Hip Hip Hooray! It’s the return of the Chalet…

By cheryl, March 9, 2015

The Butlins chalet. A part of our heritage that we’ve always had a soft spot for. So ahead of our 80^th birthday next year, we’re reinventing them for today’s families at our resort in Minehead, Somerset.

Our wonderful new West Lakes Village will be finished and open very soon! The whole team here at Butlins cannot wait. But our excitement isn’t purely because the chalets are shiny and new – it’s because the chalet has been a key aspect of Butlins life right back since the day we opened.

Made popular by Billy Butlin in the 30s, cosy chalets became the symbol of a happy seaside break. A place you could call your own – or as Billy said, your ‘home away from home’. He wanted to make everything perfect for his guests, right down to the pastel colours and the design of the gardens. Billy’s passion for the detail was famous, and when you see our new Minehead chalets, you’ll see we are just as particular today.

Billy believed that people went on holiday as a break from the grey and drab daily routine. He wanted to create a place of colour and happiness and his chalets offered just that.

The first 600 chalets were built at Butlins Skegness in 1936; each one had cold running water and electricity, luxuries for the time that changed the way the nation holidayed. He painted the exterior walls in different pastel colours: pink, blue or yellow with roses painted between each chalet.

Inside, the windows were dressed with little yacht curtains and guests could hang their clothes in a three-sided wooden cupboard with a curtain across the front. The beds had blue candlewick covers with the already famous Butlins ‘B’ embroidered them, as well as on the pink and blue sheets and blankets.

We’ve worked with Mumsnet to make sure our brand-new chalets are just as right for today’s families as those original chalets were for guests back in 1936.

The village sits around peaceful lakes and greens where you can play together outside or if the weather isn’t so nice, the open-plan living space is the perfect place to unplug from the daily routine, especially with our Hasbro games library. Comfy bedrooms, a fully-equipped kitchen, modern bathroom and warm finishing touches inspired from our golden era have all been designed with you in mind.

We really cannot wait to (literally!) throw the doors open to this latest addition to our range of accommodation – and if you’re as excited as we are, this short video will whet your appetite even more.

Say hip, hip, hooray, for the Butlins chalet!

Rachel