The 100 Story Hotel

THE 100 STORY HOTEL IS A WONDERFUL ACTIVITY TO ENGAGE, CHALLENGE AND AWAKE THE CHILD IN ALL OF US

The 100 Story Hotel is an interactive world of play and storytelling for children……….or is it?  Because this grown up had just as much fun as the wildly excited minis running all around me!  Created for Z Arts, this immersive experience wraps you up in an exciting flurry of imagination via the multi award winning stories of author and illustrator Rob Biddulph.  We are greeted in the hotel gardens by Gertie the gardener who welcomes us with open arms and a dinosaur spray that shrinks the scary critters to a manageable size.  We are told to expect bears, monkeys, and of course Clive the concierge, a ginormous fluffy polar bear!  Following a disruptive clanging banging kaboomsky kind of noise, guests are then taken through to the hotel lobby to find out what just happened, and eyes light up everywhere as the room has books hanging from the ceiling, a trolley stacked with suitcases, a squishy sofa, penguin porters, a luggage rack, reception desk complete with a telephone that you can actually use to speak to other guests in the other rooms………and a huge hole in the wall!

It seems that someone has stolen one of the books, demoting the hotel from The 100 Story Hotel to the 99 story hotel.  Gertie asks for our help.  He needs detectives to snoop their way through the hotel, follow the clues and discover who has blown a hole in the wall and who has stolen the book so we can fix things.  Everyone is donned with a magnifying glass to hunt for clues, and a clipboard.  We must find the missing letters that have been scattered throughout the hotel, then unjumble them to spell out who the culprit is.

This element ensures that this beautifully thought out experience caters for all ages, for it becomes so much more than an interactive play centre, and engages the older children on an entirely different level.  I was there with my just turned four year old godson, and the most magical of things took place.  The older children (none of whom we knew by the way) relished the opportunity to help him search for letters, and help him unscramble the letters to make a word.  They took him hunting, they even took on the role of entertainer, and were able to take great joy themselves by working some of the trickier elements on behalf of the younger children.  I watched on in awe as a wonderful young person of around 9 years old delighted my 4 year old godson by making a rabbit come alive in a hat!  This world has brought children of all ages together and allowed them to learn from each other in the purest of ways.  It truly allows children to be children.

The space is jigsawed together by winding corridors, complete with numerous red herring doors, and a multitude of interactive rooms in the hotel.  There is the laundrette, hotel guest rooms, security room, the swimming pool, the restaurant, the Grrr lounge, and the hotel gift shop.  But here’s the really clever bit.  Each room is themed with characters, illustrations and elements from Rob Biddulph’s bestselling books.  The book Grrrrr becomes the entertainments lounge where children can do karaoke, learn magic, dress up, and perform on a stage.  The book Sunk becomes the swimming pool complete with fishing hooks, a basket ball hoop, ring toss, a pirate ship, and an actual treasure map drawn on the floor so you can find your way to the treasure chest which is full of more fabulous dress up items. 

Wide Awake is the theme for one of the bedrooms, boasting a glow up dinosaur egg, dinosaur toys, and dino dress ups, with another room being themed from Peanut Jones, and the opportunity and encouragement for children to draw their own characters and ideas, and stick them on the walls.  A laundry room has so many play items such as a vacuum cleaner, shopping trolley, washing machine, sink, and washing up items, that don’t be surprised if you see a vacuum cleaner whizzing past you down the corridor in a shopping trolley on its way to the swimming pool for a wash!  A staff only security room is super vigilant with its CCTV cameras, radios, safe lockers and security equipment, whilst Zorg’s emporium shop offers up display cabinets with whacky glasses children can try on, a till and incredible bursts of colour.  The sushi restaurant has place settings with toy sushi food where you can practise using chopsticks, dress up, and help the polar bears and the penguins with their ice ball pit!  Then there’s the hotels outside space, with gardens, a beach, palm trees, a tennis court, and a bar area.  The design of this space will set your mind alight with possibilities and imaginative play.    
 

Towards the end of the hour, Gertie, who has been on hand throughout and I have to say was entirely patient, wonderful and generous with his time and his play, calls us all back together to see if we have managed to crack the riddle and find out who stole the 100^th story.  I am pleased to say that we were a brilliant team of detectives and figured it out!  Gertie reflects back to the children all they have done and taken part in, cementing the adventure in their minds.  And it is an adventure worthy of its own story, so he proudly includes it in the hotels make up, renaming this the 101 Story Hotel.  It is an effective ending to a wonderful adventure, allowing children to recognise the strength and power of their own imaginations.

The 100 Story Hotel is a wonderful activity to engage, challenge and awake the child in all of us.  It is a glorious way to celebrate stories, and in particular the stories and illustrations of Rob Biddulph, whose puzzles, colours, drawalongs, learning resources, and enthusiasm have become a staple of families everywhere.  You don’t need any travel websites for this hotel, and there will always be a welcoming room for you to visit.  So grab your pals, your mini’s, your bears, dinosaurs, penguins, polar bears and hot dogs, and head over to The 100 Story Hotel, where every day is an adventure.

WE SCORE THE 100 STORY HOTEL...



Visit Z-arts, Manchester with the family and enjoy The 100 Story Hotel

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