Im 41 years old mother of 2 boys, a 13 year old and a baby who is 2 in August. I gave up my work ...
Im 41 years old mother of 2 boys, a 13 year old and a baby who is 2 in August. I gave up my work in a College laboratory due to the little one being poorly, he has now been identified with various food intolerances.
Member since:01.12.2003
Reviews:5
My addition to this review is prompted by an appalling break. My mother booked a caravan Lakeside 165 which isnt a problem in itself apart from when we arrived there were no owners to give us the keys.
The caravan was owned by the father and let out by the son and supposedly cleaned and maintained by the daughter. We arrived and there were no keys. Your daughter was not there as arranged, Security tried to get hold of her, the son and the father and noone was responding. In the end security used their master key and accompanied us to the caravan but it was deemed not habitable. My father has just had a knee operation and Im am heavily pregnant and did not book a holiday to spend our time repairing and cleaning.
The plumbing is hanging off the walls there were dirty cups covering every surface. The fridge was full of food. The beds were covered in childrens clothes, dirty sheets were still on the beds, there were toys over every floor surface. Not what you expect to find when you've just paid £400.
The father rang security back and wanted to know what was happening. They explained and your father said we could stay in the caravan for FREE and you would refund our monies in FULL. Security advised us that the caravan really was in no fit state to be lived in as it would need maintenance and a full clean and bed clothes etc.. supplying!
Security after 3 more hours managed to find us some accomodation but we had to pay for this. We are still waiting for a response and our money back.
Just to advise you the security people apparently have been told not to let the daughter onsite, and you may have trouble if you have booked this caravan. Apparently we are not the first person this has happened to and Im sure we will not be the last. Please check with Butlins caravan sales if you are one of the unfortunate people who have booked this caravan.
Butlins were very helpful but had trouble finding us somewhere else sot stay as they were fully booked and it was only by chance tht one of the other owners had decided not to go to his caravan that we were able to rent it (At our cost)
Please be warned there are good and bad out there. A lot of the caravan owners use an agent to book their caravans out and he was the person who helped us. He was very helpful.
Well I've been to many places stayed at loads of caravan sites but I really cant remember having been to Butlins since I was a small child..... Being a parent of 1 boy we decided to take the plunge with Butlins in Minehead as on their website and in their brochure it looked like real fun with lots of things to do for everyone..
The challenge to get some accomodation at Butlins...
Looked through the Butlins website at all the variations of accomodation, self catering, half board, standard, silver, gold and deluxe... Taking my mum and dad as well, so accomodation for 5....... keyed in a lot of options and out came the prices....... Quite expensive... Then I was surfing on Ebay and came across a seller with a caravan at Minehead Butlins. I thought thats it a 3 bedroomed luxury caravan....
Proceeded
to bid and won a week at Butlins. Take care though when bidding - check out peoples feedback before bidding - you need to make sure you have a caravan to go to when you get there!!
CARAVAN PARK - LAKESIDE
These caravans are all privately owned and are at the back of the site next to the lake. Take your rod and take the opportunity to fish for free.... The caravan we stayed in was in a lovely location with about 10 caravans in a horseshoe shape and a green in the middle.. The caravan was a 3 bed luxury caravan with full central heating should we have needed it but it was too hot!! A bonus though if you visit in the colder months...The caravan we stayed in had a large fridge and a small freezer compartment, TV, kettle, toaster, microwave, big cooker, a lovely shower room with a 3/4 sized bath/shower. The bathroom was a bit lacking in space and my dad banged his knees on the sink when he sat on the toilet... Oooppps...Each caravan has a private garden area... The ducks, geese and swans roam freely, and dont object to a little bread but beware they do make lots of noise!! If you stay in a caravan you are entitled to take your car right into the park and each caravan has an allocated parking space. You are entitled to passes to access all the facilities on site just as you would if you stayed in any of Butlins own accommodation. The caravans are quite a walk so you are not really disturbed by late night noise from people returning from a night out. The only noise comes from the Ducks, Geese and Swans.
COST
The private owners can basically charge what they like and they do as they are not governed by Butlins. You need to shop around but beware some caravans are quite a bit older than others and some are more luxurious. Make sure you know what you are getting for your money before booking.The owners just need to recoup some of the charges they have to pay amounting to around £4000 a year thats without any loans or taking consideration of the cost of the caravan. The really nice caravans with central heating etc.. cost brand new around £28000. As I said I bid on the caravan on Ebay and paid £450 for w/c 24th July 2004 that included gas, electric and passes.
