Butlins Minehead

[CoheedandCambria]

Would you recommend it?
Would just be DH, 5 year old DD and me.

Last year we enjoyed going to a small holiday park (Whitemead Forest Park in the Forest of Dean) and we really enjoyed it. DD loved the facilities and entertainment. Butlins has more of this for cheaper but is it going to be ott?

Thanks 😊

We left after 2 days, awful

OMG! I loved it and so did my kids. Great pool, great fairground, great shows. Minehead is really nice too. There is a train and a National trust place nearby.

It’s good value for money, kids enjoyed the shows, the fairground and the pool. Newer hotel rooms are nice. But then you can’t do snacks and lunch easily. It’s a bit scruffy, food isn’t great and it’s quite a down market clientele.

We went and loved it. It’s fantastic for young kids. It was quite tiring though: so much to do.

What was so awful about it?

The weather was terrible which didn’t help, damp chalets, it was dirty, scruffy and some very ‘interesting’ other guests

Went there in 1976, sounds like not much has changed! 🙈😂😂😂

We paid for the top accommodation on the lake and it was absolutely lovely! I would go back, just stretch your budget as far as you can.

We had a great time. Best in good weather though. I'd reccomend the Skegness one if you're not going in summer. Indoor pool is better at Skegness but Minehead beach is better and they have an outdoor pool. The rooms at both have been absolutely fine and people are people. There are rough people everywhere and nice people everywhere.

Not relevant to OP but my best ever holiday as a kid was Butlins Minehead in 1966.
I couldn't believe we could go on all the rides as often as you wanted without paying!

Whoever goes there must be scraping the bottom of a barrel. Cheap nasty rooms and flimsy mattresses . Annoying

We've gone every year for years, from when my eldest was about 2 - kids have absolutely loved it. We've stayed in comfort apartments and they've been fine.

It's a cheap and cheerful holiday for working class families, kids are constantly entertained with the pool, fairground, softplay, shows and once you're there it's all included.
We've sometimes done self catering and sometimes done meal plan - it's worth going for the premium dining.
Minehead itself is also lovely with a great beach.

Bognor is better but I did have an amazing time at Minehead

Don't stay in anything less than Gold accommodation. It's great for kids but can be abit of an eye-opener re. other guests 😂 Minehead and the surrounding area is nice.

Not been to Minehead - but Butlins is great for that age group, went bognor last year and DD would not stop talking about it afterwards... ended up going again later in the year. Actually thinking of minehead later this year to combine with seeing family.

Thanks for the replies. Food for thought!

Does anyone have any alternative suggestions?

Looking at booking something for October half term. (I know it's quite last minute)

I went in July for 3 nights , having never been . Went with DD5 and she absolutely loved it . There was so much to do ! Loved the fairground and swimming . We went for the food court plan which wasn't great , DD didnt like any of the food but I found the food around quite reasonable. We stayed in comfort apartments and they were quite far from everything and a bit rundown . We are going back next year for longer though as we enjoyed it so much and not doing any dining plan and staying in a comfort plus .

We did Butlins for several years. It is what it is.
The good points are the swimming pool (though your child is a bit young for the slides which is what mine liked) and the entertainment schedule. You are constantly busy and there is always something to do (well there was when we went though I have seen some say there are less shows than previously).
Another positive is the price, usually a cheap break and Minehead itself is quite nice for a stroll around.
The negatives are it is quite low standard, and the clientele are interesting (smell of weed, some are loud and rough).
It was my husband's most hated trip but we still went 3 or 4 times as the kids loved it.

We went many times up until a few years ago when the DC were younger. No complaints. The pool and entertainment were great. I can only assume those complaining about the clientele have led fairly sheltered lives. I didn’t find them wildly different to center parcs to be honest.
You do need to book the best accommodation you can afford though as the bottom priced rooms are not great. Also recommend the premium dining plan. Give it a go!

We love it. Have been to them all and Minehead is the best one, especially the local area.
It really is what it is and you can’t be a snob and just make the best of it. We have never done the dining plan, but find the restaurants on site to be good (the all you can eat papa johns is especially good value) but we do do the all inclusive drinks package which is worth imo.

Well we've taken the plunge and booked Butlin's for October half term!

I have basically completed TripAdvisor over the last few days and concluded that all UK holiday parks have a mixture of wonderful and terrible reviews so we might as well take the plunge with Butlins.

I will report back.

P.S. before making this thread I did search mumsnet for any specific Butlins Minehead threads and it came up with nothing but I see there are some previous ones now 🤷🏻‍♀️ (just in case people thought I was being annoying/thick)

Which accommodation did you book?

We loved it - first went when DS was 6 and had a short break there for the next 5 years. This was a long time ago now though - we went 2007-2012 so it’s likely very different now.

I think we only booked a ‘room’ and eating plan once. Mostly we had an apartment and did a mix of easy food from the Tesco next door and walking into Minehead to eat in a pub.

A chalet

Edited to add...
Haven't booked a meal plan as we will probably self cater a fair amount.