To be worried about Butlins?!

Omg that's just what you want to be doing on a break away.

Jesus
Everybody should steer clear!

Cancel it and book something you won’t be dreading.

I'd say give it a go OP. We've gone every year for the last ten years, during term time, for a super cheap holiday. It's DS's equal favourite place in all the world (along with Lapland) and he's been to numerous European countries where we've had villa, private pool, etc.

We go to Skegness and have stayed in just about every kind of accommodation. The price reflects the standard. But even the very cheapest was clean and served its purpose.

We were there in December and most pools were closed. The toddler pool was open and all the slides. Your DD at 4 will probably be happy enough in the toddler pool which has 3 small slides and fountain things.

The new Sky Park is great. New circus also great.

My son is so happy there, that's why we keep going back. For price reference, we paid around £170 for four nights and that included food. With young children, it's entirely possible to not spend anything else whilst there. I seem to spend more each year as DS gets older as we do archery, play pool, spend far too much time in the arcades, bowling, etc.

I honestly never would have predicted that Butlins would play such a big part in DS's childhood. 😄

Because the first time we went was good. It wasn’t my cup of tea, but the children enjoyed it. The next time, less good. Third time, borderline acceptable, but the children seemed happy enough. Then we went last month and it was horrendous. Left after 48 hours because of a multitude of issues and I’ve since contacted Butlins to ask for some money back because it was that awful. I’ve also cancelled a future break, losing my £190 deposit, because quite frankly I’d rather pay that to not go.

All those saying it’s not cheap - I paid £440 for Monday to Friday, admittedly in term time, but that was for a gold apartment and premium dining. Tell me where else you’d find accommodation, food and entertainment for five days for four people for that price

I went to butlins mine head in May 2021 so was still in covid times and it was clean and so was the apartment. I just hated it for different reasons and it was so bloody noisy.

I’ve been once and just wouldn’t go again. I do like Haven though

Yes this! Some posters on here think that if you don't like Butlins it's be because you are a stuck up snob. In actual fact most of the time it's because you are paying through the nose for dirty and disgusting, run down accommodation!

I'm thinking of booking into Butlins myself now, just for the entertainment of watching all these drunken people behaving badly😃

@marquislafayette butlins actively have breaks that are set up for stag and hen weekends though.

CP on the other hand actively prevent stag and hen parties

I've never been to Butlins or a UK Centre Parcs.
Last year we went to a Haven site and there was a huge fight in the bar (between family members).
A good few years ago now we went to the Vauxhall Holiday Park in Gt Yarmouth. Same kind of thing, loads of swearing, pissed people everywhere. We were camping and asked our tent-neighbours nicely at about 1.30am to be a bit quieter. They told us to fuck off.
It's such a shame as these places are perfect for an easy and reasonably priced break with kids. But they do seem to attract some pretty awful people which puts me off.

I used to clean at Centre Parcs and honestly the amount of times we had take a villa or apartment "off-line" due to the condition it was left in (used condoms everywhere, shit in the bath, vomit all over the bed etc), was just jaw-dropping. It wasn't a occasional thing but most weeks. The place maybe considered more "upmarket" than Butlins but it some of those that go there are just feral.

Sorry about typos, shit phone!

I took my children a few years back as my eldest had seen a TV be and was obsessed. I wouldn't have had any peace for years until I gave in.

Just to say we are all autistic/ADHD to differing degrees.

I took heed from a friend and pool some cleaning stuff with us. I wasn't quite prepared for the pervasive smell of weed in the air, filthy bedding and - I kid you not - skid marks on a towel.

I'm not posh, council estate kid and only ask for 3 things; clean, decent bed and shower I don't have to run around it to get wet.

Anyway, I tried to bear with it, but was close to meltdown with sensory overload. My very kind brother offered to come and take over with the kids after 24 hours and I went home.

They were meant to be there another 3 nights, but eldest - who's dream it was to go - hated it and insisted on going home. And as a Butlin's bonus they all came home with D&V.

But I think nhat pissed me off more is we'd only gone for 4 nights, but had been to Greece just the year before for almost 3 weeks for quite a bit less money.

Never, ever, again.

I've never been.

Is it similar to Haven? But apartments instead of caravans?

We are on the east coast of Scotland so ive never actually known anyone who has been to Butlins. Tends to be Haven Seton Sands or Haggerston Castle.

