Butlins

Advantages: Great fun for kids...Nice food and plenty of it!
Disadvantages: Very noisy, crowded lots of queues and kids everywhere.

...have some lovely memories of Butlins Skegness and Clacton as a child, I also enjoyed staying at Butlins Skegness, Minehead, and the Butlins hotel in Brighton and Margate later in life when my children were growing up. Prior to this latest holiday I hadn't been to Butlins for about 15 years. The last time being when my oldest grandson was a toddler…. We found the accommodation very shabby and not very clean (so we never went back again) That is ...
...camps…. It was decided that Butlins was the one for us. So in May of this year we booked a week for September… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The reason we booked Butlin's We didn't want to actually be cooking all week, and to eat out at these kinds of places can be very expensive. Lots of Holiday camps only offer self-catering, we didn't want a caravan this time, as we were taking my mum with us, she has had a stroke, and a knee replacement (that hasn't ... Read review

Advantages: Cheap! Lots of entertainment, party atmosphere
Disadvantages: My addiction to the teddy bear machines!

...can book future holidays at Butlins whilst you are there, and this is who I spoke to about my late booking. Initially I went through to a voice mail which asked me to leave my number for someone to call me back as all the representatives where busy, but since I'd taken their number from customer services, I thought I'd just call back myself. I tried a couple more time, each time getting the voicemail, and although I was convinced nobody would call ...
...a small map from the Butlins website, and we found it no problem. The journey from Essex took about 2 hours, and once you got close to Bognor Regis, Butlins was well sign posted. Checking in When we arrived at Butlins, we drove up to a security box at the entrance to the park. The security guy took our booking reference number and directed us towards a car park. As we was a late booking, we parked up and walked over to the guest services, where ... Read review

Advantages: Great fun, lots to do, well themed, brilliant location, very atmospheric
Disadvantages: Expensive on site, get fat from all the drinking and junk food.

Now, this review of Butlins Minehead, despite it being advertised as a family holiday complex, would probably appeal more to 18year olds and people round that age region, "young adults", due to the nature of my party and our activities. This in itself shows the versatility of the place, it caters for pretty much everyone and a fantastic time can be had by all. I went to Butlins Minehead for 7 nights during July of 2004. I was 17 at the time, and ...
...on our first holiday parent-less, Butlins was perfect as we couldn't afford to go abroad. We got sent a confirmation pretty quickly, and as the time drew nearer, we got sent details of what to do on our arrival day. It all seemed pretty clear, we were allowed on the complex from 12 midday and check-in was at 4:00. No problem! On the day, we set off from Bristol/Bath area for the 1hr40min journey. The complez was signposted from quite far out and ... Read review

Advantages: Lots to do, close to beach, lovely food
Disadvantages: Too many slot machines!

...years). We have visited Butlins every year for the last 6 years and have stayed in all the Accomodations and almost done everything there is to do at Butlins, therefore i thought it was about time to wrtie a good old review about it and let you know how great it is! Here it goes...........................................(first of all we were booked in for Deluxe and eating in Ocean Drive but they rang us two days before saying Deluxe were being refurbished ...
...and (B) We can enjoy Butlins earlier! yay. Standard and Silver can check in about 1ish i think but you can't get into your room till 4pm. Gold and Deluxe you can get your room card at 2.30pm, now when i say that time i mean that time to the nearest second. You can walk in at 2.25pm and they all sit there behind their little computers tapping away as if your not there, im sure they do it on purpose to wind me up and then as if by magic 2.30pm comes ... Read review

Advantages: Entertainment, Location
Disadvantages: Noisy, crowded.

...I received a call from Butlins asking if I wanted to upgrade to Silver Plus, which were newly decorated chalets with better TV's, this cost £36 but was worth it to have a new clean chalet. The chalets terraced, the rows are quite close together with a strip of lawn inbetween. The boys referred to it as 'our hut' as it reminded them of the prefab huts at school. There was not really any room to relax outside. Once inside the rooms were basic, but ...
...on it. LOCATION Butlins is situated right opposite a beautiful sandy beach. Minehead is a ten minute stroll away. It has a pretty high street and harbour. Lots of restaurants, tea rooms. A lovely peaceful garden called Blenheim Gardens with a bandstand and putting green. An old fashioned station with working steam trains. Right next to Butlins is a large Tesco and a McDonalds. Tesco is cheaper then the supermarkets on resort. Minehead is a great ... Read review

Advantages: Great for familys with young children
Disadvantages: Beacause its so popular you may have queing in peak season

...Butlins Skegness is fast becoming more and more popular every year, the kids love it and keep coming back again and again. Caravaning at butlins is a great time, they are placed in fantastic locations with a quite and relaxed positions, but with in close reach of the main entertainment where it all happens and if you want it , goes crazy with fun and laughter. I would highly recomend familys when at butlins to visit the entertaining stage door venue, it has seating for over 2000 and brings acts that are fantastic entertainment for young and older. In the day I would recomend that all dads take there kids to ride on the go-karts because this is realy good fun, but remember if your kids beat you, you`ll have to live with it for ever. There are plenty of good places to eat with in butlins, and there are places just outside the camp as well... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: no there long enouh, but brachure shows good facilities
Disadvantages: unhygenic accomodation, and disinterested staff

...well.... where do i start??? my youngest son (1 yr) won a competition and part of the prize was a 4night break to butlins in silver accomodation (self catering). Having never been to butlins, and this was a 'free' holiday, we paid to upgrade to deluxe DBB we arrived at the resort, got keys and found what looked to be the right accomodation - rather untended (rather than rundown) low buildings, with a bulk lot of double glazed porch things on the front..... ok - so not too worried, here, thought there was another entrance... this was the only the one entrance to the accomodation - the porch thing.... which opened straight into what i loosely call a lounge.... ours was right on the end - main walkway to pretty much everywhere, and everyone cud see straigh into the room.... and the smell!!!!!!!!!!! - like old cig smoke, really stale... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: not many these days, used to be great
Disadvantages: dull, drab, tacky

...I used to go to Butlin's holiday camp in Barry Island every year for about five years with my parents, and it was brilliant, I loved every minute of it. The camp was excellent with great sports facilities, cinema, entertainment, fairground rides, everything you could need for a good time. We only left the camp a couple of times to have a look round Barry itself and visit the excellent fair there, look round the shops and so on. Since Butlin's closed there, I have been to Barry Island twice and it is sad to see how it has gone downhill. It has become dull, drab and tarnished. It is now only a cold, depressing seaside town, with shops full of tacky souvenirs in the Summer and quite eerily quiet out of season.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful