About to book Butlins Skegness - any tips and words of wisdom

machairs

Hope someone can help.

This summer we booked a lovely cottage thinking it would be a brilliant base for us (2 adults and 3 children - 3mos, 2yrs and 8yrs) for exploring. Well it rained, we argued, the cottage had a stone flag floor, all the activities and destinations we planned were weather dependant etc, etc. A mini disaster and a bad choice for this stage in our lifes.

On the way home I picked up a Butlins Brochure and studied it in consultation with dh and ds1. The answer to our problems, not weather dependent, private apartments, fully inclusive, lots of things for the children to do and entertainment for the adults too or the chance to relax whilst the children are safely occupied.

Now, as I go to book it I have some reservations. Just read a post about a Haven Camp holiday and the poor poster had a dreadful time there.

My Q's are;

What are your experiences of Butlins? In particular, Skegness.

Should I book and pay online or are there better deals by telephone or through a travel agent?

Does "fully inclusive" mean that or will I be shelling out money left, right and centre for things not included which my dear little cherubs will just have to have??

Been quoted approx £700 for Silver Apt. fully inclusive for 7 nights in the first week of July. Includes a cot for little one. I note also I can add on Holiday Ins and Breakdown - is this worthwhile?

A

dmg24

I am a lifelong Butlins guest, and I used to work at Skeg Butlins, so my experiences are pretty biased!

I would always check with TA's for Butlins deals, as they do sometimes have them that are not available online. Also give their call centre a ring, they sometimes know discount codes that others do not.

It is early to be booking for next July, however I cannot say whether it will get cheaper or not.

There are still lots of things to pay for at Butlins on top of the included activities, such as bowling, cinema etc. I would have a good look at the website, which details what is free and what is not.

I would not add on holiday insurance without doing a good search on t'internet first. You will probably get a better deal.

How much extra would the Gold Apartment be? The accom is not that different, but if you are going half board, the extra may well be worth it.

Enjoy! x

sweetserendipity

Went to Skegness Butlins about 5 years ago and hated it!! Got a late deal & went half-board (booked direct with them). I just didn't like Skegness - caravan sites everywhere!! Seem to remember the beach was quite nice but security guards at the gates to let you in/out!!
However, my 2 daughters LOVED IT!! They were about 8/9 years old & they loved everything about it so I'm pretty sure your kids will love it too.
We have also been to Minehead Butlins - I much preferred it there as the surrounding area was just so much nicer.

machairs

dmg24 wrote: »

I am a lifelong Butlins guest, and I used to work at Skeg Butlins, so my experiences are pretty biased!

I would always check with TA's for Butlins deals, as they do sometimes have them that are not available online. Also give their call centre a ring, they sometimes know discount codes that others do not.

Thanks, will try contacting by phone and dropping into TA.

It is early to be booking for next July, however I cannot say whether it will get cheaper or not.

I want to get the holiday booked and start paying for it. I normally leave things to late. According to their website, booking now saves me 40%.

There are still lots of things to pay for at Butlins on top of the included activities, such as bowling, cinema etc. I would have a good look at the website, which details what is free and what is not.

I would not add on holiday insurance without doing a good search on t'internet first. You will probably get a better deal.

Thanks, I suspected as much.

How much extra would the Gold Apartment be? The accom is not that different, but if you are going half board, the extra may well be worth it.

The quote only came up with Silver? I did notice that they have Gold and would be happy to pay extra but only Silver Apartments or Rooms come up at the top of the list. Will ask when I phone.

Enjoy! x

Thanks so much, really helpful.

machairs

sweetserendipity wrote: »

Went to Skegness Butlins about 5 years ago and hated it!! Got a late deal & went half-board (booked direct with them). I just didn't like Skegness - caravan sites everywhere!! Seem to remember the beach was quite nice but security guards at the gates to let you in/out!!
However, my 2 daughters LOVED IT!! They were about 8/9 years old & they loved everything about it so I'm pretty sure your kids will love it too.
We have also been to Minehead Butlins - I much preferred it there as the surrounding area was just so much nicer.

This is what I am expecting. I feel I will just have to grin and bear it but if the kids are happy, I'm happy and less stressed. Minehead is a bit to far for us sadly. We've been to Lincoln before and loved it so hoping to take/drag the kids away for the day for some culture and retail therapy.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

woodyperez

I would not discount Haven too quickly I have taken my family loads of times for weekend and for week long breaks. They are similar to Butlins, the caravans are of good quality and spacious, it is nice to be able to cook sometime, and have a proper sitting room for everyone to chill out.

My children are 9 and 4 and they love the kids clubs, and the evening entertainment is good for the kids, we leave after the kids club ends so dont know what the adult entertainment is like.
Most parks have great swimming pools.

