Butlins - what´s good at bad about it?

[cholas]

Is it as bad as the image in my head?

Do I really want to go?

Are there alternatives? Somewhere big on toddler entertainment..

Yes
No
Possibly

Another word

DONT DO IT!!!!!!

If you have toddlers, do it. Honestly it may be full of men in cheap tracksuits and women with corned beef legs but the kids love it

S*!

You had a bad experience then?!

it's so noisy, we needed a holiday after it.. well we had one booked so that we fortunate.
block out the noise and the children love it...the noddy disc et al

Depends on what you like, imagine hundreds of kids smeared in various foods doing the makerena in a darkened room with flashing lights and 4 very desperate to impress red coats.

Chips, pizza and drunk parents. Lost kids, crying babies and teenagers left to raom about like packs of dogs on heat.

Can you tell I worked in one for 5 years before it was turned into a Haven site.

Seriously the nurseries and play areas are good and ours was very professionaly run, lots of free activities and shows. We had some really good acts and even after watching the big magic show I was still impressed.

Hm, so good for toddlers (which I have). I´m looking for a hol without husband, with children, that will be as stress-free as pos for me and fun for them. Will I be able to stand it? Is there another more upmarket option.

Sorry meant to say watching the magic show 20 odd times.

oh and another thing, my children went off chips after a week, would you believe.

There are loads of Haven sites that aren't as full on but still have the pub and entertainment nightly and a swimming pool.

Go for a Scottish one and it will be smoke free inside.

Isn´t Haven very expensive? And are there just tents?

Is there any way of getting round the noise problem is in Butline? Certain rooms or huts or something?

what about a centre parcs instead?

I think haven is expensive, they do very luxurious caravans in the UK, tents not so commen here that is more in france.

Centre parcs V pricey.

I suppose if you want nightly shows and stuff it will be more expensive.

What kind of stuff would you be looking fo for toddlers???

hm I think I´ll look for a good Haven deal..

Thanks so much ladies!

The smaller Havens are probably better, not as full on as the large and lively ex Butlins ones.

Sorry I should have come back to this last night with that reply lol.

We went to the Butlins at Bognor purely because they had a deal on and we got what they classed as their top accomodation for a very very cheap price.
The room was shocking. It smelt, virtually everything was broken and it was like a dingy hell hole.
The food was appauling and if you didnt get in their straight away everything had gone. Even cutlery!
The swimming pool was dirty and it was full to the brim with people. You couldnt have enjoyed it even if you wanted to.
We didnt think there was anything for dd to do either. We got more than one sigh of the staff when we put dd on a ride or a play thing.
And to top it off there seemed to be people fighting every corner you turned.
Not pretty.

So thats why I wouldnt recommend it

OMG!!! I´m looking for a nice pleasant "English" holiday as I live abroad. Is there anything out there that won´t complete horrify me, never mind terrify the kids? I want them to feel comfortable playing with the other children!

I have been to Butlins twice and both times it was fine and great for the kids.

Have been to the Skegness and Minehead one. The accomodation at Skegness was fantastic although it had literally just been refurbed, infact we got a £20 reduction as they hadn't finnished putting the kettle and toaster in lol, took them all of 2 seconds to do.

If you go SC there isn't much choice of food and what there is is exspensive and I agree that if you go half board you need to be in the dinning hall sharpish else you get no choice at all.

Centre parcs is part of the same group as Haven but is a different class of holiday apparently, never been though.

I prefer smaller more independant holiday parks as our idea of entertainment is playing in the woods or on the beach, and visiting factories, museums and other places of interest. Butlins is more for those who don't tend to venture out and like it all on site, Haven customers tend to venture out a little bit more. Those are of course gross generalistaions.

Hoeseansons Parks and lodges .

UK parks

I second Nbg's post. Went to Bognor Butlins just after it was refurbished a few years back - never again. Hairs in the bathrooms, snotty, spotty kids (waiters) coughing all over our food, nothing healthy to eat or drink anywhere, enormous queue outside the complaints office, only decent bit was the ball park.

i like butlins as its full on entertainment for a cheap price (out of season, just got next years pricesm fine until mid june then it rockets up), its all wheelchair accessable (essiential for my neice and nephew), they will accomadate us on ground floor if we ask and provide photocopy of blue badges,) all on site and free, so if you are on a tight budget then its good.

I also like haven when its slightly warmer (may or sept we go), again mainly all on site, but tend to go off site more. butlins is the lazy holiday, haven is the more energetic one.

cant afford centre parks, even out of season.

When I worked at Butlins I had my neice down for a weekend age4 and she loved it. It suits some families but not others. The redcoat shows are great for the kids and they have clubs and activities for all ages of children.

I just find them horribly tacky and too many drunk parents that don't care that their child has been at the lost children post for 5 hours. Parents getting annoyed because they can't put kids in the nursery for 4 hours at a time and lie about kids ages to get them in for lger sessions. Teenagers roam about looking for trouble etc etc. Sorry I lived in for too long .

yes, my other sister said she found it 'chav-central'

but my kids loved it. i dont put them in the childcare stuff, its a holiday for them really, not me. if i want a holiday then i get rid of the kdis for the whole weekend

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