A travel blogger who sampled the delights of one of Butlins' premium holiday apartments was left shocked by the state of the accommodation. Steven, who runs the Beachlife & Beyond YouTube channel, booked a third-floor premium suite at Butlins’ Bayside Apartments in Minehead for £602 and documented his experience.
First impressions were positive, with well-kept public areas leading to an easily-accessible third floor apartment. But once inside, things changed dramatically. “I've got to say, I'm disgusted by this place,” Steven said. While the apartment was “airy” and well laid-out with incredible sea views, the standard of cleaning let it down. “The sofa is caked in stains. The arms are absolutely filthy. And then there's stains all over the cushions as well.”
Sofa Bed and Curtains Also Filthy
The problems weren’t confined to one area. “The sofa bed is even worse,” Steven said. “There is no way on God's green Earth am I letting my son sleep on this.” The thin mattress provided for the sofa bed was filthy, with numerous visible sweat-patches. The generally poor standard of upkeep even extended to the curtains, which he found to be unacceptably grubby.
There were still a few positives. The fixtures and fittings – including a large smart TV, a good-quality fridge and a washer-dryer – showed that when the apartment had originally been outfitted, considerable effort had been made to justify the premium price. Rates for the Minehead apartments typically range from £55 per night for off-peak breaks to £1,500+ for peak school holidays.
Butlins Highlights Apartment Features
Butlins point out that each apartment features an open-plan lounge and dining area with a high-spec kitchen that comes equipped with an oven and microwave, fridge, dishwasher and kettle. Guests can also expect towels, under-floor heating, TVs in the lounge and twin bedroom, free WiFi, an iron and ironing board and a hairdryer. The purpose-built facility also features balconies with sea views.
But the day-to-day maintenance of the apartment left a great deal to be desired. While housekeeping is included in the price of the rental, it’s unclear how often the apartments are cleaned. “The oven just isn't clean, It's filthy,” Steven said, noting that it looked as if a previous guest had cooked something that had spilled inside, and housekeeping had failed to check inside between bookings.
Stunning Views Ruined by Bird Mess
Everywhere he found a positive, there was something that dragged him back down. “The view is beautiful, it’s incredible – but then it's ruined by the amount of bird mess all over the windows. It's disgusting. It's everywhere, there’s flies on the windowsill… there's stains also all over the curtains. It's filthy.” Deeply disappointed, he said: “This is a premium apartment. This does not feel premium to me whatsoever. I am going to complain.”
To Butlins’ credit, the response to Steven's complaints was quick and fairly thorough. “We reported all of our issues like the curtains, the bedding, the shower, and they sent somebody out really, really fast and they rectified most of the issues,” Steven said. “They cleaned the cooker, they cleaned the shower, they changed the bedding.”
Curtains Shampooed Instead of Replaced
The curtains, some of which appeared to have bloodstains on them, required a follow-up complaint the next morning. Despite an initial promise to replace them, in the end they were simply shampooed instead. “They don't have any spares and they're custom-made for the apartments, which is fair enough. I understand that,” Steven said. He added that Butlins’ response to the issues had been very positive: “They were very friendly when they came out. Mark especially, a shout out to Mark. He was lovely. Couldn't do enough for us.”
A Butlin's spokesperson told The Express: "We apologise for the cleanliness issues experienced by this guest during their stay at our Minehead resort. This isn’t acceptable and doesn’t meet the high standards we expect our guests to receive. When the concerns were raised, our team responded quickly to rectify them and we have shared this feedback internally to prevent similar issues."
