Going to Butlins – traditionally a family resort – without any children feels quite surreal.
The fun pool, fairground rides and children’s attractions are still dotted around the resort but the place has an entirely different atmosphere.
A large proportion of guests have clearly left their offspring with friends or relatives for the weekend and are relishing in the opportunity for adult-only fun.
The Skyline all-weather dome in which most of the entertainment is centred, is filled with excitable grownups unable to resist clambering on the children’s rides.
Women on hen dos can be seen jumping over the fence to explore Bob the Builder Land at 2am, albeit probably against park rules.
I visit the Butlins resort in Bognor Regis, West Sussex, for a Hot Summer Party long weekend.
The emphasis really is on party and you could be forgiven for thinking you are in Magaluf or Ibiza at times.
The bulk of the entertainment revolves around the night times and the acts on the bill included 90s girl band The Honeyz, three members of S Club 7, Heart FM DJ Toby Anstis and Ben Adams from boy band A1.
They performed in one of two club venues; Centre Stage and Reds. Both were big enough to create a good atmosphere but intimate enough to get close to the stage and sing along to the 90s hits.
The bands performed for about half an hour each and were interspersed with DJs playing mainstream crowd pleasers like Rihanna, Grease Lightning or Queen.
Away from the main music venues there is no shortage of places to get a drink. A traditional English pub, Irish pub, nightclub and sports bar are all within stumbling distance of each other, often undercover, which is handy during an inevitably damp English summer.
But believe it or not, Butlins adult weekends are not all about drinking.
During the day, the fancy dress costumes and customised stag and hen do t-shirts come off and people flock to the fun pool.
There’s nothing like throwing yourself down a water slide or swirling around in water rapids to shake off the effects of a heavy night.
The most popular slides were the Master Blaster, where riders sit in a boat and get blasted uphill by water jets and the Space Bowl, which feels like you are being washed down a plug hole.
Although the pool was busy, the queues for slides were never more than five minutes and many swimmers were happier sitting in the spa pool and saving their energy for the night ahead.
Other daytime activities include crazy golf, ten pin bowling and a fairground with dodgems, stalls and spinning rides.
Bognor seafront and town centre is also worth the ten minute walk.
Bognor boasts being the sunniest place in the UK over the last 50 years, according to Met Office stats, and although the pebble beach was pleasant, it was too chilly for the sea to be inviting.
Nevertheless, the sea air did wonders to stir up an appetite for dinner in the self-service restaurant. Perfect to line the stomach for the raucous evening ahead.
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