Generation game
Apartments are spread out to either side so no-one has to venture too far from their holiday home to find all the fun stuff – and there is a LOT of fun stuff, most of it included in the price of your holiday.
You’ll need to make use of the ‘what’s on’ leaflet in your welcome pack to navigate your way through the 14 hours of activities and entertainment every day.
The Skyline Pavilion is host to shows throughout the day – a great opportunity for parents to grab a coffee while you watch the kids as they watch the characters on stage.
There are also some guest appearances – Paddington was the main attraction at the Centre Stage venue when we were there – and Titan the robot enjoyed hero status with little ones.
Our daughter loved stroking a snake in the Discover Animals session, had a fencing lesson one day and tennis coaching the next.
Her favourite place (and mine) was Splash Waterworld – the huge indoor water park with slides, flumes and different pools to suit every age.
We couldn’t tempt her into the cinema (she knew it would have given us a rest) and she wasn’t adventurous enough for the climbing wall, but we did make full use of the fairground where all the rides were free.
The one thing us adults wished we had time to use was the spa. Take grandparents who can help with childcare.
We stayed in a Gold standard three-bedroom apartment which had plenty of room for our three generations. It was smart, modern and impeccably clean.
You could tell the carpet was quite new and decorators were busy, giving the outside of a neighbouring block a fresh coat of paint when we were there.
We didn’t spend that much time in the apartment because we were too busy out having fun and we ate all our meals out as we had the Premium Dining package, but there was a fully-equipped kitchen for families who want the option of cooking.
We booked a ground floor apartment (there is a small extra charge) as my dad is too old to cope with stairs.
He can’t walk very far so we hired a wheelchair to get him about, easily sorted with the helpful staff at the hire shop on site.
We chose Skegness from all the Butlin’s resorts because Lincolnshire is so flat.
The food, like everything else, exceeded our expectations. We had the choice of two self-service restaurants which had slightly differing menus.
The Yacht Club was smaller, with more subdued lighting and comfy seats, while The Deck was bigger, with a bright and airy feel and more choice.
Either way, we couldn’t go wrong. For me, breakfast was generally a perfect blend of tea, a lovely pear juice I haven’t found anywhere else and a full English, followed by a couple of pancakes just because they were too tempting.
There was also a wide choice of cereals, fruit, yoghurt, pastries, bacon butties and, obviously, toast.
After a packed day of fun and sea air, we always worked up an appetite in time for dinner and a return trip to one of the restaurants where the choice was as wide as your average pub, without the waiting times.
Again, the staff were excellent, swooping in to clean up as families waddled off with full bellies.
All the choice meant two things – I put on weight and our daughter never once fussed or whined about eating a meal, always a potential source of stress for parents.
There are other packages available to suit your budget and there are a number of other really good places to eat on site.
In fact, the toughest task on your Butlin’s break will be choosing what to do, where to dine and how to have the most fun.