Got a Butlins Bargain!!

Jodie+Matt

and to all those thinking 'i'd rather go abroad for that money'. butlins is a fabulous holiday for families with young children especially, took DD last year when she was nearly 2 and it was magical to her, this year will be even better now she will be nearly 3, the play area's and shows and rides are just brilliant. and going breakfast and dinner meant we hardly spent a penny, filled up at breakfast so we didnt need lunch then went for dinner early ish, which is good as you are finished in time for the kids shows etc. I would definately choose this over going on a cheap holiday abroad. wen went to ibiza aswell last year and my daughter definately enjoyed it there, but I bet if she could choose it would be butlins everytime. I have now made a vow to myself to take her every year until she gets fed up of it.

Jodie+Matt

karlie88 wrote: »

you cannot put a price on quality family time, especially on a holiday.

seems like a good deal OP!

if you have the money, then go for it.

have a nice holiday op!

exactly! :T

Alias_Omega

I was always told, if you have nothing good to say. Dont say it...

Good deal OP, you'll probably of saved £500 on the food.

chalkiesalem_2

matt987106 wrote: »

We have just came back from Butlins ( fri - monday )

We have done the same dates for the last few years

now i do not understand the Butlins haters, what is not to like ? ? the chalets are nice enough inside ( we stay silver plus OR gold ), We either eat at the food court or Pizza hut etc etc ( though this time we did the prem dining ), the Pool is great for a few hours entertainment, though the Q for the raft ride was very long all weekend the evening entertainment caters for all ages, from under 3's to teens, bar prices are similar to a pub, the day time entertainment is fine aswell, mine did 'fencing' and it was good for 1 hour

seriously, what can you not like about it

We also go to disney ( orlando ) most years aswell, normally in oct, Yes Butlins isnt a patch on disney, but neither is the price, but its not that bad, i allways compare it to a UK disney ( the americans do service well and it shows )

Thats what we are doing this year, May bank holiday weekend at Butlins & 2 weeks in November at Orlando. I am mega excited for Orlando and as you said Butlins isnt a patch on Disney (or Universal, Busch Gardens, Sea World :rotfl:) but i am still looking forward to our long weekend at Butlins and i know we will still have lots of fun.

Poly,put_the_kettle_on

Aidy wrote: »

Plus petrol costs!!

Must be a few 100 miles to Italy??

flea72 wrote: »

so not exactly a weeks holiday, as it takes a full day to drive to the lakes from calais (better to split over 2 days really), which unless you live near dover, puts even more hours on your trip - would want to use toll roads too, to speed things up, so that would put another whack onto the price tag, plus fuel - all in i think fuel and tolls would be another £500

the exchange rate to the euro at the moment is really bad. tbh £400 for a weeks food, would mean having to cook it all yourself, so pricewise still doesnt stack up against Butlins at £1k

F

It's not compulsary to go to Italy. I did say it was just an example. And the last I saw, petrol wasn't free in the UK. Toll roads are an option- but thats horses for courses. Pay a toll, get there quicker (and it's SO much nicer to drive the miles of open roads rather than nose to tail UK traffic) or meander the A roads and see more.

The exchange rate isn't great at the moment, and yes, France for example is pretty expensive as far as cost of living is concerned. However, it's possible to get great value for money and the quality of food is usually higher than comparible eateries in the UK. £400 plus- and remember, that's paying full price for the holiday which I for one have never had to do- would easily feed four for a week.

Last time I was in Italy, we had huge ice cream sundaes on a restaraunt terrace overlooking Lake Garda- an absolutely stunning spot- for the same price as a cone on Margate sea front.

We live very near the channel ports- for us it's almost always cheaper to go onto the continent. However, proximity obviously needs to be factored in.

But don't forget to factor in the small things that add up too- EG 4 hours parking at a cove near my friends place in Cornwall- £5. Equivalent in France- free. Bottle of vin with the evening meal? Well, that's almost worth the trip alone.

And there's the excitement for the kids of a ferry crossing, learning/practicing a few words of a new language, eating new food, seeing new things- generally experiencing a different culture. In the words of the ad; Priceless.

If Butlins is your bag- cool. However, I wholeheartedly believe that I (along with most people in the SE, and beyond) could match & beat that price for a week abroad.

blue_monkey_2

Can you tell me what day time activities, kids clubs, rides and nightlife are there for free when you get to Italy please. As an example.

You think it expensive, others do not. Thats the way it goes really. For what you get included in the price at Butlins, you cannot compare that with a week in a caravan, having driven to a lakeside caravan Italy.

And driving to Italy would not feel like a holiday for me. We are driving to DLP Paris in May and that is enough, and far enough, for me

And because I spend every day cooking and cleaning up after my kids and hubby - where is my holiday if we self cater? I want to eat out.

We went to Orlando Oct/Nov 2010 Spent 3 weeks there. Booking again for May 2012.

Nara

Well i can say I've only spend £1000 on a holiday once and that was a week to cyprus in a 5star hotel and a day trip to Egypt while there to do the whole 'praymids' thing and much more, was awesome.

As for Butlins, went last year and would never ever return, accomendation was awful, too busy and that was off peak, didn't relax the whole time i was there, nothing to do outside of resort and not much inside either.

My daughter enjoyed it, but personally i got home and felt i needed another holiday! I much prefered park resorts out of season, much less busy but still with good entertainment, and we like to go off resort and visit sites nearby.

Maybe its better for teenagers as you don't have to keep an eye on them all the time, but with younger children i couldn't sit back or relax for a min as it was so busy

debbie21_2

http://www.icelolly.com/search-results/more-info/CE3D76DB9B5612C2A508F55F6743C059

How about this one. Less than £1000 for 4 people to go to turkey for a week half board!!

I do like Butlins but only ever go on the Sun £9.50 holidays to them. Going in July for weekend, 2 adults 2 kids £90 inc entertainment.

Hope op has a great hol, but im sure if you had waited the price would have gone down a lot xxx

BigKisses

MrsE wrote: »

I'm certainly not a hater, but I was shocked at the cost.

I will tell you why it wouldn't do it for me.

I want my accommodation when I go away to be a treat & that means better than home, not "nice enough".
For food I want proper dining, not a food court or pizza bar.
I want my pool/sea to be in the open air & the water to be warm (which no sea off the UK is going to be).
Lastly I want sunny hot weather, guaranteed.

Nowhere in the UK can guarantee you the weather or the water to be warm in an outdoor pool but your other two requirements are easily met by stopping in one of the two Butlins hotels at Bognor Regis(one with spa) and eating in the hotel.

Butlins isn't like it used to be. It's not all wooden chalets with basic amenities. There's various options to suit your pocket. If you don't believe me have a look here

blue_monkey_2

First off - that is NOT school holiday! It's 12th July.

And second - please read reviews: http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g297972-d624161-Reviews-Turkin_Hotel-Kusadasi_Turkish_Aegean_Coast.html

And Turkey is about 40 degrees in the summer, I would not want to go to Turkey, let alone take the kids, it is way too hot for us as we are all redheads and burn very easily.

We do not want to go for the weekend - we always go for the weekend, we want to go for the week. I did not want to self cater, I wanted to eat out every day. Butlins was not available for £9.50 when we looked at booking anyway. When you add food and upgrades on on you are looking at £400 anyway. Seriously, I'd never stay in Standard, I'd rather stay in a hotel and go for the day.

When we go abroad we go to Orlando when it is mild, we LIKE going to Orlando as we are out every day doing something. Usually rides. But we like rides. We like Disney.

We are happy with the £1000. I'll keep on checking and if it goes down I'll post back here.