Today is part one in my series reviewing Butlins resorts!
We arrived in Butlins on May 4th, after a very long day of traveling. We took the train from dad’s house in Birkenhead, and it was a journey fraught with delays, cancellations, and running from one end of the train station to another in a mad dash to catch the train we’d been re-assigned to without warning. (We were traveling on Southern Rail on a bank holiday – enough said) But despite the litany of mishaps, we somehow managed to arrive on schedule. We arrived at Butlins around 5 PM, and were eager to get settled. At the check-in desk, they gave us our key and directed us to our deluxe accommodations at “Yachtsman Drive”. There are multiple hotels situated at Butlins, and each section of apartments is nautically themed- the row we stayed on was named “Oyster Bay”.
This is the row where our apartment was. Each room had a nicely landscaped garden in the front, which was a really nice touch.
This was waiting for us when we opened the door!
View from the living room
The apartment was huge, inviting, and well kept. The living room had two leather couches and a big TV, with a little kitchenette containing a mini-fridge and kettle. Next to the living room was a bedroom containing two twin beds (which I forgot to get a picture of), and upstairs was the bathroom and a massive master bedroom:
First half of the room. They included a smaller second TV up here so that you could watch telly while relaxing in bed. And notice the nice little balcony outside?
The second half of the room. Told you it was big! This is the nicest English accommodation I’ve ever stayed in. The room also came with a safe, to lock up our valuables while we were out and about. The instructions on the safe were worn away, so we couldn’t figure out how to program it, but after some back-and-forth with the help desk, we got it sorted.
We were ready to eat after our long day of traveling, so we made our way down to The Yacht Club restaurant – Deluxe accommodation includes an all-you-can-eat buffet at breakfast and dinner. Now, anyone who knows me knows that one of the things I miss most about England is the food. English sausages, pasties, pies, baked beans (they sell something called baked beans in the US, but it’s not the same) – I miss all the yummy things I can’t get in the states. To my delight, the buffet included all of my favorite foods and more! The spread was absolutely huge – the buffet had a wide variety of main dishes, and there was a full salad bar, cold cuts, crackers, a whole table full of desserts, and every kind of beverage that you could want.
Our first meal at Butlins. I was so excited about all the food that I forgot the gravy, which I went back and got after I snapped the pic. After we ate this, we had seconds…and thirds….
Oh my gosh, the food was SO GOOD. Not only was it my favorite food, but it was so well cooked. Everything was fresh, hot, and absolutely delicious. And the variety was something else – you would go through the line once, and by the time you went back for seconds, they had added new dishes to the buffet! For my first course pictured above, I had a Yorkshire pudding, mushy peas, a cheese & onion pasty, chips, yummy garlic bread and a little stir-fry. I also loved the coffee machine, where you could choose from a latte, a caramel macchiato, a mocha, a cappuccino, and all sorts of other yummy drinks. All my favorite food, plus my favorite coffee? It was heaven. Just writing this is making me really hungry, and sad that I’m not at the all-you-can-eat Butlins buffet anymore. MMMM!!!
After dinner, we wandered around the resort a little bit. At the center of Butlins is the Skyline Pavilion, which is a gigantic, permanent circus tent with all sorts of entertainment inside. There are two stages, a funfair and multiple play areas for toddlers, a giant arcade, restaurants, and more. We paused to watch a puppet show at the Puppet Castle, then headed back to our room. We could have stuck around for more entertainment, but we were happy to relax back at the room after our long day and get some ZZZZs.
Wow, everything looks delish! I would have eaten those chocolates straight away, too!