AIBU to think going on holiday to Butlins will be just fine???

[Abneyandteal19]

Have two boys DS1 is 3.5 will start school in Sept, DS1 is almost 18months.

Can't afford an abroad holiday but DH and I have a week off work in June. It's the last time we could do a 'term time' holiday before DS1 starts school.

Looked up Butlins and looks amazing for kids- Bognor one, band new pool opening in April, free fairground rides, Teletubbjes and Paddinton bear shows which they are both into, loads of pre schooler activities for reasonable money,

Plan to stay in one of the hotels (Shoreline?) and get the meal package as we have previously done center Parcs and I just ended up cooking the exact same meals we eat at home!!

I think it will be ok and kids will love it.

DH had a much more middle class upbringing to me- I went camping/caravanning and he went to villas in Portugal etc!! He is not keen thinks it will be rough??

Anyone think that's its ideal for preschoolers? Term time and mid week avoid majority of teenagers/older kids being around?? Food looks fine- I'm ok with kids having chicken nuggets/fish fingers/pasta for 4 nights- not the end of the world??

AIBU to think they'll love it, it's within our budget, means no one has to cook and we'll be fine?? Anyone been recently? Any tips??

We've been several times to all Butlins and are going to Bognor this year. I've also been to Centre Parcs a couple of times and Butlins wins hands down.

But we always book Gold and above (or hotel) as bad experiences in cheaper accommodation.

We have the top meal plan.

And we always have a great time. Minehead is oyr favourite but we have booked Bognor for the new pool.

My kids are teenagers now so I want to make the most of these years and go somewhere they really love.

Just worked out this is is our 9th visit to Butlins!

Holidays are what you make of them. DP and I dont really mind where we go as long as we get to spend time having fun as a family. We went to the isle of wight last year and we all had a great time

Sorry to sound twattish but I'm extremely middle class, so is DP, but we took our 3.5yr old to the Tots week at Bognor just over a year ago. Had never been to Butlins before and we all absolutely loved it. It wasn't rough, though it's easy to find things to be snobby about - the arcade machines, crap food in the restaurants etc. It was brilliant value and our DD loved it, saw Justin Fletcher, Teletubbies, loads of shows. She loved the fairground rides and did loads of activities like the football coaching session. I wouldn't pay a lot to go during the school hols but for a cheap term time break for that age group it was perfect. Bognor itself wasn't that nice, but there's lovely countryside around if you need to escape.

It's not even a fair comparison, butlins and center parcs. They are so far apart. But butlins is great for the kids. The meal options are good plenty of choice. Plenty fun to be had and mostly all included in price, unlike center parcs! Go and have fun, the kids will think it's brill.

We went to Butlins Bognor Regis when the kids were about that age. We stayed in a hotel which was lovely.
I'd say we're both middle class. My parents owned a small villa in Portugal when I was about 14. Your husband needs to wind his neck in and understand that its about the kids though. We go to holiday parks. We're off to seashore in Great Yarmouth at Easter. Because kids love a) water and b) amusements. They are never happier than when they are chucking 2ps into machines and winning plastic tat. This was true when they were 2 and its true now my eldest is 12! Some people are a bit rough and ready. The same sort of people can also be found in holiday parks in Portugal....

Anyway, I remember Bognor being brilliant for toddlers. Not so much for the baby. I spent a lot of time in the soft play room with him. But that would be the same wherever we went. I suspect we would have been happier had I not had a phonecall telling me I'd been made redundant, mid holiday. However in general, it was fun, and worth going.

We did take them to Skegness recently. (they are now 12 and 9) Stayed in the Chalets, which were clean, but had an air of general 'tired and grubby' even though there had been an attempt to revamp. Certainly nowhere near the hotel standard, but absolutely fine for a short stay. The facilities were great though, even though when you drive into Butlins Skeggy its like driving into the depths of hell. I have NEVER seen anywhere looks so depressing and dingy. And it was a sunny day! Luckily, once your on the 'inside' you don't notice so much. And the all inclusive meals were fantastic.

We took DTs to Bognor Butlins, I really wasn't looking forward to it. We stayed in one of the hotels, they had a sepeare bit of the room with cabin beds and TVs at the end for them.

They absolutely loved it. We have been all over the place on holidays and it's Butlins they want to go back to.

There was such a diverse group of people there, the people watching was amazing. Everything from parents swigging cider from the kids buuggies at 10 am in the morning, to the woman who kept sitting next to us at mealtime and complaining about the lack of organic options at the meals and who only ate smoked kippers and poached eggs.

