Butlins Skegness - Clueless!

[EeekPreggoAgain]

Hi all.
I’m looking at booking Butlins Skegness for next year but can’t work out to what to do about the food packages.

I’m guessing the Premium Food court is a better option than standard but what’s the DineAround all about?

Anyone done it? Or both and can compare? We are a family of 4 - (6 and 3 year olds next year). It seems a lot of money. I wonder whether it would be cheaper to do breakfast and lunch ourselves and just pay to eat out in the restaurants every night? Can anyone give an idea of the prices in the Skegness restaurants? The plan includes drink, and two courses which I just don’t think we would eat each day? So wondering if not worth it. Our kids are little so I’m wondering if breakfast at the apartment, pay for lunch as a main meal of the day then do a light self catering tea might be financially sensible?

Or do I just go for the Premium food court? What’s it like? Arrrgh! So much to work out! lol.

So any advice on the matter is greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Not sure what dine around is but we've been quite a few times and had premium dining. It's really good. Lots of choice, nice food and good value
Last time we went we decided to give the food court dining a go as surely it couldn't be that different?! Big mistake! It was like being in a school canteen - awful! We payed to upgrade to premium dining. Definitely worth the extra in my opinion.

We've been to Butlin's every year for the last 5 years. Sometimes Skegness, sometimes Bognor Regis. The first year we went we didn't book a meal plan and regretted it, eating out there is very expensive. And there is so much to do that you don't want to have to get back to the apartment to cook every evening, you want to be out ready to get on to the next thing.

We went for food court dining for a couple of trips and it was fine, nothing special but fine. Something for everyone but the quality varies, some of the food is lovely. Its also really quick and easy so you can get in, get everyone fed, then get out and head to a show or whatever your plans are. Then we went for premium dining, thinking it would be much better.... It wasn't. Definitely not worth the extra cost. We found it to basically be exactly the same as food court dining but with a couple of extras like omelettes and pancakes at breakfast.

This year we are trying the dine around plan. Mainly because, as we always get a buffet dining plan, we rarely go into the restaurants, and we want to try them. You can still get a buffet breakfast or go for American style breakfast. And then you get to go to the restaurants for lunch or dinner. And a drink is included. We've figured that, even though you get 2 courses, we will probably eat less (and so gain less weight ) by doing the dinearound plan. We eat a ridiculous amount at the buffets tbh as we want to try a bit of everything. We're planning to share a starter and then share dessert every day.

I think it depends on how important the food is to you. If you're happy as long as everyone is fed and you like the idea of the majority of food having been paid for before you go then I think the food court dining is a safe bet.

@HamCob

Not sure what dine around is but we've been quite a few times and had premium dining. It's really good. Lots of choice, nice food and good value Last time we went we decided to give the food court dining a go as surely it couldn't be that different?! Big mistake! It was like being in a school canteen - awful! We payed to upgrade to premium dining. Definitely worth the extra in my opinion.

Interesting, literally the opposite experience to us regarding food court vs premium. It was exactly the same food that we had had the previous two years but with a couple of extra dishes and ever so slightly better decor. DH and I both said that we'd never pay for the upgrade again as it wasn't worth it.

Perhaps it was because we went out of season (dc's under school age then) so they just cook and serve exactly the same food as its not worth making different dishes when it isn't peak season 🤔

Yeah interesting that we found it so different!
When we went (feb 2020) the tables were much closer together in the food court and I felt that there wasn't as much choice, just the 'crowd pleaser' type stuff such as lasagne, fish & chips etc. It also didn't feel as though there were many staff - dirty crockery left on tables, food on the floor etc. The food itself was ok and I'm sure it's all cooked in the same kitchen, just the overall experience wasn't very nice. We lasted one meal so maybe it's not usually like that.
Also my kids love the extra bits in the premium dining such as the pancake station and DH liked the specials such as the BLT which they make while you wait.
It's all horses for courses I guess!

Also, we only ever go in school hols so maybe you're right about less choice out of season

Thanks @HamCob @Shelovesamystery

My husband is being a bit snooty about the whole Butlins idea so won’t even entertain the basic Food Court option. (Stupid I know!) The Preminum is nearly £600 for the week for the 4 of us and that feels like a lot to spend on food never mind the Dine Around that he’s pushing for. I get the feeling the food is the make or break item for him. lol

Can I ask where you both stayed @HamCob in Skegness? We were looking at either the New Silver or the Seaside. He wants to go in the Silver and then use the money we save on the apartment to fork out for the most expensive food option. I worry that the New style silver are further away and it’ll be a pain getting a 3 and 6 year old out for breakfast.

