Butlins Part One – Friday
This weekend we went for our first ever holiday to Butlins.
We are not too far from Butlins, and have always taken the boys for days out at weekends and in the school holidays, but we have never ever stayed there.
Last year Baba asked if we could stay for a holiday at Butlins, he wanted to see all the shows and he wanted to see what happened in Butlins in the evening.
So we decided that we would just go for a long weekend, just a three night stay. It was perfect for us, it wasn’t far too travel, it was easy to get too. But once we were there the children, or us didn’t want to leave, and it didn’t feel like we were only a little way up the road. Instead it felt like we were actually away.
We arrived on the Friday, we had just booked a room, with the food court included. So we didn’t get into our room until 4pm but we were able to be on site and go in the arcades, have some food and just mooch around really.
To be honest none of us knew where the rooms where, and all the times we have been to Butlins in the day we had never really taken much notice of them. We knew where the hotels were, we knew where the apartments were but had never really seen the rooms, so when we went into them they were new to all of us.
The room was basic, but it was everything that we needed. A double room, with a wardrobe, TV, a mirror and a dressing table, a twin room, with a wardrobe, and a bathroom with a shower. It was perfect for what we as a family needed as we literally were only in there for sleeping. The bed was quite high for Boo, but that wasn’t a problem as we were able to hire a bed guard for him for the whole time we were away, for a reasonable £10. We also hired a pushchair for £20 for the weekend as it meant we had more space in the car, and we didn’t really want to be using our big Graco for the whole weekend as firstly we didn’t need it all the time, secondly the smaller one we hired was practical for the lifts, and the space in the centre stage room. Whereas we would have had issues with Boo’s Graco moving it around the chairs. For £20 we couldn’t complain, it was clean, it was small, and it did a great job.
We had a great time, we had time to relax, the kids were constantly on the go. We got to see lots of shows, and were impressed by everything we watched and everything we did. I will blog about all of that another day.
We also got to explore the park. Baba and Boo loved the little touches to places in the park. Baba was also climbing something, or getting into a massive Butlins chair. Both of them loved the ice cream place that had pink and yellow Moo carts and their pink and white cows.
After we got into our room at 4pm and unpacked a little, sorting out the boys bedroom with their blankets and teddies, we went to the food court to have our first meal. We paid for our breakfast and dinner up front, as it was an easier option with Baba and Boo, it meant it was sorted, we didn’t have to think about what they were eating and they didn’t have to wait long.
The food was basic but there was nothing wrong with it. The boys had chicken nuggets and chips, I had a jacket potato and salad and Mr L had a chilli. All of the food was nice, there wasn’t anything wrong with any of it. But the best thing was the buffet lay out. We were able to go in and one of us could get Boo settled and sat down while the other was already getting his food. The court had some great plastic trays with compartments for the kids meals and it meant that Baba could be independent and carry his own tray which he loved. He was also able to get his own drinks from the drink machines, and he felt very important going up and getting his own food and drinks. None of us were that hungry on the first night but what we ate was fine. And none of us were hungry for the rest of the night.
After dinner we had a little play in the arcades and went to the first show which was Aladdin. Baba loved the centre stage room, and liked the first part of Aladdin, Boo wasn’t so impressed and was tired so Mr L did take him back to our room early. After they left Baba wanted to leave as well, but when we got back Boo was wide awake.
The weather was still lovely outside so we decided to go for a lovely quiet walk around the whole of Butlins, while it was quiet and the sun was setting. It really is a lovely place, we found different parks, all the sports areas, got to see all the restaurants and managed to see Butlins all lit up which looks fabulous.
It was great to explore, as we worked out where everything was to plan the rest of the holiday and it also tired both the boys out, who by this point really needed to sleep to be up and ready for Saturday!