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BlueSkies Ahead As Butlins Offers Luxury
August 20, 2009 by Fractional & Shared Ownership Property News & Reviews · Leave a Comment
Part of the British holiday heritage, Butlins has launched a brand of shared ownership accommodation. But, writes Sarah Lee, with its luxurious accommodation this is not Butlins as we know it.
Say the word Butlins and many of us think of ‘kiss me quick’ hats, donkey rides, chalet accommodation and
evenings being entertained by their legendary Redcoats.
And why not, this ‘Hi-de-Hi!’ image of the traditional British seaside break is one thousands of us identify with – many of us looking back on these holidays with a hearty dose of nostalgia. But as our travel tastes
have matured over the years so has Butlins’ standard of accommodation and attractions.
Butlins BlueSkies Club is the holiday company’s first foray into shared ownership.
But forget any preconceived ideas you may have – luxury runs right through the BlueSkies accommodation and guest experience.
Built in a Miami Beachesque art-deco style, the resort in Minehead, Somerset represents all that is great about shared ownership accommodation.
The 24 one- and two-bedroom apartments feature floor to ceiling lounge windows, fine soft furnishings, kitchens with every modern appliance including dishwashers and fridge freezers, bathrooms with separate
walk-in showers and baths. However the showpiece of each apartment is likely the large balconies, which offer unrestricted 180-degree views of the sandy beach.
Butlins BlueSkies Club sells 30-year memberships in points and all of this comes at a starting price of £5,995. This gives owners 52,000 points, enough for a three or four night break at the resort at the height
of its peak summer season – Blueskies runs two booking periods a week – Monday to Friday and Friday to Monday.
But one of the other benefits of the resort is its maintenance fees. These are charged on a monthly basis at just £27 a month – hundreds of pounds cheaper than resorts of a similar quality. The reason for this, explains BlueSkies sales manager Stewart Cliff, is that Butlins has its own in-house maintenance team so they never have to bring in external contractors.
He said: “This is a great benefit for our members as we don’t waste money on outside contractors like other resorts and our maintenance teams are there as and when something needs attention.
“The accommodation is of fantastic quality. Added to this we have an exchange partnership with RCI which means our owners can exchange through them for resorts all over the world and 52,000 points can equate to a two week holiday in Portugal, Spain, Turkey, or even Thailand.
“The beauty of this exchange partnership for our owners is the sheer number of holiday options this opens up for them. RCI has 4,000 resorts in more than 100 countries around the world so the worldwide travel
opportunities are great for BlueSkies owners.”
The BlueSkies building is set slightly away from the main Butlins Resort and owners have their own private car park, their own check-in and other features more akin to an upmarket overseas property. BlueSkies owners have access to a concierge, pre-arrival fridge filling service, free wi-fi access in each apartment, free
DVDs and computer games.
They also benefit from the full range of facilities available at the Butlins Resort, Always famous for the quality of its entertainment Butlins travels the world, spending around £13m per year, to bring the best there is with acrobats from Africa and South America, top pop stars including McFly, Girls Aloud and Ronan Keating as well as all the kids favourites such as Looney Tunes, Cartoon Network, Bob the Builder and Angelina Ballerina. There are also discounts at the resort’s many restaurants and the neighbouring links
golf club.
Naturally the accommodation at BlueSkies and the facilities at Butlins make for a perfect family holiday. The resort features a sub-tropical Splash Waterworld with wave machines, water rides and bubble pools, a pirate-themed crazy golf course, outside play area for the children, ten-pin bowling lanes, and multi-sports courts.
For the more adventurous there’s a chance to take on Europe’s largest aerial trekking course, complete with an 83-foot climbing wall, rope ladders, and Leap of Faith trapeze.
Guests can also enjoy the beauty of neighbouring Exmoor with boat tours, horseback rides or on foot over its many fine rambling routes.
But despite the resorts’ obvious attraction to families and whirlwind of activities, BlueSkies are finding that couples are also keen to snap up a slice of seaside heaven.
This is in part due to the location. Minehead is Somerset’s premier beach resort set between the heather-covered hills of Exmoor National Park and the south coast. It is the perfect place to discover the towns of Lynton and Lynmouth, both renowned for their coastal beauty, and the historic town of Watchet.
Somerset is a picturesque part of the UK offering fantastic sightseeing opportunities and the chance to visit some of the country’s most famous sites such as Cheddar Gorge, Exmoor National Park, Glastonbury Tor
and Dunster Castle. The area offers visitors fascinating towns, quaint villages, beautiful countryside and lakes to explore, as well as sea fishing, falconry, hang-gliding, golf and boat trips.
But the other thing that is attracting young and mature couples alike to invest in a BlueSkies membership is the flexibility and value it offers.
Cliff said: “Our membership comes with the entertainment at the resort. For example we recently had Diversity, the winning act from Britain’s Got Talent performing here. While there are also other great benefits off site that we have negotiated for owners – playing 18 holes at the neighbouring golf course costs
just £27 for our owners – a huge discount on normal green fees.
“Our owners come from a huge crosssection of the population; they include families, couples, young and older people. We’ve even had people buy a membership here because we are close to the excellent West Somerset Railway and as a steam train enthusiast they wanted quality accommodation close to it.”
A former sales manager in exotic locations such as Phuket in Thailand and with nine years experience in the industry, Cliff has seen a lot of luxury shared ownership accommodation, but even he was impressed by the quality on offer at BlueSkies when he first started working for the company.
“Since Butlins was bought by Bourne Leisure around nine years ago, it has invested constantly in improving the resorts. For example, around £250,000 alone has been spent on the gardens at the Minehead Butlins.” he said.
“I have worked for other big hotel groups such as Marriott and Sheraton and even with these luxury brands there’s very little that can match the quality and facilities of BlueSkies. In fact there are very few resorts like this anywhere, offering absolute beachfront views. Equally the cost of the membership is extremely competitive in relation to others around the world. While if you were able to book BlueSkies on a per night basis, we estimate it would cost around £250 based on the location and nature of the accommodation.
“Butlins has a 75 year history of providing great family holidays in the UK. It’s a long heritage, and in that respect Butlins is a name you can trust. When you are paying to come to a resort for 30 years you want quality and a brand that you can trust to provide you with the very best.”
With all this to recommend it, there’s no reason why more people won’t wake up to BlueSkies.
To find out more about BlueSkies visit www.blueskiesbybutlins.com, call 0870 145 0047 or visit the enquiry centre at the Minehead Butlins Resort.
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