Butlins - your experiences

EMcG

Hello there,

My wife and I were thinking of going with our 18 month old son to Butlins Bognor for a few days in May.

The reasons behind this were

1. We really need a holiday

2. It has to have loads to do for an active toddler

3. It must be easy to get to on the train (we don't drive)

4. It needs to have childminding facilities (so we can have the odd time out ourselves)

5. It needs to be reasonably priced

Has anyone had experience of Butlins Bognor - good or bad - especially if you went with a baby/toddler?

Also, if anyone can think of another option that meets the five points above then feel free to post.

Thanks for any feedback.

jon200

I've been to Bognor a couple of times and always found it very pleasant.

Every night in the main Entertainment place, they have sing/dance alongs for the kids and parents before the main show starts. They also usually have something on the stage inside the big hall and also a few amusements.

If you check on the Butlins website, you can always find good late deals if you are able to go on short notice, and they usually have special weekends for half terms where its more child orientated too.

wombat27

We went to Bognor Butlins when the children were toddlers, and found it be a great place to take small children as there is so much to amuse them. Only downsides really were noise; the chalets can get quite noisy at night when people are going home from shows, etc, and re the train station, it is quite a walk from the station to the resort, especially with cases, pushchairs, etc - you'd probably need to get a taxi from the station.

carolan78

We went last May to Bonor for a week our daughter was 18 months old then. I was very impressed with the accomodation (was a silver apartment) but I was disapointed with the holiday camp its self. They have a playroom for children too little to use the big adventure play area which is scattered woth some toys like your child will have at home but half are broken or missing batteries.

The entertainment was poor through the day and not much better in the evening. We expected them to have lots going on but unless your child was age 5+ there were very little and Bognor its self had very little to offer. The pool is good for little ones as long as it isn't too busy and they have the childrens slide open (it's similar to a toddlers slide in the park).

It was pricey cost us 600 pounds for a 3 bedroomed apartment for 7 days we expected with food (bought from Tesco down the road) to spend about 300 pounds in the week but due to lack of free entertainment we ended up spending 700 pound and I honestly could not say what on! Most of it went on the small rides within the pavillion.

We didn't have a miserable time but there was not an awful lot for the toddler age range and if I were to ever go back to a Butlins I would deffinately wait until my youngest is about 6 as it's only then you'd get your monies worth from the free entertainment (but still expect to be puttting money in the machines you can't get away from the things).

Lucky_Lady_5

we go to butlins in skegness EVERY year, twice a year. we love it, our kids love it. we have been going for the last 4 years, and my kids are now 6 and 2, so have gone with baby and toddler too. silver apartments are lovely, clean and just right for what you need. however, if you can possibly afford the gold ones, they are really really lovely. if you go meals included, the food in the "yacht club" restaurant is far far nicer than the other silver restaurants. the silver restaurants can seem a little like you are being herded like sheep!
butlins is fantastic for kids, i would recommend to anyone.

*Sally*_2

Lucky_Lady wrote: »

if you go meals included, the food in the "yacht club" restaurant is far far nicer than the other silver restaurants. the silver restaurants can seem a little like you are being herded like sheep!
butlins is fantastic for kids, i would recommend to anyone.

Can you upgrade to yacht club restaurant ? We are planning to go but will be silver with meals included because gold was a bit out of our price range, but for a little bit extra for decent dining id be prepared to pay.

stefejb

We went to bognor last easterish - catered appartment for four cost us £60 for 4 days so it was a real bargain. this was out of school holidays btw. We took dgs then 2 and he had a great time although he was scared of the characters. pretty easy to get to from the station - a 10 minute walk along the beach but would reccomend getting a cab if you are carrying loads. I wouldn't reccomend half board - the food was a bit school dinnerish and my veggie dd struggled a bit with the choices. If you go half board you get a very small appartment - basically beds and a bathroom.

If you can go out of schhol holidays you will get a mcuh cheaper price and your little one is less likely to be dive bombed in the pool

Lucky_Lady_5

*Sally* wrote: »

Can you upgrade to yacht club restaurant ? We are planning to go but will be silver with meals included because gold was a bit out of our price range, but for a little bit extra for decent dining id be prepared to pay.

hi there
as far as i know you can upgrade to yacht club, if there are spaces available. we enquired 2 years ago when we got into silver accomodation because the gold was all sold out, but we decided against it.
don't get me wrong, the silver dining rooms are ok, they are adequate, but in all fairness, they can get really overcrowded and a little dirty at times. you have to avoid the busy times and try and get a good time. I would suggest if you are in silver you take some antibacterial wipes with you for the tables.
in the yacht club, the tables are always clean, they all have table cloths, it's just overall a far more pleasant place.
if you can push the budget to go gold, i would highly recommend it.
is it skegness you are going or bognor/minehead?

*Sally*_2

Thank you, we are going to Skegness.
I will make sure I take wipes, thats one thing I would never think about.

Lucky_Lady_5

stefejb wrote: »

We went to bognor last easterish - catered appartment for four cost us £60 for 4 days so it was a real bargain. this was out of school holidays btw. We took dgs then 2 and he had a great time although he was scared of the characters. pretty easy to get to from the station - a 10 minute walk along the beach but would reccomend getting a cab if you are carrying loads. I wouldn't reccomend half board - the food was a bit school dinnerish and my veggie dd struggled a bit with the choices. If you go half board you get a very small appartment - basically beds and a bathroom.

If you can go out of schhol holidays you will get a mcuh cheaper price and your little one is less likely to be dive bombed in the pool

Wow, this is not the case at Skegness.
The apartments are lovely for all in, as well as self catering, and the food isn't like school dinners. there is a lovely vegetarian section which included a variation every night. you must have had a bad trot at bognor! skegness rules! lol :T

Lucky_Lady_5

*Sally* wrote: »

Thank you, we are going to Skegness.
I will make sure I take wipes, thats one thing I would never think about.

you will love it, trust me! we go in may and the kids are already on countdown!!! i honestly cannot think of a bad thing to say about it. i think it's the same as any holiday, you get back out of it what you put into it. go with an open mind and the will to have a great time, and you will exactly do that. the worst thing is the fair closes early (5pm) most nights, but having said that, my kids are too young for that and we get in the car after tea and have a ride into skegness for a walk along the front and the beach, so it really doesn't matter that much.

have fun. :beer: :T