It isn't going well!

[KAF2]

We still have the much-hated app booking system for shows. Venues are cleared between acts, so you can't settle for the evening. More and more 'extras' and the prices are up.

You can't just walk into restaurants and pay as you go on-site anymore. Dine Around has nixed that. Some holiday.

Off season entertainment is particularly weak. On-season shows are oversubscribed.

Large areas of the pools are shut, even during the school summer holidays.

Many funfair rides closed due to maintenance or short staffing (although the carnival games stalls are always staffed just fine). At all three camps.

Food quality has gone right down. Lots of penny-pinching going on.

The Sky Park at Skegness. Sure, it is popular (right by the accommodation too - and very noisy). But should this really be considered such a big attraction for a place like Butlins? It is only slides and climbing frames after all. They used to have the witches hat, astro-glide slide (over in Red Camp) and all the best council park equipment. And that got zero mention. Plus you know it is going to be run-down and wrecked in a year's time.

The new funfair rides at Skegness are about as small, low capacity and low budget as you can buy. A electric powered 8 man swing?!? Wow! Any smaller and you'd be shoving in quid coins yoursefl. Compared with The Tempest, Acrobat, Wild Mouse, Pirate Ship, Prokon Super X, Dragon Coaster, Quazar, Crazy Daisy, Looping Star, Cyclone etc. of old?

The cinemas have gone. All new developments involve facilities where you pay out yet more cash on top of the cost of your holiday or day visit.

For want of anything else to do, other than paying 5 quid for a small round of crazy golf or even more for an archery session, the swimming pools and funfairs are heaving.

The camp is dirty and maintenance poor. Going the way of Pontins. No physical customer service desk. Norovirus rampant at Skegness again.

In a recent Tripadvisor review, somebody posted that it was a pretty good caravan park holiday. Sadly, that is fairly accurate. That is the level we are (predictably) down to.

I get very suspicious with the many glowing reviews on Tripadvisor, keeping the ratings high. The less commercial Trustpilot seems more reflective.

Still. It seems popular. I keep waiting for it to tail off, like back in the 70s. I wondered whether it would pick up again back under the original ownership. I should have known. They slowly screwed up Butlins since, what, 2005, in the first place.

Does anybody else have any thoughts? That is, if anybody else is even out there!! The attention that the Butlins Memories Forum receives isn't going to warrant many cease and desist notices these days!

[Throttle]

I visited Minehead with family at the end of July and we’ve not been for years yet we’ve been going every few years to various camps well before the pavilion appeared…and after

We was really disappointed with how it was on our return the entertainment app you found it mostly booked up unless you’d booked months in advance and what few shows we had managed to get a place in we found you had to show up like 45mins in advance to get anywhere midway seating wise, once we was in the entertainment was fine yet it was only on for the length of time we’d been queuing and unlike in the past you’d stay in and they’d have a bit of a disco going or something until another act would be on that’s no longer the case, it was watch the act you watched first and then you’d be evicted so they could clean up to do it all again

so we thought we would go reds yet that was rammed with no chance of a seat, so we went to the sun and moon yet that shit at 9pm so onto the inn on the green my mrs got a bottle of Prosecco as better value that way yet that closed at 10pm so we was out of there.

it’s like there’s nothing to do at night time now… in past there would be cinema or jumping jacks, tbh we’d been happy with just a 11pm place for few drinks.

the fair seemed tired with the likes of the waltzer carriages barely doing a spin whilst going around.

the outside pool could do with a update rather than just a toddler one as the indoor pool was queuing alround it.

If it stays as it is without anyone saying anything has improved i doubt we would go back to any of the camps.

[Auckland22]

Interesting comments.

When I was back in the UK in January, I went to Butlins Minehead for the 60s break and paid for premium dining. Problem is Butlins decided to upgrade all standard diners to premium too at no extra cost, sod those who paid for it! Lets just say it was bedlam with queuing right back to the Green.

The camp didn’t look in bad condition chalets pretty good. I stayed in standard which I like due to the baths and radiators in the room, perfect for drying clothes and towels! Skyline pavilion looks in great shape, looks like some work has been done to the base material which attaches to the various roofs. The sunsplash is no more with the activity centre taking shape. Really like the Reds extended bar makes a big difference. Long queues for drinks but they did bring on extra staff which helped at times. Entertainment very good with no pre-booking required with it being a Big Weekender Break. Splash pool and funfair is poor shape and need more investment.
I feel the camp is the best of the 3 and offers so much potential.
Shame the recent floods has damaged a few of the chalets including the new comfort apartments which looked great.

Let’s remember that the plans for the revamped Skegness funfair were very toned down under the BL plan with fewer rides. At least there has been some investment. The plans look great for the new lodge park which opens next May at a cost of £12m and using land which isn’t being currently utilised. We need to give the new owners time to get things moving along. Don’t forget that we’ve had Covid so very little was done to the sites whilst in lockdown and when a new owner was being sought.

Living in New Zealand makes me realise that whilst Butlins isn’t perfect it is far better than anything we have here and for such a small cost. There is no way you could get 3 nights accommodation and food and entertainment for what you pay say on the 80s break taking place at Skegness camp next January in New Zealand, you would be lucky to get a night room only in a apartment here.

I firmly believe we will be looking at the next generation Butlins in 5 years time.