Butlins Minehead: ‘absolute carnage’ as severe flooding shuts down resort - how long is it closed for?

“Absolute carnage” erupted at Butlin’s seaside resort yesterday (Sunday 17 September) as holidaymakers came back to their rooms to find their accommodation had been flooded.

Helen Harris told NationalWorld that she left her chalet at the Butlin’s resort in Minehead early yesterday morning to go for breakfast and when she returned three to four hours later she found that where she was staying was full of water.

She said: “We had to move bags etc onto beds and shelves, but our belongings were drenched.”

Ms Harris said she phoned customer services and a member of staff on site came over to her accommodation “stood by the front door and just said ‘Oh!’ then disappeared.”

She added: “Several calls were made to find out what we had to do. All management were in a crisis meeting, no staff seemed to know or were able to tell us what was happening.”

Ms Harris said by late afternoon she was given the option of new accommodation but had made the decision to go home.

She said it was a “disgrace” that it took until 4.30pm to be offered new accommodation and “not one member of management was physically available” until that time.

Natasha Large also posted on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that her holiday was cut short due to the floods.

She said she hopes Butlin’s “will be offering refunds for us customers who were told to leave early today with no offer of accommodation.”

She added: “Hardly any staff to help and unable to get hold of guest services. Told by someone it was unsafe to leave and then told by other staff we had to go!”

The flooding came after “torrential downpours” swept across the south-west of England on Sunday, with localised flooding in Devon. It led to widespread road closures, bus and train cancellations and the closure of Paignton zoo.

Holidaymakers who have booked holidays at the Butlin’s resort in Minehead later this week are now taking to social media to ask whether or not their getaway will go ahead.

A Butlin’s spokesperson said: "We’ve experienced exceptional rainfall across our Minehead resort. As a result, we’ve taken the difficult decision to close for today’s family break due to several important venues being impacted by the weather.

“The safety of our guests and team is our top priority and we are very sorry to anyone whose holiday has been affected. We have contacted all guests due to arrive tomorrow and provided more information on their options including a full refund."

The spokesperson told NationalWorld that the resort is closed for this week’s family break and hopes to re-open on Friday (22 September). They added that customers who have holidays booked this week are able to request a full refund or change the dates of their break.