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

Family sized changing rooms that really are family sized.
Travel cots / play pens in the corner so you know your little one is safe while you get changed.
Temperatures aren't near freezing!
Family sized lockers that are realistic for getting clothes, shoes etc in.
A small shop with easily forgotten stuff - swim nappies, goggles, combs, etc
Staff that are capable, interested and not young enough to be taken swimming by me.
Private shower cubicles, not one large area where everybody watches your every move.

There never seems to be enough room or seating especially if you have children you need to help get dressed. I think fold down seats would be a good idea so that when you don't need them you can utilise the extra room.

I hate ending up with soggy clothes so more hooks or shelves to hold my belongings would be very helpful!

i think it would have to be to have some sort of drying system on the floor, there is nothing worse than trying to restle wet children into clothing only to find the have soaking socks because they have stood up lol!

I would love to be able to use the blow dryer free instead of having to make sure I take the correct amount of change to use it

Frustrating is keeping the kid amused while I change. Something like a Where's Wally picture would keep him interested for a few minutes, anything except boring bare walls!

Non slip floors would be fantastic, i know its difficult to make it 100% safe but whilst carrying a little baby you need to feel safe and be safe.

Our Tropical Pool is always boiling so you get far too hot in the water and then the changing rooms are hot too. You come out a big sweaty red-faced mess.

Frustrations:

• dirty floor as previous occupants have put on their dirty outdoor shoes on a wet floor (not nice to stand bare foot on)
• floors that are too wet without sufficient drainage
• not enough bench areas (to put dry clothes on)
• small change cubicles and not enough family ones
• broken wrist straps that hold the locker key
• lockers a bit small and in the winter it's hard to fit a big coat in and boots too.
• it's hard taking babies as limited places to put them
• never enough toilets and they usually smell of wee (just regularly bleach them!)

Solutions:

• enough changing rooms and toilets
• baby change mats/plastic play cot things it the large single single sex cubicles
• fold down changing tables in family change rooms
• frequent cleaning of all areas
• rule about no outside footwear past a certain point

I regularly visit a competitor of yours who often get voted best in family friendly awards, and they do address many of those points which makes the whole swimming experience a lot easier for young families.

Some bigger cubicles so you can get dressed and dress kids in them without banging your elbows on the walls.

Decent size lockers, hooks for holding towels etc.. and a big enough cubicles to change in.

Educate parents not to leave 'dirty nappies' on seats in changing rooms - we are fed up with finding them!

Large family cubicles would be great

Bigger rooms please and how about a few luxuries i.e. Nice talc in a dispenser for after you have dried yourself.

turn the heating down in them. obviously been cold is no good but there's no need to have the heating up full blast!

Larger clean family sized cubicles

Having visited the bognor site recently, I will base my post on there. I didn't find the changing rooms too bad, but I found them cold, so something to keep them warm would be mice. The size of the changing cubicals werent too bad, but it would be helpful to make them bigger. I think something other then the bench in the cubicals would be a massive help. There was a big lack of dry places to put your dry clothes, while changing, something as small as a couple of hooks would be a massive help

make them smell nicer and keep warm

The biggest thing for me is keeping them clean - going into changing rooms with muddy floors and hair everywhere really puts me off swimming.

Enough room to fit a buggy in with you.
A table safe and clean enough to change and dress a baby.
A floor with sufficient drainage.

Hooks on the wall for bags/ clothes.

And one of those fab drying booths that warm and dry you at the push of a button - and a centrifuge to put wet costumes/towels in to get the worst of the water out before packing them away.

Somewhere for a reasonable priced coffee/tea straight after is always a bonus too!

They need to be cleaner, and warmer.

I can't stand changing rooms where men and women wander about together. It may be a personal issue but it makes me incredibly uncomfortable.

Teeny tiny changing cubicles are really annoying. So bigger rooms with more hanging space would be good. And yes clean and easy drain.

A family changing room, with some where to put the little ones whilst I get changes, it a bit embarrassing realising that one gone exploring whilst your shirts half over your head

Bigger lockers
Warmer
Bigger cubicles