Butlins : Pricing Themselves Out Of The Market ? (Butlins in general)

Member Name: karenuk

Product:	Butlins in general
Date:	14/01/01 (197 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: a variety of things to do and see, great entertainment, accommodation is much better now

Disadvantages: very expensive

I used to go to Butlin's regularly as a child, because we lived near the Skegness camp and my Dad used to love going there. I went to Butlin's every year for a long time, but the holidays I remember the clearest were in the 1980s, when we used to go to the camp at Barry Island in Wales.

The chalets were basic, but not unpleasant and we hardly spent any time in them anyway. There were great facilities, everything you could want on the site. There were organised competitions, discos, nightclubs, good quality entertainment, free cinema, swimming pool, etc.

I used to take the National Pentathlete Awards each year, which meant you automatically had a program of sporting activities to attend, and had an instant bond with a group of strangers who would soon become your friends over the week.

We still keep in touch with some of the people we met on holiday in Butlins, and I had a few holiday romances which lasted a few months afterwards too.

So Butlins holidays in the 1980s were wonderful, dream-like and full of happy memories. But what about nowadays ?

I have been to the Butlins camps in Minehead and Bognor in the last decade, since having four children of my own. Things have definitely changed, and not always for the better.

Butlins is trying to lose its working class, cheap and cheerful image. It has tried to do this by basically introducing more expensive attractions. These include excellent swimming facilities - the huge indoor heated pools with jacuzzis, play areas, water slides and the like.

The cinema now shows recent films, but they are no longer free, prices replicating those of the big multiplex cinemas, including the cost of the refreshments.

The creche facilities are very good too, as is the Noddy theme idea with excellent play areas and special events for little ones. You can also pay extra for a Noddy themed chalet, which includes Noddy bedding and wallpaper, access to a l
ittle park and a free package of Noddy toys, books, etc. Very good for the under-sixes.

The amount of shops have grown, with expensive souvenirs and toys more easily available than a cheap sandwich or cup of tea. The streets have changed into undercover plazas, containing a range of overpriced fast food restaurants and circus acts.

The theatre shows have always been good, but they are now even more professional. The shows are often based on a theme, such as the one about Casper the Ghost that was at the Minehead camp when we went in 1999.

The whole Butlins experience has been polished and preaned, but they have outpriced themselves. It is now cheaper to go abroad than to go to Butlins for a week. But it still retains that image, where people will turn their noses up if you say you are going to Butlins. The irony of it is that the "ordinary" family cannot afford to go on a Butlins holiday now, and those that can afford it feel it is beneath them.

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