Butlin's Big Weekender: I went to Replay weekend in Bognor Regis with my friends featuring parties, a broken foot, Coventry City tops - it was wild

We turned up on Friday ready for three nights staying at the Ocean Hotel and we had no idea what was in store for us. None of us had ever been to a Butlin’s Big Weekender before and we can all safely say now that we had the best time with so many stories to tell from our long weekend there.

Being by the sea and having a view of the ocean from our hotel room really made it feel like we were on a mini girls holiday. The glorious sunshine weather made it even better.

The Replay weekender brings you the best of the 80s, 90s and beyond, with different stages dedicated to each decade. There’s something for everyone, so you can party to nostalgic throwbacks and chart-topping tunes the next.

Across our weekend we were treated to Daniel Bedingfield, Fuse ODG and Symphonic Ibiza, plus many more acts. Every single night we had the best time partying away to the music, laughing at other people’s fancy dress costumes and meeting people from all over the country.

It is a weekend where you can really dress how you want - anything goes. And you really have to dress up as it is part of the fun. My friends and I really had a long hard think about our costumes, and I might be biased but they were pretty iconic. The first night was wig night, with us all in black dresses and a wig different to our hair colour. So as I’m brunette, I was blondie for the night.

On Saturday night we all dressed as the Beauty School Dropout scene from Grease with one of our friends dressed as Frenchie. It was a mission for my friend to get all of our hair in rollers - but it paid off. All night people would shout ‘Beauty School Dropout!!’ to us and laugh at how good we looked. It is a great fancy dress idea if I do say so myself.

On the last night we dressed up as Coventry City football players, and it was funny to meet people from the likes of Dorset who support Coventry. We couldn’t not represent our city! The whole weekend was so much fun, and apart from the highlights being the music and dancing every night, we also thoroughly enjoyed the games that you can play.

We booked onto VR-Cade, Laser Quest, Neo Games and Digi Darts and we all felt like kids again playing them, having the best time. Laser Quest in particular took us back to our youth and reignited our love for it. Running round trying to shoot grown adults and protect our base was highly entertaining. There are so many other games you can book onto as well such as mini golf, escape room and shuffleboard - and I would highly recommend doing it.

I would also recommend the Bottomless Brunch. The food you could choose from was really great and the music from the DJ was top notch. My friend broke her foot while Irish dancing and had to be wheeled out during the Bottomless Brunch - disclaimer she now has a boot and is fine - but if that doesn’t show you we were having a great time I don’t know what will. We didn’t appreciate the DJ shouting out ‘typical Cov fans, always leaving early’...

On top of all this you can participate in the pool party, singalong quiz, and singalong Sunday. There’s so much for everyone to do all weekend as there is always something going on.

I was part of the VIP package which allows you fast-track through queues to get into events, and be able to eat all-inclusively from the buffet at The Deck. The quality of all of the food was really great. There was so much to choose from including salads, pastas, pizzas, different meats and delicious desserts. They even served a Sunday roast on Sunday.

I stayed in the Ocean Hotel with my three friends and the room was so spacious - and the double bed I was in was super comfy. My other two friends were in single beds and there was a living area part which was great for us to hang out. The balcony overlooking the view of the ocean was amazing and we all enjoyed the views everyday, as well as shouting over to other people on their balconies.

We all have returned home after the weekend a little tired from all the dancing, laughing and partying, but we all had the best time. A lot of people diss or overlook Butlin’s Big Weekenders, but I say give it a go. It’s cheap and I spoke to so many people there who have been before and keep returning because they have such a good time. Butlin’s Big Weekender in Bognor Regis was a blast.

Replay Big Weekenders from £91pp: Butlin’s offers a three night Replay Time Warp Terror Weekender exclusively for adults featuring A1, Heather Small and DJ Luck & MC Neat plus many more from £91pp on 10 October 2025 in Bognor Regis. Price is based on a two bedroom Comfort Studio that sleeps four and includes access to live music venues and activities like pool parties, silent discos and access to PLAYXPERIENCE. Dining packages start from £24.95 per adult, per day. To find out more and to book go to www.butlins.com/bigweekenders

Replay Big Weekenders from £205pp: Butlin’s offers a three night Replay Time Warp Terror Weekender exclusively for adults featuring A1, Heather Small and DJ Luck & MC Neat plus many more from £205pp on 10 October 2025 in Bognor Regis. Price is based on a two bedroom Ocean Hotel room that sleeps four and includes access to live music venues and activities like pool parties, silent discos and access to PLAYXPERIENCE. Dining packages start from £24.95 per adult, per day. To find out more and to book go to www.butlins.com/bigweekenders