Over a month ago I was asked whether my daughter and I would be interested in road testing a new 'Teeny Tots' break at Butlin's in Skegness and of course I had to say yes. The new 'Teeny Tots' breaks are for families with children aged two and under, a new programme added to the already popular 'Just For Tots' which gives little ones an opportunity to experience new adventures alongside their families. Butlin's have partnered with a number of industry-leaders to include sessions from baby swimming specialists Puddleducks, music and movement classes from Little Magic Train, post-natal fitness groups BuggyFit™ and baby yoga with To Baby and Beyond.
Along with my mum and my two year old daughter we set off on our girls trip to Butlin's. We don't live too far away so it wouldn't take us long to get to Butlin's with a stop off for the little one for some lunch. I will warn you this is a quite a long review but it's only because I have so many great things to tell you about our adventure so go grab yourself a cup of tea and stay a while.
We had an amazing adventure in Butlin's, so much so we are already making plans to come back with the entire family next year. There is so much to get involved with during these breaks and the introduction of the 'Teeny Tots' activities is a big bonus for younger families. There wasn't one day where we weren't running around like headless chickens trying to fit everything in - I will probably need another holiday to get over this one.
What the toddler thought?
Well as you can imagine she absolutely loved Butlin's and even though we've been back a while she still talks about her 'horse'. My daughter has never really been keen on motion rides and even when we went to the Tots Town Fairground she pestered me to go on most of the rides but cried almost immediately before the attendants kindly stopped the ride so she could get off. A big thumbs up from us Butlin's. This particular horse ride has seen lots of £1s from us during in our stay. Apart from that blooming horse she really enjoyed the live shows, Mister Maker, Aladdin Rocks and Angelina Ballerina. I still can't get over how many shows that are available at Butlin's and from what I have been told they can differ each year, which is fantastic. My daughter also enjoyed a few other activities during the day - the Play-Doh sessions, messy time, Tikes Town and even enjoyed our ride in the hired Butlin's golf buggy where we had a good look around the complex.
Accommodation
What the toddler thought?
Well as you can imagine she absolutely loved Butlin's and even though we've been back a while she still talks about her 'horse'. My daughter has never really been keen on motion rides and even when we went to the Tots Town Fairground she pestered me to go on most of the rides but cried almost immediately before the attendants kindly stopped the ride so she could get off. A big thumbs up from us Butlin's. This particular horse ride has seen lots of £1s from us during in our stay. Apart from that blooming horse she really enjoyed the live shows, Mister Maker, Aladdin Rocks and Angelina Ballerina. I still can't get over how many shows that are available at Butlin's and from what I have been told they can differ each year, which is fantastic. My daughter also enjoyed a few other activities during the day - the Play-Doh sessions, messy time, Tikes Town and even enjoyed our ride in the hired Butlin's golf buggy where we had a good look around the complex.
Accommodation
The lovely Charlotte over at the Butlin's PR office booked us into their beautiful Seaside Apartment which are perfectly designed for families to get the best out of a break by the seaside. These recently refurbished apartments take their place in the Lagoon Bay, a short stroll away from the Skyline Pavilion, Splash Waterworld and the sandy beaches of Skegness. It was perfect! The light and bright apartment offered an open plan lounge with an L-Shaped colourful settee with some adorable ice cream cushions, which I wanted to take with me. Complete with large patio door overlooking a patio set and being on the ground floor we would get regular visits from lots of ducks.
The kitchen had a blue teal and striped splash back colour scheme with a cooker, hob, fridge and microwave alongside all the crockery cutlery and even oven dishes. What I loved most about the kitchen was that there was a magnetic pin the tail on the donkey game which my daughter thoroughly enjoyed. In the kitchen there was an adorable teal table and chairs for mealtimes which were surprisingly comfortable and would be perfect for a family of four who have decided to go self-catering. We had a two bedroom seaside apartment and the larger bedroom of the two was a double which had an oh so comfortable bed, flat-screen TV loads of storage and a safe. My daughter had the twin bedroom all to herself, which had a contrasting deep cerise wall with a beautiful cloud mirror/light which has inspired me for my daughters room at home. My daughter was just too small for the beds themselves so we just put a mattress on the floor for her.
To be honest it was all the smaller touches that made our stay even better. My favourite had to be the poems on all the blinds throughout the bedrooms, it's such a unique touch. Housekeeping would spend time in making sure that all our clothes were folded neatly into piles and placing my daughter's Bing Bunny toy nicely on her bed - I think I need to mention that they even washed and dried up crockery we used in the morning. And the towel animal creations would always keep us guessing as to what we would go back to in the evening and no matter how hard we tried we just couldn't pull off these animal creations.