BOOKING A CARAVAN
Apparently if you ring Butlins they hold a list of Caravan owners and will send out details of phone numbers etc... but you have to ring each one until you find a vacancy at the price you require... Also beware the same category rules apply as to Butlins accomodation ie: 18, U, so dont book a caravan with kids when its an 18 weekend etc...
Surfing - I used google and found several websites with owners with caravans to rent at Minhead and also some at Skegness.
Auctions - I used Ebay and found the week but you cant bank on finding a week this way...
Visiting the site and taking down numbers from the windows.
BUTLINS ACCOMODATION
Talked to a few people about the accomodation but didnt actually go inside any of their apartments or rooms. A lady whos son was playing footie with my son said her SILVER accomodation could do with some maintenance, but another lady said her standard was GREAT.... I suppose it depends on what you expect... The Deluxe rooms allowed you to park onsite and had patios outside with garden furniture a must have in the lovely weather. Athough depending on the age of your children you dont end up spending much time in your accomodation.
SKYLINE
A great big tent with lots going on, a varied programme of entertainement throughtout the whole week... The Red coats help to entertain the kids. My son managed to get on stage with Mark Speight from SMart and got his autograph which made his day. On another occasion he managed to get a signed t shirt by Eastpak the skateboarders and bmxers. They were all friendly and signed shirts and had piccies taken and were GREAT... Among other shows were OUT OF AFRICA (dancers with african music), MOSCOW STATE CIRCUS and many more...NON stop fun BUT get your seat early if theres something specific you want to watch so that you can get a front seat otherwise you get some big head stuck right in front of you.. Can get very busy when popular shows are on, so arrive early...
Also in the Skyline - entrance to Centre stage, Pizza hut, Burger King Skyline Cafe, a Bar, A Drinks and Ice cream shop, Prize Bingo, Amusements, Everydays supermarket, Booking shop, Hairdressers, Gift shop, Toy shop, Sheelaghs bar, Prize shop and Im sure theres a few I have forgotten ...... I know theres an area where they do photo shoots with the kids favourite characters and when we visited it was Spiderman, Hulk, Noddy....
CENTRE STAGE
A Large Venue wider than it is deep be careful when picking your seats as there are pillars which obscure your view. The downside is guests are queueing at 5.30pm when the doors dont open until 7pm especially for popular shows like Stephen Mulhern and his Ministry of Mayhem. That was a bit slapstick but my son enjoyed seeing Stephen in the "flesh" and they sold magic kits, which Stephen autographed BUT you didnt have to buy one he autographed basically anything put in front of him. He also did a photo shoot with his counterpart Ray and the photos were available next day at a cost of £2.99 in a Butlins photo holder.. Queues for drinks were quite long and drinks were expensive. The kids could have a Yard container (reuseable) for £2.95, then refills were £1.95 BUT if you want to save some money fill it before you go out!! They did have a few offers like a Bucket of 5 Grolsch or VK or a mix for £10 and quite a few people were taking up this option. They searched a few people and if you have large bags do ask to look inside to avoid you taking in your own alcohol.
THE REDS
A small venue not very well laid out and very hard to get a seat. Saw Tim Mettivier perform magic in there which was entertaining but some of the tricks were the same as Stephen Mulherns.. They could do with comparing acts and making changes for variety. Drinks the same as CENTRE STAGE...
SPLASHLAND
Great fun but dont forget your 30p to change into a token for a locker. - BEWARE though as soon as you open the locker the token is gone and the door is unlocked unless you pay again. There was a HAYSTACK drying machine which fits 4 people in it and allows them to be dried without towels.. BEWARE though it wasnt working Everytime we went in and does cost a £1.
The pool seemed clean. There is a wave machine which worked sometimes - many announcements of technical problems during our stay. The master blaster is a flume ride with Dinghys where up to 2 people up to 20stone can ride down the shoots. Twice while we were in the pool people got stuck and everything had to be shut down to get the people out. Good fun though for all ages...
The Space Bowl well what can I say you start your decent down the flume and think "this is tame" so look up to be splatted in the face as you drop down a bit faster and end up in the space bowl, where you whizz around until you plop through a hole in the bottom into a catch pool. A bit disorientated an attendant called me, so I could get my bearings then out I got... ONLY for people who can swim WELL...
Blue Comet - Blue tubes that flow outside and you end up in a catch pool, quite tame and suitable for most ages.
Black Hole - Black tubes making it difficult to see where you are going, not for those scared of the dark - you end up in a catch pool.
