butlins, skegness review

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Average Ratings

Value for Money	7.4/10
Reviewer Rating	7.5/10
Overall Rating	7.6/10

81% Recommended38 out of 47 Reviews

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By barbarasmitty on 22nd Jul 2008

barbarasmitty's Ratings

Value for money	8/10
Overall value	9/10
barbarasmitty's recommendation

Good Points

Brilliant entertainment for kids.
Friendly staff.
Great facilities.
Fun atmosphere.
Lots of free things to do.

Bad Points

Silver half board breakfast could be better.
Silver rooms in dire need of revamp.
Nowhere for men to change a baby.
Pricey drinks.

General Comments

I am a first time visitor to Butlins. I decided to book a long weekend at the Skegness camp with my husband and four children.
We arrived at the camp just after midday on Friday and were instantly struck with how large it is (apparently it's not even the largest of the Butlins sites!). We sent the older kids to check out the fair while we went to find the checking in desk. What was good was that you could check in anytime even though the electronic door keys didn't work until after four. This meant no queues...yippee!! Check-in was easy to find and the staff friendly and helpful. We decided to go for a walk round to familiarise ourselves with the layout of the camp before going to our room as we were very early. The camp itself is well arranged and it is very easy to find everything. It is a pleasantly landscaped site and looked very clean and tidy.
Just after four we went to our room. We had booked a three bedroomed silver room so were surprised to find out that what we had actually been given was 2 two bedroomed rooms which were next to one another. The adjoining doors had been open however to make one large accommodation with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. This was more than adequate for our needs and was more than I had paid for. The downside was that the chalets themselves were very tired looking. Everything was clean enough (carpets could have done with a good shampoo) but the furnishings looked very old and dated. We didn't plan on spending much time in the chalet however so this wasn't a problem. The beds were clean and comfortable so this was all that really mattered.

We had been booked into 'Coral Beach' half board restaurant which was absolutely HUGE. We didn't have any trouble finding a table at any time (and there are 6 of us) and we never had to queue for food. The staff in the restaurant were very polite and efficient, clearing trays and plates as soon as you had finished your food. There was a lot of food choices for the evening meal usually something like chili con carne, pasta, garlic bread, salad (egg, cheese, chicken etc), fish fingers, chips, sausages in yorkshire pudding, crumble and custard, ice cream, selection of cakes, fruit squashes, tea, coffee. My only complaint with the evening meal was that there was hardly any fruit or vegetables despite the claims on their website. We are talking processed cafe food here. Having said that, the food was always hot and tasted nice. There were a lot of choices at breakfast time too...cereals, fresh juices, yoghurt, grapefruit, toast, bacon, egg, sausage, omlette, fried bread, beans, tea, coffee etc. However, I found the cooked breakfast foods to be of much lower quality compared to the evening meal offerings. The eggs were mostly inedible and the bacon looked a little undercooked.

We didn't really use the other cafes on the site as we were half board but they seemed rather expensive so we were glad we had paid for our meals. They all looked clean and well kept though. My husband and I went for a drink in the Sun and Moon pub while the kids were in the cinema and found this to be a very nice facility. Nicely presented and cosy. There was also a very good kids play area outside for younger kids.

During our stay the kids visited the cinema twice (at £4 each, this is reasonable value), and laser quest ( £3 for 15 minutes) which they thoroughly enjoyed. Tip: if you go to Skegness pier, the laser quest there is bigger and much cheaper. We all went to Splash Waterworld on a couple of occasions (with myself and baby as spectators!) and found this to be the best facility on offer. It was free to use and had a variety of water 'rides' such as rapids, space bowl, master blaster. You could spend half your holiday in here! The spectators area was the best I've ever seen - lots of seats, air conditioned and spacious.

The main evening entertainment venues (Centre Stage and Reds) were both very good. We were told that Reds has recently had a £4m face lift and you can really tell. It is stunning in there. Lots of people queued outside both venues for up to an hour and a half before they opened which was absolutely pointless as there was an abundance of seating inside each venue. I doubt you would ever have to queue. The entertainment was the usual blend of kids character shows, magicians, variety etc although the quality of production at Butlins is much higher than at either Haven or Pontins (but then it's a much more expensive holiday). I was disappointed with the poor selection of drinks on offer at the bar. It wasn't really in keeping with the quality of the venues. I found the drinks prices were disgraceful too. We are talking over a tenner for 3 cokes, a pint of bitter and an alcopop.

One minor annoyance was the lack of baby changing facilities available to dads. They were all in the ladies loos which meant that while we were out and about, I had to do all of the nappy changes. There must be many dads who take their kids to Butlins so I was surprised that they weren't better catered for in this department.

Overall, this is a really fun family holiday. Your kids will not be bored here and with them occupied, you can have a bit of a break. We have booked to go again next summer for 7 nights but will be staying Gold dinner, bed and breakfast this time.

Total Respect: -1