Food
As a part of the package we were offered a premium dining experience which gave us the choice to eat at the Yacht Club or The Deck. They both were lovely restaurants but we preferred the Yacht Club because it was the smaller restaurant of the two, quieter and the atmosphere seemed so much better. Throughout our stay I couldn't fault the front of house or the dining staff because they were always happy to help, whether it was to make small chit chat, cleaning a table for you or collecting a highchair. The only negative experience that I encountered was on the last evening. Staff were handing out balloons and unfortunately my daughter let go of hers when we left so I went back to ask for another and I was greeted by a very rude chap who rolled his eyes at me. It wasn't as if I was asking him to go out of his way to get me one I was more than happy to grab one myself but the eye roll was unnecessary.
For the breakfast dining menu there was just so much to choose from including cereals, porridge, pancakes, omelettes, a full English, fruits, yoghurts, warm pastries plus fruit juices, squashes, tea and coffee. You could help yourself to as much as you wanted as often as you wanted. Amelia tried watermelon for the first time on this break and couldn't get enough. Some weeks we can get through a whole 'water-lemon' as she calls it, in a week! The evening menus were just as varied as the breakfast menu and we would normally choose a roast dinner but the night gammon was served I decided to try the spinach and ricotta cannelloni, it was blooming delicious. For children there was a number of choices they could make for their evening meal to suit their liking, which is great news if you have a picky eater. There was an endless options for your dessert and as you can imagine we made sure we tried something different each night.
Entertainment
First off I wanted to talk about the main headliners for Butlin's Teeny Tots break. My daughter really enjoyed Mister Maker and went absolutely bonkers when the shapes came onto the stage, I was so pleased that Mister Maker managed to keep her attention throughout the whole show. Before the show you could buy some of Mister Maker's merchandise and unsure what she wanted we opted for a signed magazine that was £8 and came with a free bag. The next night was Aladdin Rocks and again my daughter watched the entire show without a fuss. I was so pleased with her because it seemed as if she understood what was happening too, to a point where she was telling the baddie to stop being naughty and go through the door to cry. The last evening was Dave Benson-Phillips and if I am honest I didn't have a clue who he was at but we all thoroughly enjoyed singing along with him.
There was some fantastic shows on at the Skyline Pavilion. Angelina Ballerina, Mike The Knight, Thomas The Tank Engine, Fireman Sam, Billy & Bonnie Bear and of course the Skyline Gang, my daughter was a big Mimi fan - must be the name. We also saw the puppet shows and the emergency entertainment which literally popped up anytime and anywhere. The Red Coats were always amazing, they would always sit with the children during the shows and encourage them to dance and join in but being friendly and professional at all times.
In addition to the entertainment there was always something to do during the day and most the time we were running around like headless chickens trying to squeeze in as much as we could. The Play-Doh Activity session was a very big hit with my daughter as there was so much involved with the session - the tables were set up with lots of Play-Doh, moulds and cutters so we were occupied for a while. We also attended the Messy Play session and it really didn't take my daughter long before she got stuck in, we did have to make a hasty exit after she decided to pour sand on another mum, I was mortified. But we found that there was a play room just on the other side of the building and we stayed there for a couple of hours and my daughter seemed to make friends very quickly, I must say even I enjoyed the play room as there was a big castle you could get lost in.
One of the Teeny Tots activities that my daughter thoroughly enjoyed was the Little Magic Train which was great for all the children to get involved with by using their imagination. Even some of us adults had fun joining in with the Little Magic Train and I would have to say that this was by far the best activity for the my Teeny Tot. With all the teeny tots activities you had to book them in advance which would mean that the sessions would fill up very quickly, but other than that they really are worth all the smiles you receive.
All three of us had an amazing adventure at Butlin's Skegness. It was excellent value for money and perfect for all families, we were never short of activities to do during this Teeny Tots Break and there seemed to be something for everyone, no matter how old you are. I don't think that I could recommend this break anymore, all the smiles on my daughter's face showed what a fantastic place Butlin's is for children. So if you have an opportunity to go to Butlin's...go! You won't regret it!
*DISCLAIMER* MIMI ROSE & ME IS A PERSONAL BLOG WRITTEN AND EDITED BY MYSELF ONLY, UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. MY REVIEWS ARE COMPLETELY BASED ON MY OWN OPINION OF THE PRODUCT REVIEWED. THESE PRODUCTS WERE SUPPLIED TO ME AS GIFT TO TEST AND REVIEW. THE FACT THAT I DO RECEIVE A PRODUCT AS A GIFT TO TEST AND REVIEW, WILL NEVER POSITIVELY INFLUENCE THE CONTENT MADE IN THIS POST.
Wow - looks like you had such fun and did so much! I love the idea of the poems on the blinds! It's little things like that that you remember isn't it? The live shows sound amazing too. x
ReplyDeleteAw so glad you had fun, we love Butlins, so much to do. I'd love to take the little one on a break just for tots. I was interested to hear what you thought of the Little Magic Train as I work a little with them for work :)
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