We decided to take a cheeky Monday - Friday break to Butlins Bognor Regis for Halloween/my birthday this year. We have been to Butlins before but it was a good few years ago when we went for Tots week and that was so fab but I was sceptical about what Butlins would have to offer our 7 year old. After a few friends raved about it though with children of a similar age we thought we would go along and test the waters. We were so pleased we did! Best Butlins trip EVER! I remember when my Mum first suggested Butlins as a close holiday get away some years ago, shamefully I did turn my nose up, imagining 50's style leaky, damp and tired accomodation with some woefully adequate second rate entertainment, all totally totally wrong assumptions and I am a sing it from the rooftops Butlins convert! This was our recent experience.
Holiday Begins
We arrived at London Victoria train station with three backpacks and a suitcase at lunchtime with an hour to kill. As all of our travels, our train tickets were bought in advance from www.trainline.com and cost us around £30 return for 3 of us with a family and friends railcard. Jack instantly spotted the big friendly M and for ease we all trooped over to grab a bite to eat. McDonalds was situated next to the lower number platforms closest to platform 1, there was also a West Cornwall Pastie stand, a simply M and S shop, coffee shop and toilets. In this area you will also find a Burger King, Millies Cookies and other food eateries so lots to choose from.
As soon as we had our food we found a bright and airy place to sit and eat next to platform 7 and WH Smiths (there seem to be lots of WH Smiths in Victoria but the seating place is near platform 7). I have the bladder of a small toddler it would seem so I had to dash to the toilet after our food, back to platform 1 area armed with my 20p, 50p and a £1 coin expecting to pay to get in as is the case with a lot of London toilets. However it was free to get into these toilets and I gave a little squeal that was meant to be internalised but came out very squeaky and high pitched causing several passengers to look at me with confusion! I entered with trepidation as I do with all public toilets (never know what to expect) and was delighted to find that they were spotless and pleasant. Win. Our hour was nearly up now so we headed to platform 18 where the train to Bognor Regis was (this can change so please check the boards). We managed to get a seat as a group easily and settled down for the hour and a half journey. Within minutes of leaving however we realised that the front 4 coaches were fast to Bognor and the back 4 (guess where we were) would get to Bognor eventually. TIP: Its worth checking this then before you board! We were told though that the train would split at Horsham and we would have 5 minutes to get to the front coaches which we did without any issues or stress. We arrived at Bognor Regis earlier than expected to their cute and clean little station. As you are walking away from the train when you get through the barriers, turn left and there is a taxi rank there. No need to book just get into a taxi (there seems to always be a fleet waiting there) and there is a flat fee of £5 to drive you to your hotel/apartment. It is possible to walk to Butlins (about 20-30 mins from the station depending on your walking speed).
The Hotel
The taxi dropped us off right outside the back of the Ocean Hotel.
There are lots of accomodation choices on site, there is the Ocean, Wave and Shoreline hotels and lots of apartment choices. We have only stayed in the Ocean hotel as its a spa hotel and quite frankly I am a moth to a flame with a spa as parents need to holiday too! All the accomodation on site looks lovely and is near the main part of the complex so no one has to walk further than the other to get to things. We arrived at 1.45pm and check in wasn't until 3pm. We decided to risk it anyway and went upstairs (you enter on LG and need G for reception), the lifts are often busy so there is a staircase on the right hand side as you walk in if needed. It seems a good number of people had the same idea as us and so we waited in line for 30 minutes to get to the front desk. Jack was fine with the wait but it may be worth thinking about some sort of carry entertainment if you have very little ones as they may get bored while you are waiting. When we got to the desk we were told that our room wasn't ready and were given the option of waiting or taking another room. We were offered another sea view room so we took it as we wanted our holiday to officially start asap! We were given a room on the 2nd floor, we have never stayed so low down before but we could see the complex and the sea so that was lovely. It was also low enough to only take two flights of stairs if needed and we did that quite a bit so it worked out well. The room was clean, bright and airy. They are brilliantly designed with parents and children in mind, Jacks 'room' (an alcove near the hotel room door) had 2 decent sized beds with a wall mounted TV (his own so CBBC was kept in his room), glowing gentle blue lights under the bed and a glowing sun on his wall. There was also a handy slide tray under each bed for his clothes and toys. Our room area had a comfy double bed with colour changing lights (can be switched off if you don't like them) and the view of the sea. The bathroom was clean and modern with lots of white fluffy towels and shower products. There was also a colour changing shower which led to Jack wanting 2 showers a day!
