Tell Butlin’s what you would change about swimming pool changing rooms - £300 voucher prize draw! NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

Butlin's is redesigning one of its swimming pools and needs your help to make it as family-friendly as possible. In particular Butlin’s wants your help to understand what it’s like as a parent using a swimming pool changing room – and your input will genuinely help inform the new design and build on resort.

Why the changing room? Butlin’s have done research which shows that most parents love going swimming with their children – until they get to the changing room. From the wet floor, the often-freezing temperature, the small cubicles not suitable for a family to the fact you can never get your child dry – there’s a lot to be desired! Which is why Butlin’s wants the opinion of Mumsnetters to identify the biggest issues you face – and your ideas on how to solve them.

So two important questions:

What do you find particularly frustrating when using changing rooms at the swimming pool?

In an ideal world, can you think of anything which would make your life easier and solve these problems?

Everyone who posts on this thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a £300 John Lewis voucher!

Thanks and good luck,
MNHQ

[ZaneMumsnet]

Hi everyone, Butlin's have been in touch with us and would like to say a big thank you to all of you for your feedback. Here's what they say below: :)

"Thank you so much to all of you who took part in our research on swimming pools and changing rooms - your opinions, experiences and advice have all been invaluable! We're working on a really exciting project, and listening to parents so we can deliver the things they want and need is at the heart of all our plans. Watch this space..." - Butlin's

[gBean]

I'd like to use changing rooms that aren't as noisy/echo-ey as usual. My son has sensory issues and it can make the already horrible post-swim time even worse.

[VickyViolet]

I agree with other comments - there needs to be more family cubicles of a good size with lots of hooks.

If you have mixed gender changing there should also be large size shower cubicles that have lockable doors so that a parent and child can have a proper wash without fear that a member of the opposite sex can see in. I find it annoying when we can only have a rinse, have to get us all dried and dressed and still do baths or showers for everyone at home later - such a waste of time when we are already wet at the pool.

Dirty, wet floors are a particular problem with young children as they often decide to sit on the floor or drop clothes by accident. Providing a secure shoe storage area just inside the main door would mean that people would not need to tread dirt into the changing room itself. Believe it or not my husband had his boots stolen when he left them on a shoe storage unit at a holiday park swimming pool (which was no fun as he hadn't taken spare shoes on holiday!).

[squizita]

I have a toddler. My main 'wish list' would be:
-Many more family changing areas with large enclosed cubicles. Mums AND DADS take kids swimming so they shouldn't be gendered.
-Low (safe) but off-the-floor benches with water drainage (to keep little people dry once dried)
-Loads and loads of hooks for clothes and towels
-WARM SHOWERS
-WARM CHANGING AREAS (if you can see little ones goosepimpled and shivering it's too cold).
-Make the floor not slimy and hairy, those terracotta tiles are the worst.

[cather]

Warm changing rooms, plenty of hooks to hang bags/towels. Family sized cubicles so we can all change together and large lockers so we can fit everything in one locker.

[RichardHead]

Family changing rooms without a doubt!

[chumbler]

Changing rooms are so tiny I would love for them to be bigger with a locker inside and hangers

[Snog]

Secure buggy park and whole body hot air drier like the dyson airblade
Good ventilation

[SheldonsSpotOnTheCouch]

And decent family-sized lockers would be useful too.

[SheldonsSpotOnTheCouch]

Frustrations:
Finding somewhere safe and dry to put the baby.
Too-small cubicles
Wet floors
Packing soaking wet towels and costumes into bag

Solutions
Plenty baby pens
Bigger family-sized cubicles
Heated floors with good drainage
A spin dryer thing

You can also get those people-drying machines that they have near the eet rides at theme parks. I'd love to just put us all in one of those after swimming! Bit extravagant though!

[xxmissbrightsidexx]

I'd have to say more privacy, and more baby changing mats.

[SayAGreatBigThankyou]

The filthy changing rooms at our local pool puts me off going.
I would spend more on cleaners!

[Babyh200]

I find it frustrating that you struggle to find a cubicle at all! There is simply not enough, and family cubicles are like gold dust!

Add more changing rooms Bultins, especially family ones. A Playpen afor the babies would be great too!

[GreyerbytheDay]

What is frustrating? Lack of family cubicles, lack of space in cubicles, lack of shelf or enough hooks to put bags/clothes on so things don't get soaked, smelly nappy bins which aren't emptied often enough, insufficient large lockers, floors not regularly cleaned and dried, used swim nappies left in cubicles, cold toilet facilities (Butlins Skegness, I'm looking at you). I spent most of the time trying not to gip.

Can you think of anything which would make your life easier and solve these problems? More family cubicles, more space in cubicles, shelfves or enough hooks to put bags/clothes on so things don't get soaked, nappy bags provided and nappy bins well away from the cubicles which are emptied regularly, more large lockers with hooks, floors regularly cleaned and dried, regular inspections of the cubicles and removal of rubbish, warmer toilet facilities.

[villagefox]

What do you find particularly frustrating when using changing rooms at the swimming pool?
The cubicles are too small for one person to change so I hate have to change myself and possibly more than one child in there. There is never enough places to place all of your items and the floor is wet making it difficult to dress small children

In an ideal world, can you think of anything which would make your life easier and solve these problems?
Bigger cubicles or more family ones. More pegs or shelves to put your things on so they do not end up on the floor. Also it's so difficult to dry children - at water parks and theme parks they have those big dryers that you stand in in your clothes and they dry you in a few mins - those would be great too!

[Daariina]

I would change their family rooms. I don't know about anywhere else, but the pools near me are always filthy. It's like they don't pay cleaners to clean them.

[LumpySpaceCow]

Visit Center Parcs and use their design model!
Large, family changing rooms with a large bench and safe baby change. Clean, nappy bin to dispose of nappies. Underfloor heating to make it more comfortable. Shoes left at entrance (lockers) to make it cleaner. Lockers big enough for families.

[Merrilymerrilymerrily]

Cleanliness, cleanliness, cleanliness. I can put up with almost any other annoyance if I don't need to avoid matted hair and lost plasters

[Dreamiesrcatopium]

Underfloor heating if that would work, to keep floors dry. Or low level blow heaters -same reason.
More separate large cubicles.
My local swimming pool has a big walk in hair dryer which dries the whole person. Ideal.
The spinny costume driers are ace.

[cuddles159]

Family sized changing rooms are just brilliant I'm always crammed into a tiny changing which you can hardly move in :)

[chumbler]

Continued from above

Ooh or provide a shopping trolley type seat that you could pull back from the wall to sit older babies / toddlers in

[chumbler]

it's so hard getting changed after swimming - you're wet, baby's wet, baby's getting bored, hungry and tired. The cubicles are so tiny you can barley turn round! And no room for a pushchair so where exactly do you keep your moving baby?

I think there should be some larger changing rooms, maybe even parent changing rooms like in car parks, just extra space would make a huge difference

[Frolicacid]

Make them warmer. It's always horrible to change in a cold room. I would also add decent seating, hair dryers and good showers. Most of all, keep them clean at all times. There is nothing worse than standing on other peoples pubes!

[foxessocks]

More family changing rooms so I don't have to cram myself in a standard one with my toddler!