It was our first trip to Butlins and having read the other reviews, we did go with low expectations, so on the whole we were pleasantly surprised.

Accommodation
We stayed in the new Seaside Village. This is nearest the exit to the seaside, not actually at the seaside, much to the disappointment of the large and vocal family in the flat opposite who had somehow expected a ground floor flat and a sea view. It looks pretty much like social housing with wood cladding on the outside.

We were very glad we’d paid for ground floor accommodation as there were families really struggling to carry pushchairs and luggage up the slippery external ‘fire escape’ type stairs in the pouring rain. The flip side of this was that the anti-social people above were letting their kids jump on the ceiling at 6am.

Inside wasn’t too bad, modern and fun, not as cramped as some of the other accommodation. There was no oven tray or oven gloves, but reception sorted this and the missing towels very quickly and pleasantly.
Beds were comfy enough, shower worked, oven worked. There wasn’t much noise from outside, it was easy to get to the Skyline. The wooden floors meant no stained carpets. The hairdryer was powerful. It was cold when we visited and the heaters worked fine, but note there is no air con for the summer.

Cleanliness
Our apartment did need a proper clean to be honest. The plug in the shower was blocked with hair and there were sweets and hair clips down the sofa and the back of the beds from the previous occupants. The saucepans in the cupboard still had food residue in them when we arrived, so I had to wash up before we cooked. But nothing too dreadful, sheets were fine, the towels were clean, the toilet was clean.

Elsewhere on the resort seems okay, no litter, tables wiped down, floors swept.

Activities
We were spoilt for choice! The pool is excellent for kids, the fairground was good fun, we liked the world of wonder and the kids shows during the day were to a high standard. We managed to fit in fencing, an Easter Egg hunt and the arcade too.
I had no idea there would be so much to do, we enjoyed it all and had fun planning our days with the app.

Facilities
We could have done with more benches to sit on by the soft play, more places to get a cup of tea, more toilets - especially at the fairground. The toilets in centre stage were manky, no soap or hand towels by early evening.
The luggage trolleys were great for getting all your bags and shopping from the car.

Health and safety
There was an overall lack of health and safety which was concerning. My daughter was hit by one of the fun bikes (large and metal) being driven at high speed by unsupervised kids on a pedestrian corner by the skyline. Luckily it hit her in the leg, had it been the head of our toddler next to her, it would without doubt have been an ambulance situation and a trip to hospital. Disturbingly the gentleman in the first aid office didn’t offer an ice pack for the bruising and had to be pressured to fill in an accident form. I wasn’t happy with the first aid or lack of it. We were visited by another member of staff to follow up the next morning and he showed far more concern.

Entertainment
The first two nights were so good! We loved Cinderella Rocks and the circus. Not sure why Centre Stage was designed so three quarters of the room can’t see the stage and I didn’t like the bun fight over chairs to sit on, but that was forgiven when we saw those shows.
After that it went downhill. Taylor Swift - due on at 21.15 - was still a no show at 22.00 which meant tired, tearful and disappointed kids. Diversity weren’t great and the sound cut out due to technical difficulties about ten minutes in.
There seemed to be nothing on at all the last night, so the atmosphere was quite low on Thursday once everything shut at 5pm.

Dining
Most of the restaurants were shut during our stay and as the dining plan was so expensive, we were self catering. It costs the same as a whole day on the premium plan to try any of the restaurants for just one meal, so we didn’t. A shame as the buffet dinner looks appealing. Food options on the resort are a bit limited, which is crazy when you see all the restaurants, but then you realise they are either closed or serve the same (dining plan only) food. It’s worth knowing you can walk along the sea front to the Brewers Fayre in less than 10 minutes and get a reasonably priced family meal. Tesco is nice and close too.

Staff
The staff were beyond helpful! They are absolutely the backbone of the place, they all were so lovely. And not only were they polite, friendly and enthusiastic, but there were enough of them. Any time you needed help, there was someone within a few feet to find the baby changing for you or to give you a hand. Lots of lifeguards on duty at the pool, someone at the top and bottom of the helter skelter. They are so keen and happy about their work that they make the holiday special.

Overall
Yes, it’s worth a visit if you have young kids and can get a good deal. We would go again at the right price. There is loads to do and we did have a good time. I think if you don’t expect too much from the accommodation and the evening entertainment, you’ll enjoy it. We wanted fun and good memories and Butlins delivered it.

If you’re looking for a great value, all out family fun weekend – look no further than Butlins at Bognor. I have Just returned from a fantastic weekend of fun with my family as well as a number of good friends and their little ones. We all came away more than pleasantly surprised by the resort and what Butlins have achieved – a modern, all action, well-equipped facility but with the Butlins heritage still very much maintained.

I should say now, that this review is in the context of my visit being a very cheap 3 night weekend stay during term-time, which makes it such extraordinary value for the price we paid – and also, that we were upgraded on our eating plan because the basic restaurant was closed. That said, there are loads of positives about this place that still warrant a high rating in my opinion whatever price you pay and however you choose to eat.

Given the huge number of activities and things to do, the site is nicely compact and all accommodation is only a short walk to the main hub. All eateries we tried were clean, tidy with good food. A lot of effort has gone into landscaping areas and making the place look smart. But the most impressive thing is the huge number of things to do to keep the kids (and adults!) entertained all day, every day. Several reviewers bemoan the number of activities which are chargeable; but in my view that is unfair. You can easily have days of fun without spending an additional penny, for example: swimming in the well-equipped leisure pool (due to be replaced in 2019), the outdoor playpark, indoor soft play, excellent range of funfair rides inside and out, football pitches, puppet shows, regular stage shows in the skyline tent, and regular shows and events in either the Reds or Centre Stage areas all throughout the day and evening (the production of which, compared to the poor quality we’ve seen in European 5 star hotels, is of a very high standard). Then, there are several activities which need to be booked, but are still included in the price of your stay, including: arts and crafts, mini-fencing and circus skills to name a few. Of the additional charge activities we tried, we found these to be well run, with good facilities and good value (my 7 year-old daughter and I particularly enjoyed the archery).

We stayed in Atlantic Bay, where accommodation was surprisingly good for what we paid. Yes - it is simple, but we have paid a lot more and had some terrible experiences with flimsy mattresses and bedding; but our apartment here was great: excellent mattress and duvet, plenty of space in both bedrooms and a well-equipped kitchenette, complete with a little balcony area to eat. Another great aspect in my view is the staff: as you’d expect, a lot of the them are very young, but the vast majority of them are polite, knowledgeable and above all extremely enthusiastic. They are clearly given good training and support which makes for a very pleasant change given the indifference that many staff offer these days within the service sector. The cleaners work extremely hard to keep the place ticking over and clean, and all the assistants on rides and facilities do it with a smile. They’re all a credit to the Butlins brand.

I’d conclude by saying, it’s not perfection – everyone will be able to find little holes and faults – but you really have to look at the high quality and range of facilities you get for such a low, great value price. Billie Butlins’ original mantra was a week’s holiday for a week’s wages – well, I think at Bogor Regis, they have kept true to that, providing a modern, well maintained facility, offering deals like ours which make for a fantastic stay for a very small amount of money. This makes a great family break accessible to a lot of families who’d be priced out of other holidays or need to compromise on quality elsewhere. In my view it does all that, but also offers as much as you need and much, much more to meet whatever budget you have.

Great work Butlins!