Anyone been to Butlins in Skegness recently?

[mamavents]

Hi there.
I'm a newly single parent on a very strict budget, with 3 kids, aged 9, 4 and 5.
I don't have a car, and I am finding weekends and mostly school holidays soul destroying with the amount of staying in the house we have to do.

I can take us to Butlins in skegness, half board silver accomodation Mon to Fri at Feb half term for just under 500 quid with the train fares included.

It's not really the type of place I'd choose, but all things considered, it appears to be my best option of us getting away and within budget. I have considered the fact that some food is included and also, due to time of year, I won't have to buy new clothing etc to take.

The kids are quite hard work (understatement) and I know how hard taking them there on my own will be, but that part doesn't phase me.

What I would be concerned about is the quality of the food and the accommodation. Also, is it the kind of place where you are 'obliged' to spend money every ten yards?

All thoughts welcome! TIA

bump :)

i went last year, my kids are 5 and 4. they loved it, and we are going back this year.

we self-catered, so can't comment on the food, but the people in there looked happy enough.

you have to pay for bowling, but the water park thing is free (and is absolutely brilliant). there are free discos, cheerleading classes, sports sessions that are all free. the fair is free but you have to pay for go-karts. There are amusment arcades, but we just walked through those where necessary.

Most parents are sat with a coffee watching, so take a good book with you.
we stayed in standard last year but this year going silver (cos we are now posh!) - trouble with standard was a lot of drunk people late at night, but the accomodation was great itself.

Butlins is very family oriented, so the children will probably have a great time and you will feel a bit like a spectator.

There was a large mix of wealth/not so wealthy i thought.

Hi. we've been going to butlins skegness for the past 6 years and our kids aged 16,14,11 and 6 enjoy it. although this will be the last yr that the older 2 want to come on hols with us. We pretty much always stay silver half board. the catering in the restaurants is good. there is plenty of choice, even for the fussiest of eaters and all drinks are included in the meals too. its all you can eat, so we find that if we have a hearty breakfast, we can usually get away with not having a lunch, or we'll just have a snack in our room. the majority of staff in the restaurants are friendly and helpful, so if you need any assistance, just ask.
the silver rooms are certainly adequate. obviously they are not as plush as staying in a fancy hotel. but they are clean tidy and comfortable and considering you will spend the majority of your time outside, they are good enough. with the rooms, being just that, there are no food facilities for lunch, but we just tend to have some fruit, biscuits, bread etc in our rooms so that we can have a snack if needed during the day.
as for spending a lot of money. you do not need to. there is usually so much for the kids to do/watch that is free, that you don't really need much spending money. we tend to carry snacks and drinks bottles around with us, that we fill in our rooms. the only venues that don't like you taking your own drinks in with you, are centre stage and reds. they sometimes will check your bag at the door, to make sure. i hope this is of some help for you and if you have booked to go to butlins skegness, we will more than happily meet up with you, if you need a friendly face or some playmates for your children. my friends are also going with their 6 yr old and 4 yr old

LOVE BUTLINS!!!!!!!! go every year :)