I’ve read the recent reviews on Trip Advisor that are largely very critical of everything! I have terrible trouble making a decision! Any tips or thoughts would be most appreciated.

@Shelovesamystery I was originally going for Bognor as it’s about 50 mins closer but then I realised Bognor doesn’t have a Sandy beach. Do you have strong feelings about which is better? I read a weird review that said Skegness has no adventure playgrounds for kids? Is that true?

Thanks so much to you both for replying and for your help.

Sorry - I changed my username as I haven’t been Pregnant for 2 years! Lol. I am the original poster though. X

@TwoUnderSix we don't really go for the beach tbh, we live less than an hours drive away from a decent seaside town so go to the beach a few times a year. We go to Butlin's because its amazing for the dc's. We were a bit snooty about it at first and I could never describe it as a luxury getaway 😂 but the dc's love it and there is plenty of time for nicer holidays when they are older. Butlin's keeps them amused better than anything else we could afford.

Bognor and Skegness are both pretty similar, the big difference for us is the swimming pool. The pool at Bognor is fantastic! The pool at Skeggy is OK. Other than that they all have the same facilities and things to do AFAIK and there's not much difference imo.

Skegness has a couple of playgrounds that my two enjoy. There's loads to do besides playgrounds anyway.

With regards to accommodation we've never booked anything above silver and its been fine. We got bumped up to a fairground apartment at Skegness once but had to be moved because the stairs were lethal with a toddler and they didn't have stair gates that fit. We've not had a seaside apartment so I can't really comment on that.

We've never spent much time in the accommodation tbh, we're always out and about. There's so much to do. It's never hard to fill a day.

This year we are going to Bognor and have booked a shoreline hotel room and the dine around plan, both of which we've not had before. It's our most luxurious Butlin's holiday yet 🤣🤣 so we're quite looking forward to that. We go next week so I can report back if you like?

We stayed in the seaside apartments at Skegness about 3 years ago and they are lovely! Really close to the skyline and activities too so no tired legs. Would definitely recommend them.
To be honest I wouldn't stay in anything less than silver at Butlins as some of the cheaper accommodation is really grim.
Butlins Skegness is in Ingoldmells which is caravan land!! There's a (very unpicturesque!) sandy beach which you can access from Butlins but that's about it. Skegness is a 10 minute drive away.

Where in the country are you? We have been to Minehead in Somerset the last few times and I prefer it to Skegness. Slightly smaller and less busy than Skegness but nicely compact and less spread out with little ones. We stayed in the silver apartments and they were fine. Also stayed in the seaside apartments and they were identical to Skegness ones.
Minehead is also a much nicer resort than Skegness imo if you are planning to spend any time outside butlins.

@Shelovesamystery If you don’t mind I’d be really interested to hear what your experience is like. I can’t seem to book Dine Around at Skegness and with a bit of Googling it seems they may not be offering it for next year any more. Apparently it’s caused chaos!

Is there a good time to book Butlins for a good deal? I mean the time you book not the time you go? Does it get more expensive the nearer you get like flights? Thanks for all your feedback. Total novice at this! Lol

@HamCob Were in East London so Bognor is the closest but it’s only another 50 mins to Skegness so not a huge amount in it abs Skegness is a lot cheaper! My girls are used to 3 hour car journeys as my parents live up north. We used to Minehead when I was a kid and have fond memories. I want to try and get it “right” the first time we go so my husband doesn’t hate it! lol. At the mo, looking at either New Silver or Seaside apartments as they look at good distance. The price of the Silver might make me give in to my husband and get the premium food plan. I think if we go Seaside we’ll self catering but have 4/5 evening meals out.

@Shelovesamystery Id love to know what the booking system for activities is like - such horror stories at the moment. I am it’s because of Covid and that by next summer it would be better. I just can’t stand the thought of a whole holiday standing in queues to go in the soft play or all the other great free activities advertised.

When we went we did the food court thingy. Dh got food poisoning and spent a day in bed spewing. Otherwise it was fine.