Butlins have same owners so i think you will get a similar experience. Check the website though for hidden costs, I think there is a funfair at butlins not sure if it is all free. Also look out for what theme is on the week u go. They do run kids weeks with lots of kids tv favourites etc

System

we are going to skegness in october it will be our second visit. its as expensive as you make it basically we dont drink dd loves the free amusements/pool . not sure why a previous posted had a problem with the caravan sites but each to their own !i love the shops in the town and the seal sanctuary is deffinatly worth a visit.

ema_o

I've only been to Butlins once, I think it was before I turned 10. I absolutely loved it, there was so much to do, loved the kids clubs, loved the fun fair.

I think for the kids that age it would probably be great, it does depend whether you will enjoy it as well though.

Actually after that holiday we mostly went camping (Canvas holidays) in the south of France. That might be worth investigating as well - might give you better weather but still provide loads to do for your little ones. I know personally I would prefer that.

blue_monkey_2

We have just come back from Butlins.

My main gripe was that it is a cash cow and the kids get drawn in with the twinkly lights. Start saving 2ps and put them in the 2p machines - the kids love it and it does not cost so much!! All of those coin rides are 2 or 3 times what you pay 'off site' and so we went off site to do this. There is a big amusement park next door called Fantasy Island, there is also loads of amusement arcades and it is a 10 minute walk from Butlins or a short bus ride if you can't be bothered - once you have got through the damn market that surrounds it (one tip: don't go to Fantasy Island during the day at a weekend, it was HEAVING and very claustraphobic but there is a fantastic hanging coaster there!) and there are vouchers knocking around to get half price rides and tokens. Butlins gave us some in our welcome pack so we used those and £18 was enough for my kids to have a few hours in there.

We had a silver apartment, a Gold will cost arund £300 more for the week and as you are hardly ever there it seemed a bit of a waste of money as far as I was concerned. I booked 3 weeks before we went away and there was empty apartments while we was there, also lots of notices saying you could stay on for 50% discount on usual prices. They will be the same price in July too - maybe cheaper. We went Mid August for 3 days HB - bear this in mind, it is NOT all inclusive, just breakfast and evening meal - and it was priced at around £350.

The apartment was OK, cean and tidy, although I always worry who has slept in the bed before, LOL, that's just me though. The duvet was kind of small too... LOL.

Breakdown insurance - not a worry if you already have it.

Holiday insurance - again, not worth it if you already have a policy but it depends should anything happen you will lose your money.

The holiday itself was OK, loads of things to do, shows and dancing too but still loads of stuff to pay for. The rides are OK, a bit tatty looking and they kind of clunk worryingly when they go round, there did not seem to be so much to do during the day but we went out anyway.

Always lots of vouchers knocking around for days out so look on websites before you go and print them out.

All in all it was OK and I'd go again but keep your kids away from the sweet shop and the 20p sweet machines, the colourings sent my kids insane for the entire day, and those vouchers they do for prizes, the prizes are absolute carp, save your money if you can and do stuff outside. We went to the arcade on the corner by Fantasy Island and the kids got far better prizes for 1/10'th of the money we put in the machines at Butlins.

The drinks are really expensive - £5 for a lager and half a lemonade in Reds (or maybe this is average, I don't really go out these days).

torikate

I've never been to Skegness Butlins, but have been to the Bognor Regis one. Me and OH love it. I'm 20, OH 26 and no children. Personally I think there is so much to do people of any age will enjoy it. Lots to do for the kids plus indoor stuff incase the weather isn't all that. Personally we prefer it to going abroad. Either way enjoy your holiday! x

skibat

Hi, I can whole heartedly recommend butlins at skegness. We have been about 6 times since our children were born ( now 4 and 2) and we have never had a bad time. we to had big reservationns but we love it now.
As for booking you have to take your chances on price but i know ( from experience ) the on site booking shop has a price promise that if you ever see your holiday cheaper they will refund the difference. i don't know if you can book with them over the phone but if you knew how much it is via internet you could always negotiate with them - when we booked direct I kept checking on the web at the price and one day as part of a web offer our holiday came out £20 cheaper I called them and they gave me a refund of £20 off mine.
as others have said there are other things to pay for if you choose but we rarely have to as there is so much going on. there is a schedule of events for each week as try as we can we have never even managed half of what is on offer.
Someone mentioned drinks at £5 / pint - not sure what they were drinking but we always found it the same prices as pubs.
As for the accomodation the first time we went silver, second gold ( using tesco vouchers) but ever since have gone standard as we are so rarely in the appt it seemed silly to pay more for a microwave (in silver) don't get me wrong gold was really nice but for the time there it was simply not worth it.
As for skegness it is a british seaside resort........there is a huge morrisons & tescos, alldi or lidl (can't remeber which) iceland, somefield or coop and an m&s food so loads of choice.

you may have gathered I am a bit of a fan and can't recommend it enough. Some people are a bit 'sniffy' about Butlins but our holidays are all about our children and we have a great time.

Book it, it's only 7 days of your life after all.

ps. at the nursery they do a deal so parents can go to the spa for 2 hours obviously these both cost more but 2 hours away from children !!!!!
we are off again in dec and can't wait