Regretting booking Butlins, words of wisdom needed!

[DogsBehavingWrongly]

I used to go to Butlins as a child in the 80s and I loved it! Us kids used to just set off in a morning on our own and have fun until bed time! So I booked it (Skegness) for my granddaughter - going in May.

Im really regretting it 😭 for a start the main reason I booked it was for the swimming pool … turns out most of it is closed yet they never told me that on booking!! Secondly you have to book all activities now … I’ve just gone to book stuff and most is “unavailable”

Then there’s the reviews 🤦‍♀️ do people really strut around drinking Stella and calling their kids little cunts??! It never used to be like this, what the hell happened ?!

Anyone who has been recently … please tell me she’ll enjoy it?! She’s 4

I think it depends on which one you go to. Skegvegas has always had a reputation for attracting slightly rough customers. But Minehead is a different matter, a lot nicer there. DP takes his kids to Minehead for a few days every summer and its always good. Could you see if you could change your booking to there?

You will be fine. I went twice last year and am going again this year my 3 kids (12, 7 and 4) love it. Keep checking activities or turn up and try book in as you should get some. The pool looks great but the chlorine levels were so bad my kids broke out in rashes after going so we didn't bother again. The parks are lovely. I suggest going to the funfair just after it opens as it tends to be quieter then. I have never seen people call there kids names like that just lots of families trying to have fun.

It's Skegness we have been to. We plan to see a bit more of Skegness this time as the aquarium is meant to be good. The beach is lovely.

The aquarium and seal sanctuary are both nice places to go. Not in ingoldmells like Butlins actually is though.

I think that’s partly the issue as well Skegness and ingoldmells also both have different reputations ingoldmells being worse but everyone just calls it all Skeggy

Thanks I will definitely go to both.

They also in Skegness one place does gluten free donuts by the clock tower handy for whose who require.

I went last week OP, didn't see anyone drinking Stella haha there was a lot of "normal" looking people there (the kind that arent covered in tattoos and drunk in the middle of the day) but I did see two women smoking with their babies in a carrier!! Pretty scummy

Anyway we didn't know about the pool either and I'm not going to lie, this was really annoying. We were still really busy the whole 5 days we were there and had a lovely time.

You should get an email when the activities are open for booking and I wouldn't have thought that would have happened yet if you're not going until may

We have been going to Butlins Skegness every October break for the last 10 years. We really like it and the kids always have a ball. What accommodation have you booked? We always stay in gold after the first year we went lower and it was pretty grim.

I would be a annoyed about the pool though as that's one of the main things my kids love about it. The entertainment is really excellent and it's amazing value for money.

It's a bit rough but we have never had any issues with bad language etc.

Give it a go, I am sure you will have a great time!

The aquarium and seal sanctuary in Skegness are both great. You get offers for the Aquarium on Planet Radio but there is enough to keep you entertained in Butlins itself unless you are staying for a week, which we always do, as change over days are quiet since Covid.

Book Bognor next time. We went last year and the accommodation was spotless and everything was fine.

I saw a giant roller skate driving down Skegness seafront once.

Butlins is not my usual choice but we ended up going last year and the year before as my daughter wanted to see Stephen Mulhern and then she loved it so much we booked for the following year. I went expecting to hate it but actually on the whole it was very pleasant. I have never seen anyone walking round swigging cans or any particular bad language. There are of course all sorts there but on the whole most were just nice families. The showd are very good and we went to quite a few, the pool being down is a negative but the kiddie pool is still open so you should be fine. The big new skypark is nice and the beach is nice. I've never been into Ingoldmells itself other than to drive through but on site was nice

Personally I would hate to go but I’m sure my DC would absolutely love it. I’m sure you will still have a good time.

I think it depends on what type of accommodation you've picked. I stayed in a standard apartment a few weeks ago and it was absolutely filthy and in a terrible state. Most of the accommodation needs to be knocked down and rebuilt.

Everywhere else on the site was very dirty and the queues to do anything were absolutely ridiculous. We ended up coming home early as it just was not an enjoyable experience for any one in the family.

we have found some of the smaller hoseasons sites are the halfway you might be looking for.

Hi, could you let me know how the holiday to Butlins went as I'm thinking of booking for this summer.

I haven't been to Skeggy Butlins in years but Bognor and Minehead (last year) were full of families with small children, all clad in Boden and getting on with their holiday. It was nice tbh, not a cunt about the place.

I hate to break it to you OP but we also used to go in the 80s as some family had a static caravan at Ingoldmells and it was rough as fuck then too! Maybe not as bad as now…

We used to go Bognor when dd was little, this is going back 10/12 years, but we absolutely loved it!! We stayed in the hotel with breakfast thrown in, the shows were fantastic. The fairground etc., all brilliant.

We went to the Skegness one and whilst it wasn't the cleanest and there was a definite smell of weed, the kids loved it. The highlight was the fairground for them and the sky park, we went swimming but only once I think.

We went to Minehead last year and whilst it was cleaner and had a slightly nicer feel it didn't have the fairground which was a shame. This time the kids didn't enjoy it as much but might be because they were older (8 and 10 as opposed to 6 and.8)

It's not going to be a luxurious holiday but if the kids enjoy it then you will have a good time.

Went to Skegness a couple of years ago and wasn't impressed. Went to Bognor last Oct half term and we all enjoyed it. Stayed in the hotel and had hotel dining. Loved play experience. Only thing better about skeg was the massive outdoor playground which is not there at Bognor

What do you want to know.....down the the Butlins app and explore. Lots of information. There are FB groups for each one. Definitely join one. Skegness now have lodges

You really should have started a new thread rather than re-activating a zombie thread 🤣 - you’ll just see people replying to the OP, not you!

However I will reply to you. I’ve been 3 times in a year (oct 24-Oct 25) and have a 4th trip booked for this April. It is what it is - you can make the most of it! The accommodation isn’t great, but the facilities are good and the shows are excellent. Even if a show is fully booked, you can join the queue on the day and likely will get in. There’s lots of activities at a great price.

Butlins is fine. The entertainment is brilliant
You can’t book anything this far in advance that’s why it’s not available.

We took DD a few times to Minehead and she loved it. She prefers a holiday abroad now she’s older but I really enjoyed it.

We went once never again! They had an all inclusive drink and food package. We had this and had the odd drink with dinner bit people where using it to get really drunk. And in front of the kids as well. We went to the Bognor one and left a day early. The hotel was nice the staff l lovely. It was the other guests that caused the issues.