As it was our first family holiday since the boys were born, to say we were a little excited was an understatement!!
and a fish and chips restaurant and a Spa shop where you could buy groceries. Oh and did I mention an ice cream parlour???
Being Butlin’s there is always something going on to keep you busy and entertained from 8.30am until the early hours and there is something for everyone. Although, if like us and you have little ones then we were kept busy from 6.30am until 8pm!! The activity programme is packed full of things to see and do for all ages from the very young to the young at heart and we didn’t manage to do all the things we would like to have done, and we thought we did well at attempting to do so!
There are daily live performances throughout the day in the skyline pavilion and a chance to meet some well know children’s characters too and have a photograph taken with them.
Not to mention all the rides, the soft play, the sandpits, the swimming pool, the fairground, messy art, arcade machines, bowling, playground areas, football, volleyball etc…. honestly there are so many ways to be kept entertained. Once on site your holiday price does include an awful lot of free entertainment but you do need to pay for a few things like the bungee trampolines, the go karts, the sand diggers and such like but on the whole the majority of the events are included in your stay.
However, what impressed both myself and my OH the most, was that when we got home and unpacked we realised that we could not find our iPad. I called Minehead’s lost property department and explained my predicament and explained that we thought it had been left in the lounge (Burton left it on the sofa while he used the toilet before we exited our apartment). Half an hour later I received a phone call back and the iPad had been found and the member of staff we spoke to offered to find out how much it would cost to have the item returned to us in the post via special delivery, which we agreed to and paid the £8.75 postal charges.
I did not expect Butlin’s to offer to do this, I was assuming we would have to drive back and collect it in person. Butlin’s customer care is top class and I appreciated it very much as sometimes the little things like these examples can be forgotten in many areas within the hospitality sector nowadays.
Was it all perfect?
Pretty much yes BUT there were a handful of little complaints but only really for trivial things such as:
>no chest of drawers in our apartment – wardrobes, bedside table and a dressing table yes but not really enough drawers to accommodate 4 people’s clothes.
>no internet connection in our apartment – which was a little annoying as it was available across the majority of the site with access to free wifi. Seeing as though most evenings were spent in our apartment while the boys slept, our entertainment was limited!
>the food in the dining hall could have been hotter – can’t be helped as it was all self service I know
>more options for toddlers in the dining hall – like kids yogurts at breakfast and dinner instead of low fat ones,
– toddler friendly cutlery and plates/bowls
– I am sure Annabel Karmel meals were mentioned as part of
the dining plan but we didn’t see any in the Yacht Club
Would we go again?
Yes please!
We all had such a wonderful holiday and as I mentioned before there were still so many things we didn’t do or couldn’t do due to the weather or the boys ages.
Was it good value for money?
Yes absolutely.
I appreciate that this break was free for my family and I but had we paid it would have cost us about £700 which when you consider all that is included in that price (house keeping, two meals a day each and all the entertainment and facilities) I think that is excellent value for money. We didn’t actually need to take much spending money – just enough for some lunch (which I often didn’t need maybe a light snack, as I had a cooked breakfast most mornings which filled me up), some rides, drinks and a couple of trips we made outside of the resort (more about that in another post).
Thank you Butlin’s Minehead for such an excellent stay!!
*Here is a sneak preview of what my next post will cover*
My family and I received a free holiday as part of my role as a Butlins Ambassador.
All comments made about my holiday are my own and honest.
Thank you xx
Le Baby Bakery
How strange, we were there at the same time as you & will be writing a blog post or 2 in the next couple of weeks.
Melksham Mum
Great review Jenny! We haven’t book any meal plans so will be interesting to see how we get on with food, although I can see us eating in the apartment as it’s there! My pre visit niggles are no bath option – my son hates showers! – and NO WI-FI????!!!!????? THAT will test me in the evenings!! Looking forward to your other reviews x
Katie @mummydaddyme
It looks like you had a great first family holiday. What a great thorough review.
OneDad3Girls
It’s lovely to read about a different Butlins resort and see how things compare.
The no wifi would have totally done me in.
Lucy
Sounds like you had a great time, and that Butlins was a perfect choice for your first family holiday. It’s so nice to go somewhere that has plenty of things for little ones to enjoy, as it means you can relax a bit rather than being in ‘entertainment mode’ the entire time. x
Notmyyearoff
It looks like a brilliant holiday and looks like you caught some good weather too! I definitely agree with the wifi in the room thing…free wifi in the bedroom and I’m anybodys! The photos are fantastic too! 🙂
Red Rose Mummy
It looks like a wonderful break Jenny. The more I see about Butlins the more I want to go!
Hayley
Looks like such a great little break Jenny! So much to keep you and children busy, I bet they are still sleeping it off now! x
would like to be ayummy mummy
Love all the photos, looks like you all enjoyed a lovely break. I agreed about free wifi…it’s essential in this day & age. The Annabel Karmel meals are usually at the kids station. My girls have tried a few but tend to go for the carvery as they love roasts! Fab review & can’t wait to see more of what you got up to xx
HELEN
haha code brown incident!
LOve the first pic of the boys..very cute!
x
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