely a
barrier, and the food is relatively
standard theme-park fare (although
seek out the Hakuna Matata
restaurant for a slight alternative –
I’ve never been so pleased to see rice).
A fast-pass system is available for a
handful of rides to avoid what were
considerable queues even though it
was term-time.
This is all, of course, based on the
assumption that you can get out of the
hotel in the first place.
● Eurostar operates a daily direct
service in each direction to
Disneyland Resort Paris (although
daily direct services to the resort do
not operate on Tuesdays and
Saturdays, except during school
holidays). Fares are from £69 standard
class return (adult) and £44 return (for
children aged four to 11). Standard
Premier travel, which includes a meal,
is from £159 return for an adult and
£94 return for a child. There is also an
extra baggage allowance when
compared to flying and connecting
fares are available from more than 200
stations in the UK. Tickets are
available from eurostar.com or from
Eurostar’s contact centre on 08432 186
186. There are up to 18 daily Eurostar
services from London to Paris Gare du
Nord, and passengers bound directly
for the resort can catch the RER in
France.
● The Explorers Hotel offers an
Advance Purchase option to allow
holidaymakers to benefit from a
discount on the best available rate
online. If you arrive on a Sunday and
stay two nights, you will receive a 15
per cent discount, while a discount of
20 per cent can be had on the hotel’s
best available rate for any booking of
three nights or more.
For more information, visit
www.explorershotels.com or visit
www.thomascook.com
● And for everything you need to
know about Disneyland Paris, visit
www.disneylandparis.co.uk or contact
the Reservation Office on 0844 8 008
898. A number of offers on tickets and
accommodation are always available.
THE triumph of the David Hockney
and Lucian Freud exhibitions in
London has illuminated a whole new
sector of holidays for tour operators –
there’s huge interest in art in a wellheeled market.
Tate Travels is a new joint venture
created by tour operator Ultimate
Travel and the Tate Galleries. One
three-night short break in May (from
£895) is based on the Tate Gallery in
St Ives, with visits to Grade II-listed
Porthmeor Studios and the Newlyn
studio of landscape artist Michael
Porter.
Serious foodies could be interested
too: Hamish Anderson, the Tate’s
wine-buyer, will join some tours to
arrange tastings at favourite suppliers
as a diversion from the art and
architecture which fills the itinerary
of each journey.
A variety of different tours will run
over the next 18 months. For more
details call Tate Travels 020 7386 4630
or visit: www.tatetravels.co.uk