Alton Towers has ramped up its strategy to become the UK’s leading short-break destination with the addition of the first-ever CBeebies-themed hotel.

Set for Q3 2017, the 76-bedroom, fully-themed hotel will include its own entertainment area, restaurant, and a reception area with a storybook feature using interactive AV elements.

Designed especially for young families and pre-schoolers, the hotel will feature a number of popular IPs including CBeebies Bugbies, Something Special, Swashbuckle and more still to be announced.

Theming starts on arrival at the hotel entrance, where guests will be greeted by the CBeebies Land plane under a brightly coloured illuminated rainbow archway. Entering the hotel, children will then be greeted by some of their favourite CBeebies characters.

Each bedroom will have a designated play area featuring an ‘entertainment wall’, which will have interactive play items such as activity tables for drawing and playing. Rooms will be able to sleep up to seven people, with standard rooms themed to CBeebies Bugbies, while premium rooms will feature a host of additional IPs.

The hotel will also include a year-round entertainment programme, with live shows, story time sessions, character meet and greets, and CBeebies games all on the agenda.

CBeebies Land Hotel will join the existing accommodation offerings Alton Towers Hotel, Splash Landings and the Enchanted Village.

Alton Towers introduced its CBeebies Land in 2014. The new hotel will complement the existing attraction, which its operator Merlin Entertainment’s first single-branded area and features some of CBeebies most recognisable and popular characters.

“There will be nothing else like the CBeebies Land Hotel,” said Gill Riley, marketing director at Alton Towers. “With our existing range of unique accommodation and our CBeebies Land already here at the resort, combining the two is going to create a fully-themed hotel experience where everything is exclusively designed for young families. Children will be mesmerised with the sounds, colours, entertainment, and of course, their favourite characters that will feature throughout the hotel, immersed in the world of CBeebies.”