1 january 1936 1936 01 01 first site skegness 9 april 2000 2000 04 09 as present company founder billy butlin headquarters hemel hempstead hertfordshire united kingdom area served great britain key people dermot king managing director products holiday camps revenue 184.6 m 2010 1 operating income 17.2 m 2010 1 net income 12.2 m 2010 1 owner bourne leisure holdings ltd number of employees 3 571 2010 1 website www.butlins.com butlins also butlin s is a chain of large holiday camps in the united kingdom . butlins was founded by billy butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary british families . between 1936 and 1966 ten camps were built including one in ireland and one in the bahamas . in the 1970s and 1980s butlins also operated numerous large hotels including one in spain a number of smaller holiday parks in england and france and a revolving restaurant in the post office tower in london . 2 tough competition from overseas package holiday operators rising operational costs and rapidly changing demand forced many of the butlins operations to close in the 1980s and 1990s . three of the original camps remain open under the butlins brand in bognor regis minehead and skegness . they are now owned and run by butlins skyline ltd a subsidiary company of bourne leisure ltd which also operates other leisure brands in the british isles including warner leisure hotels and haven holidays . butlins runs a variety of family fun activities and entertainments many of which are included in the price of a holiday . redcoats provide entertainment organise activities and act as hosts . the architecture seen in this 1985 photograph of butlins in ayr was typical of most camps before refurbishment . note the rows of chalets in the distance . contents 1 history 2 locations 3 facilities 3.1 accommodation 3.2 skyline pavilion 3.3 splash waterworld 4 entertainment 5 sports and recreation 5.1 children s activities 6 bognor regis 7 minehead 8 mosney 9 skegness 10 barry island 11 ayr 12 pwllheli 13 special events 14 music weekends 14.1 spring harvest 14.2 all tomorrow s parties 14.3 bloc weekend 15 butlins and dodgem cars 16 butlins beaver club on the radio 17 reds tv 18 publicity 18.1 butlins badges 18.2 slogans 19 butlins in popular culture 20 see also 21 references 22 external links history edit billy butlin receiving filey camp back from the raf who ran it as raf hunmanby moor during the second world war the butlins camp at pwllheli in 1961 this section needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . march 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message billy butlin s inspiration for his holiday camp empire came from an unhappy holiday on barry island in his youth when he had been locked out of his bed and breakfast accommodation all day by his landlady which was normal practice at the time . 3 the first of the butlins holiday camps was opened by billy butlin in 1936 in skegness following his success in developing amusement parks . a second camp quickly followed in clacton 1938 and construction filey holiday camp began in 1939 . with the outbreak of the second world war building at filey was postponed and the camps at skegness and clacton were given over for military use . wartime use of butlins camps continued with resorts at ayr filey and pwllheli being completed and opened as military camps . this camp was later renamed wonderwest world and is now owned and run by haven part of bourne leisure who own both brands . in 1945 with the war over filey was re opened as a holiday camp . the camps at skegness & clacton opened in 1946 ayr and pwllheli in 1947 and mosney on the east coast of ireland in 1948 . butlins became popular in post war britain with family entertainment and activities available for the equivalent of a week s pay . in 1948 billy butlin acquired two hotels in the bahamas and in the 1950s butlins began opening hotels in england and wales saltdean brighton 1953 blackpool 1955 and five in cliftonville 1955 1956 . further post war camps were opened in the 1960s at bognor regis 1960 minehead 1962 and barry island 1966 . the camps at ayr and skegness also had separate self contained hotels within their grounds . in later years they were joined by further hotels in scarborough 1978 llandudno 1981 london 1993 a sixth hotel at cliftonville and one in spain 1983 . in the 1960s and 1970s the company also operated the top of the tower revolving restaurant at the then named post office tower in london . in 1968 billy butlin s son bobby took over the management of butlins and in 1972 the business was sold to the rank organisation for 43 million . the number of camps peaked at ten between 1966 and 1980 but the business experienced the problems of the british seaside holiday industry in general with the introduction of cheap package holidays to mediterranean resorts from the 1960s onwards . it also had a specific image problem of being seen as providing regimented holidays which caused it to all but abandon the butlins name at its remaining resorts between 1987 and 1990 . the camps at clacton and filey closed in 1983 and the camp at barry was sold in 1986 eventually closing in 1996 . the lease on the top of the tower restaurant expired in 1980 . in 1998 the camps at ayr and pwllheli were re branded as haven park . all the butlins hotels of the 1950s to 1990s were sold in 1998 but most are still open today under different ownership . the art deco style ocean hotel at saltdean has been redeveloped into apartments and the hotels at cliftonville have both been demolished . in april 1998 the holiday worlds branding was dropped for the remaining resorts in favour of returning the emphasis to the core butlins name . subsequently