Around the outside is a lazy river that at times makes you feel like you are swimming in turbo mode...Dont forget your rubber ring!! The lifeguards whistle kept blowing - so dont forget to go one way around otherwise it will be YOU they are whistling at.
BEWARE the deep square piece of water where the waves are made from as the current is quite strong and I helped resuce a boy whose swimming was a little weaker than needed to stop him being sucked towards the wall..
Didnt really visit the kiddies bit but there is an area for small children to splash around in with slides etc..
JUNIOR REDCOAT
The kids all get a booklet with activities in it designed for their age group. If they attend 6 sessions they are entitled to attend a presentation where they get a certificate which says they are honorary redcoats.
SPORTS ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS
Make sure you book at the beginning of the day otherrwise you or your kids will be disappointed. The Redcoats are limited to 16 children per sports session especially, football, archery, fencing etc..... You book at the sports hut and they write your name down on a list for the relevent session.
MATCH FOOTBALL
My son was excited it said 10am - 5pm so he was ready for a day of it!! Well dont believe what you read!! You can turn up anytime between 10am - 5pm. It costs £8 and for this you get to wear £120 pair of PUMA footie boots - they were lovely... and a PUMA bib to complete the look!! You get a training session then you complete a time trial with the best 7 or so scores of the season coming back to play against professionals later in the year - but dont get excited you need to be really accurate and the time for completing it was 2.6 on the board as you can get minus time by getting the ball in certain places... At the end you ar presented with a certificate with your time - and dont forget to whack the ball into the last blow up as it measures your speed. A really cool PUMA Football a picture of you with the match magazine backdrop, some stickers etc... You can return during the day and pay £3 to run the course again but you dont get another footie, or picture BUT you get a certificate if you beat your last time....
MEGAZONE
Laser fun which my hubby and son went on at a cost of £3.50 per person dont forget to book and watch for the early clsoing on Mondays and Fridays, by Midday its closed! They bothe enjoyed running around a dark room shooting.. but found it difficult to work out who was on their team..
FUNFAIR
The usual Dodgems, Chairoplanes, Swinging Boat, Wall of death, Wurlitzer...... Swan boats on a lake area but they were another thing you had to pay for and we didnt go on them. There were also go-karts but Im not sure how much they were.
EATING
Well for those that want to self cater there is TESCO just down the road by McDonaldsroundabout. The Everydays supermarkets onsite were poorly stocked and a little overpriced, okay to buy your newspaper and a packet of sweets.. The Everydays in the Skyline does boast a bakery though where you can get hot sausage rolls etc..
WE opted to go into the Halfboard restaurant - you go in a different entrance and pay as you go.. A 3 course meal was £6.95 even though the menu said £7.50 and a 1 course meal was £4.95 even though the menu outside said £5.50.. Kids meals I believe were something like £2.99 regardless of what they had. Inside there was loads of choice the food was hot and you could return for MORE.. Great for hungry people.... Tea, Coffee and Soft Drinks were included. EVEN my mum who is vegetarian managed to get to choose, which is quite a novelty.. There were at least 3 vege choices on offer when we went in.... Apparently they offer a buffet breakfast although we didnt take up this option.
Burger king speaks for itself, although twice I tried to buy a salad and neither time did I get one..... Harry Ramsdens, sit in or takeaway. Pizza Hut just like your local branch with buffet lunch Monday - Friday at £5.49 per adult. Skyline Cafe - Jacket Potatoes, or Baguettes, quite pricey but convenient if sitting watching a show. There is a pub by the caravan site called the Highwayman but when we went in there was only a blackboard with a menu on and it was a bit pricey. There is another pub up by the Skyline but we didnt visit there at all, so I cant comment on it..
There were various sidestalls all at extra cost around the main entertainment area, lots of grabber machines (where you win a cuddly toy or a mini ball), blow up maze outside, crazy golf all add to things you have to pay for....
We did enjoy our stay and are visitng again in about 3 weeks time again staying in a caravan - but a different one this time...
We didnt really know what to do this time but the next time we will have it all planned.. The entertainment programme is the same from the beginning of July until the beginning of September....
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Advantages: Excellent Entertainment, Sports facilities, Childrens Clubs, Swimming Pool Disadvantages: Drinks In The Clubs can be Expensive, Clubs can be Over Crowded
criple 30.06.2002 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Butlins
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.
Trixie_Firecracker 12.05.2005 (12.05.2005)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Butlins
Advantages: Lots to do, great fun family entertainment, good standard of accommodation Disadvantages: Limited choice of food outlets for self-catering guests
Aug 2nd, 2004
(Jun 7th, 2005)
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