Sunday, 6 November 2016

Butlins for a Bigger Family

We spent the Halloween weekend down at Butlins Bognor Regis and I was really impressed at how well they catered for bigger than average families like mine.  Having four children means we are often too big for one room and many holiday companies seem to be geared up to two child families.  We stayed in the Wave Hotel as they have interconnecting rooms and it meant we had a brilliant space to sleep and relax.  Each room has two bedrooms, a master bedroom with a living area and balcony and then a kids room with bunk beds.  We therefore had four bedrooms between us which was perfect and would accomodate families much bigger than ours.


I loved the size of the room - the kids room is compact but with plenty of storage and bunk beds.  The boys loved that they had a light each and a TV each at the foot of their beds.  The wall was full of shelves for storage and the underwater theme was really fun.


The master bedroom was light and spacious and easily fit a travel cot in for Finn.  There was lots of floor space and we brought toys with us like Cora's playmat to keep her occupied.  Each room has a balcony too which had a table and a couple of chairs on.  It wasn't quite the weather for sitting outside but we did use the balcony for drying swimwear and people watching.  


Each room can sleep up to 5 (with one in a cot) so families of six or more need to book adjoining rooms.


We had the hotel dining package which meant we ate our breakfast and dinner at the Deck restaraunt each day.  It was absolutely brilliant and there was never trouble seating us.  Many tables were designed for bigger families and there were always plenty of high chairs as well as space for the buggy when we needed it.  The buffet style was ideal as we could all eat whatever we fancied and there was no keeping toddlers entertained whilst we waited for food.  There was plenty to suit little ones with a low down serving area full of kids favourites like fish fingers and peas as well as Ella's Kitchen pouches.   Dylan preferred the adult food though and that was no problem at all.


The indoor kids rides were suitable for children under 1.5 metres and adults are not allowed to accompany the children.  Finn on his own would never have ridden on one, but with his brothers he loved it and there is no minimum age.  Lots of them were set up in fours which was great for families like mine.  


Although my children are all still young, they already have different needs and there was so much for each of them to do.  The soft play area had one side for more independent children and then another side for younger ones.  There was also a playtime area with one half specifically set up for the youngest guests with soft shapes, walkers and toys and then the other half had arts and crafts, animals and other toys for older toddlers and young children.  Everything seemed so well thought out and there was nothing there that seemed harder for a larger family.


I am not sure what the official ratios are for Splash Waterworld, but we were able to take all four children in together quite happily and the design of the pool with so much shallow water made it safe and easy to watch all four.

I would really recommend Butlins for a break with a larger family.  There is so much for everyone and it is all so well designed that there is never an issue.  Everywhere is pushchair friendly and despite it being busy there always seems to be enough space.  We definitely intend to take our four little ones back. 


If they could make the giant deckchairs just a little bit bigger though, that would be great!


We are working with Butlins and our visit this weekend was in exchange for a review.  
All thoughts and opinions are completely my own. 




2 comments:

  1. we love Butlins, I did wonder what we would do when Piglet outgrows a cot, I never realised that they offered interconnecting rooms

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