in september 2000 4 the resorts and brand were sold to bourne leisure . a new butlins logo was also introduced in mid 1998 which has subsequently undergone several modifications and was used until 2011 when butlins introduced a design similar to their original logo . the new logo was originally supposed to be only used temporarily to commemorate the 75th anniversary of butlins but its use continued into 2012 and 2013 and is now the official logo . in 2005 the new 10 million shoreline hotel was unveiled at the bognor regis resort to expand on the existing variety of apartments on the site . the hotel styled with an art deco theme aimed to offer luxury accommodation in conjunction with the entertainment and facilities at the resort . each of the 160 rooms features floor to ceiling windows twin or king size beds leatherette chairs televisions dvd players and en suite facilities . some have sea views . a second hotel called ocean hotel opened at bognor in 2009 styled to a high contemporary standard . locations edit sorted alphabetically butlins camps past and present location opened closed comments ayr 1947 1998 known as wonderwest world 1988 1998 ; operated as craig tara by haven since 1999 . bahamas 1950 late 1980s the site is now occupied by a new hotel and marina complex known as old bahama bay . barry island 1966 1986 operated independently until closure in 1996 . demolished in 2005 . bognor regis 1960 current known as southcoast world 1987 1998 . still open as butlins bognor . clacton 1938 1983 demolished now a housing estate . small area yet to be redeveloped . filey holiday camp 1945 1983 operated independently for six weeks in 1986 but the venture failed and it closed . gradually demolished between 1988 and 2003 . the northern end of the site is now part of the haven caravan park primrose valley and the southern end is being developed as the bay filey comprising holiday homes leisure and sports facilities and a hotel . minehead 1962 current known as somerwest world 1986 1998 . still open as butlins minehead . mosney 1948 1980 operated independently until closure and conversion into an irish government refugee centre for asylum seekers in 2000 . most of the original camp buildings are still in use . 5 pwllheli 1947 1998 known as starcoast world 1990 1998 ; operated as hafan y mor by haven since 1999 . skegness 1936 current known as funcoast world 1987 1998 . still open as butlins skegness . in addition to these main locations known at various times as holiday camps holiday centres holiday villages holiday worlds and more recently as resorts butlins also operated numerous smaller holiday parks in england and france for several years during the late 1970s . these were known as freshfields holidays and were more basic parks with far fewer facilities and little or no entertainment . they were aimed at those wanting a quieter more relaxed holiday . 6 butlins freshfield holiday camps location opened closed comments duporth holiday village st austell 1934 2006 operated as butlins from 1972 ; operated as haven from 1985 . seaview holiday village polperro present operated as butlins from 1973 ; currently operated independently and sold on the independent owners behalf by hoseasons . sunshine holiday centre hayling island present operated as butlins from 1973 ; currently operating independently as mill rythe holiday resort . st minver present operated as butlins from 1971 ; currently operated by parkdean holidays . tencreek holiday park looe present operated as butlins from 1973 ; currently operated by dolphin holidays . ayrville st ives cornwall present operated as butlins from 1974 ; currently operating as ayr holiday park . two chimneys penzance present operated as butlins from 1974 ; currently operated by rojo leisure . 7 8 butlins hotels past and present location opened closed comments ayr 1946 early 1970s demolished in the 1970s 9 bognor regis wave 2012 present newly opened within bognor resort 10 bognor regis ocean 2009 present opened 2009 within bognor resort 11 bognor regis shoreline 2007 present opened 2007 within bognor resort 12 borehamwood 1939 1942 demolished in the 1980s and replaced with modern hotel 13 blackpool 1955 1998 still open as grand metropole hotel cliftonville 1955 1999 partially demolished remainder converted to flats . llandudno 1981 1998 still open as grand hotel . london 1993 1998 still open as grand plaza hotel . saltdean 1952 1999 converted to flats . scarborough 1978 1999 still open as grand hotel skegness 1936 1974 building still standing and now used as an amusement arcade within the butlins skegness resort 14 torremolinos 1983 1998 still open as griego mar hotel . 2 facilities edit accommodation edit blue skies apartments in minehead butlins resorts offer various accommodation options to cater for different tastes and budgets . these range from standard rooms and apartments to silver gold and deluxe rooms and apartments for higher levels of luxury . there are also blueskies apartments available at minehead and 3 luxury hotels at butlin s bognor . butlins is widely known for its iconic chalet accommodation which was originally the only form of accommodation and consisted of many long lines of single bedrooms in blocks known as chalet lines . these were arranged so that each line of chalets faced another line with a grassed area in the middle . originally there were no toilets in individual chalets campers had to use communal toilet blocks located in the middle of every few chalet lines and the furnishings were very basic . many of these chalet lines are still in use today but have been enlarged and significantly upgraded to modern standards . all chalets now have en suite bathroom facilities . one of