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Top-quality hotel ... at Butlins
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| The brightly coloured lobby of the Shoreline Hotel |
BUTLINS has had to move with the times more than most holiday firms to keep pace with modern trends.
Gone are the days when staying in a chalet and enjoying second-rate holiday camp entertainment was considered to be the height of luxury.
These days people's holiday experiences are much broader - and expectations are far higher.
Even holidaying in this country and enjoying some simple family time by the seaside brings with it pretty lofty standards that holiday-makers expect to be met.
In a bid to meet the needs of its ever more discerning visitors Butlins opened the Shoreline Hotel at its Bognor Regis resort two years ago.
Built in the design of a cruise ship, the hotel looks very impressive from the outside.
Inside it gets better, with the 160-room Shoreline offering guests a little luxury not normally associated with Butlins, or any other holiday resorts for that matter.
Walk into the lobby and you could be in any modern hotel anywhere in the world.
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| Inside one of the Columbus Quarters rooms |
The stylish hotel offers superb views along the Sussex coast and is surrounded by its own landscaped gardens.
Inside there is no sign of any fast food menus - instead you can dine at the hotel's bistro restaurant which offers traditional and international cuisine, and a stylish cocktail bar.
The rooms, including the Columbus Quarters room my family and I stayed in, are contemporary, bright and spacious.
Even in the rooms down the scale from the top-of-the-range, sumptuous Nelson's Staterooms, it is hard to find fault with the facilities which include a sitting area with comfy chairs, flat screen TV, DVD player, fridge - even a private kids' area with their own TV and DVD player.
I can't really comment on the quality of service within the hotel because I never needed to call upon any help during my time there - but perhaps that is a commendation in itself.
Certainly the staff could not have been more helpful during check-in or departure, and during other occasions such as breakfast.
Within a beach pebble's throw of the Shoreline are all the other Butlins facilities - bars, funfair, entertainment, water park. Many of the shows and attractions are aimed at kids, obviously, but there is a good mix of things for adults to enjoy too.
The Skyline Pavilion - a big tent-like structure - is home to much of the entertainment and is a godsend during rotten weather, which we suffered from for much of our weekend stay.
Clever thinking that, to put many of the facilities indoors - ensures the fun is not spoilt when the British weather is typically British.
A couple of gripes about the entertainment provided inside the pavilion - not always as wholesome as it might be.
The Skyline is rather overrun with slot / fruit machines and paid-for arcade games. A real 'run the gauntlet' exercise when you are trying to get a child from one end of the dome to the other, but also I would expect some slightly more imaginative ways of keeping people entertained from Butlins than relying on old-fashioned penny-pinching machines.
Also, a kids' puppet show performed to an audience of four and five-year-olds (including my daughter) featured a song called Candyman containing the lyrics: "He's a one stop shop, makes my panties drop" and "He's a one stop shop, make my cherry pop."
Not altogether child-friendly.
The only other criticism I noted during my stay was that the Splash Waterworld, while great fun, was not the cleanest swimming pool I have visited.
But if a few gross sticky plasters and these other couple of minor moans are the worst I can think of, clearly Butlins is doing a lot right in its efforts stay with the pace in today's holiday market.
Certainly, the Shoreline Hotel is a great addition to the Bognor resort. As someone who is very familiar with Butlins and all the derision (much of it deserved) which has come its way over the years, the building of the hotel has provided a real shot in the arm to traditional English seaside holidaying - ensuring that you can now have the best of both worlds with good quality accommodation that has loads of entertainment close by.
Some people with a preconceived image of Butlins may sneer at the company's attempts to modernise itself with the hotel, but the firm pulls it off - and the hotel more than meets expectations.
Even if kids' shows such as Billy the Bear and the Skyline Gang do not sound like your thing, do not be put off from staying at Butlins. The Shoreline is an excellent hotel in its own right and makes a superb base should you wish to explore the south coast - with the cathedral city of Chichester, the historic town of Arundel and the naval experience of Portsmouth all within very easy reach.
There are some two-night breaks available at Shoreline with prices starting from £32pp per break. For more information call 0870 162 1810 or visit the website and take a virtual tour around the hotel.
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