@Twins1212

This is a thread about Butlins. Perhaps you'd be best starting a new thread to ask your question.

Should add, it is not cheap, we went in school holidays and it was around £800 for a weekend. The food in the food court is really really crap, get the hotel dining and it's fine. Not fancy but perfectly fine.

The hotel is very clean, couldn't fault it all. The chalets looked horrendous.

sugarburn, thanks for the warning that Skegness Butlins looks awful when you arrive but is better once you're in! I'm taking dd(11) there for the first time this Easter and don't know what to expect. I think the waterpark should keep her happy at any rate.

We've been around ten times and my kids never get tired of it. Butlins is very much centred around children's activities, but I wouldn't call it rough. Exhausting yes, but definitely not rough.

We have been a few times to Bognor with DD (3.5) and she really loves it.
We stay in the hotel and have the hotel dining which is good, the hotel is clean and comfortable.
They have just refurbished the pool which we've not seen but it was the only part that we thought was dirty and tired.

We did Butlins for several years when the kids were young - we all enjoyed it though we came back tried every time.

Before our first holiday everyone told us it would be dirty and horrible - it was our first every family holiday after a really bad and it was a last minute deal. We were strongly advised to cancel by family and friends because they knew so many people who'd had terrible experiences – so glad we didn’t it was great perfect for our young children.

Hi Egypt will still be fabulously warm that time of year, great resorts and they adore children.

Also the canaries will still be warm but i’ve only been to lanzorate.

years ago we used to take our large brood to a near by haven camp in school time for a week each year., we did swimming but not evening entertainment or day clubs as we were off site all day. the kids loved it and we did it for 6 / 7 years. some guests were a bit, as your dh says, questionable, but we didn't have to engage. cheap, cheerful and it's what you make it.

george v did supposedly say 'bugger bognor' perhaps he visited the butlins there

Haha, you could be us! We've done a couple of 'lower budget' holidays with the kids over the past few years (now 5 and 3). Moving, renovating a house etc etc has drained the cash.

As DINKS we had good hols, in good hotels and thought nothing of the money. We dreaded staying in a static, on a caravan park, with entertainment.

Long story short...kids had a great time, kids were happy and entertained so we had a good time, kids were knackered so went to bed without complaint and we drank wine 😁 Win win!

@bibliomania the water park is great. Actually the beach was nice too, although we only managed one visit before DS2 tripped and broke his front tooth and we had to scarper home to get him to the dentist : apparently there are no dentists working in Skegness on a Thursday morning...
Make sure you explore the whole place as its not just all going on in the central dome.
We saw Diversity whilst we were there. For the first afternoon show - there was a four hour (4 hour!!) queue. People were camped out. We decided not to bother. The second show was on early evening and we just joined the end of the queue once they opened the doors and it started moving and got seats fine.

It'll be cheesy, loud, with full on entertainment and the kids will love it. Just leave your censor hat at home, and go with the flow. Enjoy!

Thanks sugarbum! Sorry about the broken tooth, eek.

I'd rather stick pins in my eyes stay at home tbh. It's not that I'm snobby about cheap holidays - we don't go abroad often, and have done many UK camping holidays. But we like quiet sites, and keep ourselves to ourselves. Entertainments, kids clubs and loud cheesy stuff is my idea of absolute hell.

We went there in September and stayed in the Shoreline. It was really clean and the food was great (surprisingly!). I didn't really rate the restaurants so much and thought they were quite expensive but the food in the hotel was good so definitely go for the food plan if you can.

The shoreline is literally a 1 minute walk from all the attractions. There are some smaller fairground rides for little ones but they have to be 90cm tall (I think) for the main fairground so my 2.5 year old was too small.

We thought the pool was a bit minging tbh but hopefully the new one will be better.

Our son loved it and we'd go again x

We've been every year since I was pregnant with dd2. She's now 15yo and the children count down to the next year from the point we book again.

I live near Bognor, and the new pool looks AMAZING! Hope you have a fab time OP.

It wouldn’t be for me, but I’m sure your dcs will love it. Will your dh though? Couldn’t you find a compromise? It just sounds the OPPOSITE of relaxing to me. There are so many lovely places to visit and stay in the uk, I just don’t see the appeal of Butlins. But then, I’m not 3.5 !

Is your dh quite image conscious also? I imagine some people would be a bit snooty, so maybe he doesn’t want to say he’s been to Butlins!