Everything you need for a great holiday for young children (Butlins (Skegness))

Member Name: chrisc92

Product:	Butlins (Skegness)
Date:	26/06/09 (147 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Aimed mainly at the younger children, swimming variety

Disadvantages: Entertainment can be hit and miss, older children may not have enough to do

I've never visited the Minehead site, mainly as it was only 24 miles from Taunton (where I used to live) it felt too local, Minehead was little run-down and as until recently it didn't even have a beach.

I've been to Skegness twice, and of the 2 Butlins sites I've visited in my mind this has to be the better one. Luckily, on the 3 occassions I've visited their sites, I've managed to keep the price reasonably constant - under £1000 for (my then) family of 6. It is normally quite easy to find some kind of deal online for Butlins and they even take Tesco clubcard vouchers (no I haven't used any for that purpose).

Skegness is set on the Lincolnshire coast and is not far from Grimsby. The site is a little way out of the town, but buses are regular and you could (if you felt energetic) walk along the sea front from the camp to the main beach at the town centre. There's also a pleasure area with big dippers etc just a few miles further up along the coast.

The camp is flat, but layed out very well, with the restaurants close to their associated accommodation, and everything within easy walking of the skyline.

On the occassions we visited there were 2 really good acts in the skyline - former acts from the Moscow State Circus and a fantastic African acrobatic group from Kenya. Other entertainment in the skyline is mainly aimed at younger family members, with older entertainment in Centre Stage and Reds. Like the rest of the entertainment it can be a little hit and miss, but they do have at least 2-3 decent acts over the course of your 7 day stay.

Centre Stage is the main area for family (traditional) entertainment - the most important thing is to arrive early - there's never enough seating! It's a little poor that you have to turn up as soon as the doors open - especially if the entertainment is pretty poor, but it's the only way. Reds on the other hand is normally a little quieter, but entertainment is not always of the same quality which is pretty bad if Centre Stage is poor!

There are a lot of clubs for kids and they can do archery, football and a few others. There's also an area where the younger kids can play, which on our last visit was Bob The Builder's area with Indoor rides and a theatre area where they can listen to stories.

Apart from kids groups the other main entertainment is the large pool complex, which like Bognor Regis has flumes, rapids, walk in beach-like area, a ride that goes round the whole pool in a dinghy (master blaster) and a ride where you eventually travel round the inside of a very large goldfish bowl. There's also areas for more serious swimmers.

The food is of a good quality, but choice is a little poor with often menus being repeated within a few days. Although, the names of restaurants suggest a difference in quality in reality there's very little difference between them other than Ocean Drive tends to be a little less packed.

Other activities are a few fairground rides such as carousel, tugboat and a wave machine, and a club for the teenagers which runs most of the night.

Of the 3 Butlins sites I would choose this one everytime - despite being nearly 8 hours travel from Plymouth! If you have a young family and you want to stay in the UK you certainly can't choose anything better for them.

Summary: A fabulous holiday for the younger children at a reasonable price