The Butlins Resort
I loved the size of the resort as it was big enough to not feel cramped but small enough to walk easily from one side to the other. In the centre of the resort you have the pavillion which is a huge tented dome. In here you have access to the Centre Stage area, the shop (with a brilliant selection of good quality ornaments as well as lots of Butlins memorobilia), lots of amusements (2p machines are here but also lots of arcade machines that are £1 a go), face painting, temporary tatoos etc. All of these things come at an extra price but there are also lots of free amusements too, the skyline stage is here with many free shows to suit all ages, a massive soft play divided between older and younger children (please check heights before trying to send little ones into the bigger/older section as I saw lots of tears as they were turned away), there were also rides for younger children like teacups, mini rollercoasters etc - these areas were all free and unlimited! There are several places to eat here like the Pub and Kitchen, Rosso Bar, Burger King etc. You can also access the bowling alley and bar area. There are three entrances into the pavillion and immediately outside the entrances you can access more restaurants like Papa Johns, the Fish and Chip shop, the onsite shop, the Diner, there are also pottery worskhops, makeover areas, mini golf, climbing walls, playparks, bike hire etc.
Opposite our hotel was the outdoor fairground, the majority of the rides here were free and included swing seats, carousels, dodgems and helter skelter. You can ride go karts and do the large trampoline but that was an extra cost. We treated Jack to the trampoline which was £5 for 3 minutes but the lady helping him was amazing and it was all callobrated to his height for maximum fun and safety. Jack adored going on the helter skelter and as it was open until 6pm in the evening he delighted in whizzing down after the sun had gone down for the extra fun factor. At 6pm the rides all stop and shuts down to allow for very little ones to settle to sleep if needed.
Activities
We pre paid for Jack to do a couple of activities that we knew he would want to do, those being the Mitre football academy (£8) and the Skyline Gang dance session (£15). There are several free bookable sessions such as Halloween arts and crafts, mini fencing etc. I tried to book these several days in but the lady smiled at me politely but also looked at me like I had a screw loose, obviously free bookable events should be booked the moment you check in. Note to self!
The football academy was great fun, 45 minutes of learning football skills in a really positive environment. At the end he gained a bag with water bottle, football cards and a certificate, he was made up!
The dance academy with the skyline gang was very slick, welcoming and choreographed, Jack immediately aligned himself with one of the skyline members which children seem to do and afterwards there is a photo opportunity with your child and the gang. Even though the post workshop photo opportunity was only for a few minutes the cast went out of their way to make sure each child felt special. Standing next to 'Misty' and 'Bud' they made a real fuss of Jack and he left practically walking on air as Bud had said that Jack did great dancing. Money well spent. You can buy the offical photo afterwards, many parents took a photo at the time which is absolutely fine. We decided to buy the photo as he was so happy with it and the cost was £10.
There are too many activities to list here but when you arrive you are given a timetable to whats on, we were given tickets to see Sleeping Beauty and Paddington but didn't have time to fit them in! You can literally fill up your day with fun activities tailor made to you and your family.
One evening we did head to the NGW wrestling tournament, Jack loves the WWE style wrestling and even though I am neutral to it all I wasn't averse to watching the hunky men in their little shorts for a few hours! This tournaments producer is 'The Beast' from 'The Chase' and the show was well put together and action packed. This again was included in our holiday package and we left with hoarse voices from all the panto style shouting and a happy little boy. Great fun! The doors open at 7pm but we were there at 6.40pm and were way back in the line. I would suggest getting there more like 6pm if you want to be ringside. We still managed to get seats and a table but were further back. Those who came just before 7pm were standing room only.
Halloween Specials
In our welcome pack we received a Halloween trail card. This was a lovely idea and kept Jack and I occupied for a good hour and a half while hubby popped into town to get some drinks and snacks for the room (more on that later). We had to find 4 clues around the resort having to count the number of bats etc to give us a number. We then had to use the card to work out the secret code which gave us the secret word. Once you have the secret word you can go to the spooky graveyard in the evening and collect your prize.
We went to the spooky graveyard 2 days before Halloween and met the most amazing host who gave us entrance, he was fantastic and again made Jack feel very special. It only took a few minutes to walk around but Jack was given a Halloween Butlins tin bucket full of sweets at the end! Brilliant! On Halloween night the line to get into the graveyard was very very long. It moved quickly but as its so small children may have been a little disappointed with the wait wheras by doing it a couple of days before we got the full effect with no waiting around.
