You can even explore language, have some fun and change things around to show your hold the impact just switching a few words can have. What would the Gruffalo look like if he had purple eyes, yellow eyes, grey spikes all over his tail? On to what really matters – are the new Gruffalo rooms at the Chessington Hotel worth staying at, and ultimately is it worth the extra cost? In the adults section of the room we had a king size bed which was really comfortable with quality bed linens complete with woodland detail.

To accompany your reading take a look at this video of Julia Donaldson talking about writing The Gruffalo and singing The Gruffalo Song. For our recent visit to Chessington to experience the new Gruffalo River Adventure Ride we wanted to make the trip extra special for the girls so we booked one of the brand new Gruffalo themed rooms. When staying in a premium Gruffalo room it would be good to have the option to have breakfast at your leisure rather than having to book, but this is only a small criticism. The mouse from the Gruffalo was standing in their bedroom holding the TV remote which the girls thought was brilliant. It really made the girls believe they were sleeping in the Gruffalo woods especially with the decorative leaves draped around the room.The view from the hotel window was outstanding looking out on to the Wanyama Reserve where animals such as Giraffe, Zebra and Sitatungas were freely roaming. The word ‘terrible’ is used to describe the Gruffalo. Can you think of synonyms for ‘terrible’? Can you think of other words to describe the Gruffalo? Created by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, the most successful author/illustrator partnership in picture book publishing, The Gruffalo is a modern classic, and both mouse and monster have become stars of stage and screen as well as story-time favourites.

There are very few hotel rooms around the world that can literally immerse them into such a magical experience and made our visit to Chessington and the new the Gruffalo River Ride Adventure even more memorable. The girls loved finding the interactive elements in our room, such as the giant wooden wheel which when turned would say phrases from the book including “twit twoo” and “a mouse took a stroll through the deep dark wood”. Not only are the Gruffalo rooms a fantastic addition to the Chessington Safari hotel they were the highlight of our trip. What you get is an experience like no other which was really special for the children. The TV was a big hit for the girls as they watched their favourite programmes, quoting lines from the Gruffalo whilst enjoying their Lush Cosmetics themed bubble bath. It made an exciting bath time and they loved jumping out the bath into the Gruffalo towels. A giant 3D Gruffalo head was peering through the foliage into the room. “WOW” the girls exclaimed when they when they first caught glimpse of the Gruffalo but it’s what makes these rooms so special.

Books Multibuys

Once all the paperwork was finalised, we received our bands for early access into the Chessington theme park, made our dining reservations and we were advised of the meet and greet times to come face to face with the Gruffalo himself in the hotel. You could use the story to talk about animals and habitats as the fox lives underground, the owl in the treetop and the snake in a log pile house. You could also use the story to talk about which animals are frightened, who they are frightened of and why. Investigate the rhyming in the books. Which words rhyme? Can you think of other words that rhyme with those? Behind the faux stone cushions on the floor was a hidden door and when you opened the door the children found a Gruffalo story book. My youngest daughter loved reading the book before bed along with watching the film from her bunk bed.