Opened in 1962 with stay-at-home holidays the norm for the majority, Butlins Minehead is the largest of three Butlins sites; Minehead, Bognor Regis and Skegness. Situated on the edge of Exmoor and overlooking the sandy beach, the iconic pointed marquee stands proud amid the seaside backdrop.
Here's how dad-of-two Joe Cook got on when he visited with his family.
Where is Butlins Minehead?
A short walk into Minehead will see you immersed into a quaint seaside resort. The promenade is lined with interesting noticeboards and nautical-themed playparks for children. A little further and across the road and you’re at Minehead Station - England’s longest heritage railway. When running, this offers the chance to take a train ride using a full-size steam locomotive. But it’s here - away from the centre of town, towards the golf club at the other end of the promenade that you can find red flags on poles aloft waving above the tops of pine trees - where thousands of families and couples come every year to holiday at Butlins.
The road through to the check-in booth is well-maintained, late summer geraniums in flower beds and of course, the iconic statue of Billy Bear welcoming you. Once we were through the gates and parked up we set off to explore as we were unable to access the room at that time.
Butlins offer Monday-Friday and Friday-Monday holidays, so Mondays and Fridays are change-over days. We were staying in Holnicote Village which was set out in rows of apartments, each with its own external fenced patio.
We could tell that we were close to some of the activities so we had a look online and used the map to guide ourselves around. Next to us, we found AstroTurf football pitches with a basketball court, all available to use at your leisure. Our children are too young but very much enjoyed getting sandy in the giant sand pit next door.
We ventured into the main building to get a hot drink. The children were certainly drawn to the noises and lights of the amusement area which takes up a fair amount of floor space on the left-hand side of the foyer. To the right was the Skyline Stage with little amusements and eateries dotted around the perimeter. Our main priority initially was to familiarise ourselves with each Stage or theatre area. Throughout Tots Week (which was when we visited) lots of stars and shows could be seen on different days, times and on different stages. As all parents of young children will know, you don’t want to be lost with a crying child and late to a show.
Where will I sleep?
Noticing more people were arriving now, we went back to the car to unload. Butlins provide luggage trollies in the car park to assist with this.
Our Comfort Plus apartmenthad everything you would need for a large family. We had three bedrooms in total: one double, one twin and one with a single and a bunk bed. All rooms came with ample storage, soft beds and clean, bright décor and furnishings. We were a little concerned that having a neighbour attached on either side would mean noise but we heard nothing from either during our whole trip.
What is there to do at Butlins Minehead?
On arrival, we were given the full itinerary of what shows and activities were on offer for Tots Week. Some that clashed with one another were available on multiple days or times so it was possible to fit a lot in. With young neurodiverse children, punctuality and organisation don’t go hand-in-hand so we were sensible and booked what we thought we could attend comfortably, leaving time in between for other activities like the many playparks, iconic 4-seater bike-cart hire, water park and pool, bowling and meet and greets.
The quantity of activities was vast and not all of them were of interest to our young children. For us, Peppa Pig, Thomas’ Race Day and Justin Fletcher were the favourites.
We had an excellent time being crafty at Pottery Painting and Playdough Kitchen. For young children, there is an indoor fun fair open from 10am until 4pm and for older (taller) children there is an external fairground at the front of the resort. My oldest was 97cm at the time of our holiday and for most of the more exhilarating rides you must be 100cm, including the indoor trampolines.
There are daily shows with the Skyline Gang, the resident ‘gang’ which sing and dance on the Skyline stage in the main building. Here they host a variety of shows throughout the afternoon and evening with a meet-and-greet should you desire. We found this a great place to sit and watch in between main shows, especially as you have a handy Burger King to your left and a Costa Coffee to your right.
The highlight of the holiday for us was meeting Justin Fletcher. My son knows him as Justin and Mr Tumble and adores all his shows, especially Something Special. As a three-year-old gazing up at his hero, he was in disbelief. We watched him perform with lots of confetti cannons and music for the children to jump around and dance to and then were lucky enough to meet him after the show to get some pictures and autographs.
Along with the many different activities and performances that you can book on to, you can also head to the indoor water park for a few hours. The large slides have a height restriction so may not be suitable for young children. The pools consisted of a shallow splash pool with a small themed water slide and a rectangular ‘swimming’ pool which was directly linked to a lazy river-style pool which had a current that you could float around in a large circle on. Every few minutes the wave machine could start and everyone would jump over the waves. There were lots of parts to the pools which interested young children and I’m certain the slides would be a lot of fun for older children but cannot comment due to baby duties. I myself had a great time clinging onto my youngest’s baby boat and cruising around in the current while my son preferred the shallows for splashing purposes.
What is there to eat?
Depending on what package you book on to, there are a variety of restaurants to pick from when deciding where to eat. If you opt for the premium dining package, this gives you the choice of ‘The Deck’ or ‘The Yacht Club’. Both of these are next to each other and serve the same choice of foods, these felt very similar to the all-inclusive style restaurants you find abroad. We couldn’t fault the food, we would, however, recommend getting there early as it gets very busy at peak times.
On any given day there were four or five different options within hot food, a pizza and chips counter and pasta. You could help yourself to the salad bar and drinks. At breakfast times your traditional English breakfast was served with vegetarian and vegan options available. The only real issue we had was the small selection of cold drinks available at each meal. The choices were orange juice, apple juice, pear juice or water. This is fine for the majority but with fussy children present, only orange squash would do.
Without a food plan in place, there are many other restaurants around the resort which catered to different preferences. Food styles included grill-house, fish & chips, pizza, sandwiches, seafood and more. There was also Burger King and Costa for light bites, sweet shops and an ice-cream parlour for a treat.
How much does it cost to visit?
A quick look on their website reveals you can book a 4-night trip on 13-17th March 2023 on the new-for-2023 Showtime Tots Break featuring Mister Maker and friends with prices starting from £118.00 based on 2 adults and 2 children. Other prices for different styles and sizes of rooms are available should you wish.
The Showtime Tots holidays are newly reformed for 2023 which will combine two of the popular breaks: Showtime and Tots week. These will still feature the much-loved activities such as Messy play and Play-doh Kitchen but with added entertainment normally found on the Showtime breaks like Night at Reds, Butlins Productions and much more.
Final thoughts
We loved our stay at Butlins. Our children were the right age to truly appreciate meeting their TV heroes and be fully immersed in the childish atmosphere that came with the on-stage entertainment and shows.
All the on-site staff were very friendly and helpful, assisting us with our son who often becomes overwhelmed, especially when waiting in long queues. The Butlins staff were kind enough to allow us early entry into all the pre-booked shows and pantomime meaning we never had to worry about that.
We used the accommodation as a pit stop as we were always out exploring or seeking out a new playpark so we never spent too long inside but found the apartment comfortable with everything we needed for an enjoyable stay.
Our highlight was obviously meeting Mr Tumble himself after watching his energetic performance which had our children dancing around next to the stage, along with many other children.
The food was great too with plenty of variety and some easy food like pasta and chips for our fussy eaters. We did not eat in other pay-as-you-go restaurants so cannot comment but they always smelled amazing when we walked past!
We are already in the planning stages for returning next year. With young children and the added stress of packing and travelling with them, this style of break is really attractive to us. It’s highly affordable and the activities are an excellent opportunity to share the fun with our children. We made some lovely memories here and had some really proud moments as we see our children growing up in front of our eyes.