who been butlins vs haven holiday???

nickfezz

I would say Haven is better. Butlins just seemed too geared to keeping you on site and bleeding you dry of every penny you had. Bar prices were astronomical in the Skyline bar. Laser quest and paintballing all additional costs, the outside fair was very dated and in need of a serious overhaul.

For me, Haven have more choice, locations, and better accommodation. No risk of being in the middle of a 3 storey block with chavvy scum above and below you.

artichoke

just bumping this as our dog is getting older and the possibility of going to butlins is getting closer!

I still can't work out if Butlins would be better for us than haven...

It seems like a lot of the free stuff Butlins does ie football, kids clubs etc - is also done by Haven...

It seems the fair is the one thing that is free at butlins that is not free at Haven..

At Butlins you have to pay for go karts, and what else do you have t pay for?


I am presuming the pools at Butlins are better? Are they all like the Haven Hafan y mor pool?

We only go to the kids entertainment in the showbar at Haven we don't stay for the live acts so it would not matter to us if these were better at Butlins..

Art

blonde_redhead1

there are similarities with both type of holiday but a lot of differences too. in my opinion, there are kids clubs at both parks, but butlins tend to be slightly more organised, have all too often at haven had shattered staff from working till early hours having to start the kids club 9.30ish so kids end up colouring in a crown for the best decorated comp. Butlins seem to be more structured. Also nice having the little indoor rides for smaller kids plus tv characters and promotions with dressed up characters. Haven obviously have their own 'mascot' characters, and my kids have loved these too, butlins appears more adaptable with current trends tho.
for older teenagers i find the free pool/snooker/ping pong great at butlins, saves me a fortune compared to paying tables in haven.
some daytime family bits on in havens, have seen wrestling before, but apart from swimming and kids clubs doesnt seem to be too much organised family things on. butlins have more family stuff on in skyline tho, all geared towards getting a captive audience to buy silly priced pastries, pancakes and drinks from bar i guess though!
pools far superier at butlins. Ive used both bognor and skegness sites and they are great. Havens i have used vary from small sites to larger family parks such as hafan y mor, and its like a different world. more to do in pool, better standards.
paying activities in abundance at both parks, laser and paintballing and climbing walls stand out at butlins and very central so unavoidable. havens have paying climbing wall, gocarts etc, again making holidays more expensive.
Ive done half board at both and cant really notice much difference. suits me and my family when we are away, but not everyones cup of tea.
we are trying hoseasons this summer tho after park holidays last year as but fed up of going somewhere where the itinery is predictable year after year!

kjmtidea

We have been to Butlins Bognor Regis for the last few years but we are thinking about trying Haven next year. Butlins seems to have less and less to do every year and now my kids are 4,6,8 and 10 there doesn't seem as much for them to do.

I have just checked the entertainment guide for the week that we are going this year (7th May) and there isn't much on at all, they have removed some things like Guiness world records, even though they were advertising it for that week when we booked it. Thomas has been on for the last 2 years so this will be the 3rd time we have seen it, my 4 year old will be more than happy about that but I will have to find something else for my other 3 to do!

The swimming pool is good and that kills a couple of hours every day but it will be good to try Haven next year and see what that is like.

FloFlo

Butlins trounces Haven hands down in the area of entertainment.

For those who say Butlins is expensive then you need to plan ahead. At Butlins you can take your own snacks and soft drinks in to the skyline and into the entertainment venues so no need to pay high prices at the bar.

There is prety much free entertainment in the skyline all day and evening, with free shows in the afternoon and evenings in other theatres/show bars.

They have a small but free fair and their swimming pool complexes are fair better than Havens

If you get a good offer on half board at Butlins it is very good, lots of food and choice.

The only thing I will say is that the caravans we have stayed in at haven have been lovely, better condition than the basic or even silver at Butlins - but when we are at Butlins we spend very little time in the accommodation.

jazzypinkpuppet

We have been to both quite a few times, we found Butlins was better when our children were really young the free funfair and bob the builder etc. Now they are older 8 and 12 we find Haven better and in lovely locations for beach walks and exploring etc, the entertainment is better quality at Butlins with lots of variety but always mega busy that we had to waste hours queuing to get in the bar to get a seat.
They are both good though and your kids will love either x

booma_mitch

I have never been to Haven so I can't really compare, but I have researched Haven a few times with a view to going there instead of Butlins.

We have been to Butlins more times than I can count. One positive for me for Butlins is that they don't really have a season and we can therefore go in the winter months when we won't camp. This year we spent Christmas there and February half term. We have been at times when we haven't had to watch the budget, and other times when we haven't had much money to spend and we have enjoyed it just as much in each situation. It does take a little extra planning if you have less of a budget, but doesn't everything! We have also stayed in the caravans at Butlins which work out cheaper sometimes in the peak summer holiday time and you still get the Butlins experience but also have a bit of your "own space" for a BBQ, kids to play or whatever.

The entertainment at Butlins is high quality and professional. One of the downsides for me is how busy it gets. My children are 7 and 3 and the youngest doesn't do queue very well! People do almost camp outside the entertainment venues hours before they open to get the best seats. They then hold a table for 10 people while we stand and by the time we leave (early because of the kids) their party hasn't arrived yet. To be honest though, we are usually too tired by the time it gets to the evening that we don't tend to go to the show bars anyway so it isn't too much of a problem.

We manage to fill our days swimming, funfair, soft play, sports clubs for the kids, skyline for shows, character photoshoots, puppet shows, skyline gang, the kids can spend hours in the wooden play area, pantomime, watching the wrestling, on the beach (even in winter) and all of these are free. We take our own food and drink into the skyline and if we are self catering we tend to cook a meal once we get back in the evening.

It seems that the entertainment has had an overhaul this year with many new shows, the pantomime which runs all year has been changed this year (I had seen the old one 3 times, but it was still as good!), the Thomas the Tank engine show is a new one, there are new skyline gang shows etc.

Would I like Butlins for every holiday...no, we are shattered when we get home! But for us it works alongside our summer camping holidays. Two different worlds, but the kids love both just as much.