I went last year for a friend’s birthday getaway thing, was bloody awful. Nothing to do with class of people there, just filthy rooms, too busy so couldn’t get anywhere without Qs, with drunken screaming matches and puking (I don’t mean the hen party, but parents of young kids, couldn’t believe it!). Would never take my kids there. Better places to go for less cost. Sorry!

Butlins is for children let’s face it it’s the most child centric holiday park holiday you can get in the U.K. a lot of parents suck it up because the kids bloody love it.

Hens and stags also at c parks I agree a family member had theirs there. Only place I haven’t seen them is haven (in wales) and park resorts (up north) park dean (warmwell) tbh. But then again I’m not there all the time and we do tend to pick sites that you need a car for it tends to cut down on some issues.

My kids love it and yes there is some interesting fellow holiday makers 🤣. But it’s fine, we always had nice and clean accommodation and my children consider it a massive treat 🤷🏻‍♀️.

I've only ever been to centre parcs as part of adult groups (mainly old uni friends for a catch up). We take loads of alcohol with us, we enjoy cooking and socialising in the cabin, the pool is free, we use the spa, go on bike rides and do a few activities. Sharing as couples worked out cheap for us.

Went to center parcs and it was expensive and the clientele was a bit rough.

Butlins when we went was much better in comparison! We went on a little tots break, kids loved it, entertained all day long. The dining plan was fabulous and I had the largest poached salmon I’ve ever seen in my life, great salad bar.

DH is a snob, he’d rather ski than anything else and even he admits butlins is good fun, and the kids adore it. Always asking to go back (they never ask to go back to New York!).

Thanks so much for this. The live show was fantastic- really brilliant with Joel presenting & very professional. We saw it as Glasgow Hydro & it was SO good. I wouldn't want to drive all the way there just for an hour of substandard entertainment. If it was nearer I would take a chance, but our nearest would be Skegness & it's a 5 hr + drive.

DS has ASN & he just wouldn't understand why it was so different. I'm really upset they've stopped the live shows!

I know an adult who went for a Company Teams event for the reasons you say but it isn't set up for drinking as there are pretty much no bars to go to so if you want an excessive drinking and smoking Hen/stag do, you definitely wouldn't pick Center Parcs, we have been going annually to meet up with my Mum and in those 16 years give or take have never seen this, in fact last year i was walking back to our lodge and went past a family, the Dad of which said i shouldn't be walking around at 10pm in tne dark on my own! If people are drinking in their Lodge and others notice it, then that is pretty nosey as they are not doing it openly.

Generally though I'd say post COVID there has been a bit of a change in visitors, more people with dogs that walk along with them on long leads, expressing their dismay at you riding a bike past them. I've noticed more upset about biking riding near pedestrians, failing to realise that it is an outdoor activity holiday, the bikes being a big selling point in the past. So many

We live quite close to one of them. We went for a day trip once and it was awful. Quite a threatening atmosphere - I was swoen at by another parent because I was standing with my kids near the carousel and she thought I was trying to skip the queue. It's grubby, I've never seen so many people smoking, and there's no way I'd get in a pool with some of the people there.
The kids have never asked to go back and we wouldn't anyway.

There will no no queues in term time.

Fair in Skegness all done up and nice and new as is the new sky park.

swimmers is absolutely fine and no worse than the overpriced centre parts.

entertainment great for kids.

Are there people, you wouldn’t necessary mix with- yea definitely but never saw any problems and the children love it.

I agrée re Butlin’s staff - couldn’t be lovelier!

CP staff also very nice though.

We like Bluestone in Wales best as an activities place but as the prices have gone up I’ve noticed some idiots who don’t know how to behave- not many. Their staff also phenomenal.

I have been to CP and seen the type of behaviour people describe. It was when the World Cup or euros were on. People drinking in the bar bit and then coming down to where the play park was to smoke.

I had someone ask me in a threatening way if I was from the opposing country (can’t remember which but want to say Bulgaria or Albania maybe?) which I’m not and I wasn’t saying anything at all about the football, I was standing quietly watching my kids. So it was a bit odd!

I found the people at Butlins very friendly especially staff.
Center parks can be a knob head play ground people who are trying activities for the first time or riding a bike for the first time in thirty years