On Halloween evening there were lots of events going on around the resort, lots of children and adults were dressed up so remember to pack your costumes! If you forget makeup there is the makeup stall in the pavillion but this was quite busy on Halloween itself however they did some amazing painting! Jack went to the Frightful Game Show which was lots of fun and parents and children were picked out of the audience (luckily some Mums were practically knocking kids out the way to get on stage so I was safe from having to get up there!), then came the Halloween Disco, I was a little bit disappointed with that as half the dance area had been cornered off so the kids were crammed into a very small space and couldn't really dance more than a shuffle. After the disco (30 mins) there was a Skyline Gang Halloween show and Jack loved this having danced with them in the morning. The show was high energy and loud which ended with halloween confetti being shot out onto the audience, it was all done by 8.45pm and we all left feeling buzzy and satisfied that we had had a wonderful Halloween experience. Best Halloween ever we all agreed.
Swimming
There is a hotel exclusive swim on day 2 from 9am - 10am but no matter what time you go the lines to get in are always LONG! So its a really good idea to get there early (we were there at 8.40am and were 30 people back). They suggest 3.30pm onwards is a good time to go but be prepared. The changing rooms are very clean and we were able to change quickly in a large family changing room. TIP: Remember your £1 for the locker! As we only had one child who was wearing his swimming trunks already we were first in the pool despite being 30 people back. At really busy times there is a queue after the changing rooms saying 'only 30 minutes from here' so really really worth watching your timings. The swimming pool is well worth a visit though, all themed, even the ceiling is styled. Jack was able to go on the rides being over 1m (this varies depending on the slide) but he enjoyed the swimming helter skelter, the stick of rock slide and the rapids where he ended up outside the buidling before coming back in!
Food and Drink
As listed above there are lots of choices as to where to eat on the resort. We chose to add a dining plan to our holiday before we arrived which meant we ate in the hotel for breakfast and dinner. Both meals are buffet style and in our opinion offer a lot of choice that really suit everyone. Breakfast options were a traditional cooked breakfast, bacon, eggs, fried bread, tomatoes, beans, black pudding, pancakes etc. You could also have a chef make you up your omlettes to your specifications. Cold options were cheeses, meats, cereal and fruits. Drinks were self service and offered hot drinks and a selection of juices, water and milk. Dinners varied each evening but generally mains a roast dinner of some kind and something more 'exotic' like curries, Asian inspired food, Tex Mex etc. For children Jack was in heaven being offered a selection of pizza, chips, meatballs, macaroni cheese, pasta, fish goujons etc. You could also help yourself to a starter, salads, pate etc and puddings like ice cream factory, cheesecake, trifle, cheese and biscuits etc. Generally we were very happy with the food but our top tip is to arrive early when food has just been put out fresh. 5.30pm - 6.30pm were the busiest times but we found we never had to wait for a seat no matter what time we went.
The waiting staff work tirelessly in the hotel, are really friendly and members like Rachel remembered little facts about Jack which made our stay personal.
As we had the dining plan we didn't try most of the other establishments but we did treat ourselves to a fish and chip lunch which was about £14 for a large and regular chips, 2 savaloy sausages, onion rings and a curry sauce. There were only 2 members of staff in there and they were busy but the food was really tasy and we were very happy.
We also had an ice cream each at the ice cream shop Scoop and it was delicious! It cost £7 for three one scoopers but was the best ice cream I had ever had!
Out and About
Bognor Regis town is only about a 10 minute walk away along a beautiful stretch of coast, It isn't a big town but has a great selection of shops. When you come out of the resort (we went out the day visitors entrance) take a right and walk along the coast until you see the Brewers Fayre, cross over the road here and walk through the arcade of little shops to the town centre. There is a large Morrisons in the town and we were able to pick up some bread, cheese, crisps etc to keep in the fridge in our room for lunctimes. You can get deals on the onsite shop, fruit shoots for example were 4 for £1 so you have to do a bit of research.
If you don't want to go into town don't cross over the road at Brewers Fayre and keep walking to the charming pier
Alternatively come out of the Butlins resort and turn right for a lovely walk.
If you don't want to walk to town grab the little blue 'train' that costs £1.50 return at time of writing.
Our holiday cost £900 by booking direct and included train travel, all breakfasts, all dinners, our hotel, most of our entertainment (and the extra football and dance academy). The timetable of things to do was staggering and we managed to get the perfect balance of relaxing and having plenty for our active 7 year old to do. Best Butlins holiday ever! Best Halloween ever! Thanks Butlins! We will be back!
*Travelling November 2019
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