Butlins Ambassadors a) the accomodation.

We were lucky enough in the Easter holidays to go to the Butlins resort of Bognor Regis for a family holiday. The children were so excited about it they talked of nothing else for a LONG time before. Even in one of my daughters parents evenings at school her teacher actually mentioned how many times she had mentioned it throughout the term. Suffice to say the excitement levels were HIGH!

Bognor Regis is on the south coast and we are not so we journeyed to my parents who live in the south and stopped there for a few nights before heading of for the holiday. It is easy to get to, mostly motorways until near the end but then quite straight forward and once we were getting nearer and the kids started seeing the signs, it was excitement overload.

Arriving was easy we were staying in the new WAVE hotel on the resort and that has its own entrance into the park. It was a little busy at the check in but there was a large foyer with funky chairs and shapes for the kids to roll around on after our drive. We were able to park close to the hotel after being politely shown where we could park. Check in was easy and straight forward and we were met with the smiling, polite service that we came to be used to throughout our stay with Butlins.

We were staying in the Wave hotels Dolphin rooms. We had interconnecting room which was fabulous as it meant we had lots of space, which is always good. The kids were so excited about their rooms. The layout as you can see below is a double bedroom with a lovely light seating area and balcony. Then bunk rooms with very special features, including built in TV and DVD players. Under the sea theme runs throughout the rooms and the lights can change into deep blues and purples. This is also a feature in the shower, which was a big hit with our little ones. The rooms are pleasantly decorated in yellows and blues and endless lights to switch on and off, a toddlers dream!

The rooms were a double in one room and twin singles in the other, giving us many options for cuddling up to watch TV, although the kids loved to do that in their own little personal space. The rooms had their own thermostatic control so we could keep the temperature nice for everyone. We didnt book a cot with Butlins although we could have done for an extra charge. We bought our own travel cot and it fit effortlessly into the space in the corridor that we didnt use to enter the rooms. It worked really well as she could be tucked up without being disturbed by anyone else.

The accomodation was clean and bright and well serviced. We had a problem with a drain and we had someone up to look at the problem within about 10 minutes. There was a small little area within a cupboard with the most welcome kettle and tea making facilities. We had the option of housekeeping every day, they came quite late in the day so we often co-incided with them at afternoon time when we were heading back for a quick cuppa and snack. If you didn’t have kids that needed sleeps in the day like us I can see that you would hardly go to your room there is so much on on the park.

Overall we were really impressed with the rooms and the hotel had a lovely ‘new’ and young feel to it. We got the impression that it was the hotel to stay in if you were slightly older and less interested in the characters and more interested in getting on with the games.

It was a thumbs up for accomodation from us!

The next thing on the agenda was to get out there and see what they had for us!! …….

 

 

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Half way through advent…

nearly..already..yes i know its scary…..

its that cheery reminder every morning with the excitement of a micro sized christmassy shaped chocolate from an advent calendar that starts off as something fun and then turns into a loud ticking clock and generally brings panic with the thought of ‘one less day..’

Our kids have always had one of those advent calendars that you have to put things in. Ours was a bus and we, every year, put chocolate coins in each little box and for a couple of years we also put little quiz questions or elements of the nativity story…just to add to the spirit of the year.

This year in a moment of tiredness and a quick trip to home and bargain..the kids convinced me that the chocolate calendar each thing was the way to go. So five were purchased and now i generally do my best to stop the dog or the toddler from getting hold of one of them and taking them apart. ah the joy of the season 😉

There are loads of online advent calendars you can have a go at, and guess what you might win something other than a small chocolate spade! Check out the Butlins one on their facebook page and you can win anything from a mp3 player to a weekend break! Thats go to be worth a go. Butlins advent 

But really there is no way of getting away from it now…its time to kick back, let Mr Buble take the reins and jump right on in.

 

 

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i have never been to Butlins…

never..my only frame of reference for Butlins up till now was a certain TV series in the 70’s which i believe was supposedly set at a Butlins holiday camp.  I have to confess i was not a massive fan of the show, that sort of slapstick benny hill type humour was always a bit lost on  me. Shame on me as a brit i know…

I have to say, as a kid, they did always look like fun places to go. My parents, though, were more into travelling across France and camping close to beaches and lots of “jollie chateaux” so the chances of my visiting one as a kid was very unlikely.

But recently we got the great news that our family and my blog have been chosen to represent Butlins as Butlins ambassadors this year. So we rather incredibly get to go and have a break and review one of their three sites. When i found out i ordered their brochure and once the children saw the pictures of the pool, the water slides, the games, the shows, cbeebies characters, the hotels, the food…….there were some VERY over-excited kids in our house.

To be honest it couldn’t have come at a better time for us. I blogged a couple of weeks ago about last years attempt at a camping holiday and just how hard that sort of holiday can be with young kids.  Because realistically you would look at the age gap i have from number 1 kid to number 5 and think its not that much. Just under 8 years. Which in the grand scheme of things isnt that much..it didnt ‘feel’ like much time between babies!

But actually having a nearly 10 year old all the way down to a toddler can make holidays at best a bit of a juggling act and at worst a week when you return home with relief and silently wonder to yourself why you bothered. Organising activities, days out, food, sleeps, down time to suit kids with such drastically different needs is a challenge when you are in the comfort and familiarity of your own home. Moving that all into a compact “on holiday” version can add a whole heap more stress on top.

Which is why when looking closer at what Butlins has to offer im starting to get a little inner squeal of excitement going….because it looks like it will be a break that I will get to enjoy as well as the kids! Lets face it when the kids are happy, entertained (by someone else!) and (with my kids anyway), burning off a LOT of energy..it going to be a winner for all of us.

Just look at some of the images i found when i googled ‘activities at Butlins”

No wonder the kids are excited, there is a couple of them i’d like to have a go at!!

So im interested to hear about other people’s Butlins experiences. We are likely to be going next year, plenty of time to work up the excitement. We have yet to choose a location. My son is very keen on the Bognor Regis site, mainly i think due to its hotel that has its own ‘gaming room!” haha.

 

If you are interested in finding out what Butlins has to offer just click on the heart 🙂
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