Two very different recent holidays:
Butlins in Minehead -
Went with the brother and his family and absolutely loved it. You just feel like the kids are perfectly safe anywhere in the place and there's enough to keep the adults happy too. Some of the shows are a bit cringeworthy but some are surprisingly good.
We went in "Silver" apartments which weren't very spacious but did the job as you don't spend much time there anyway. I would say not to bother with paying in advance for food. It wasn't very good and I think you're better off either with takeaways, using the food outlets on site or cooking your own in your apartment.
New York -
Loved every minute. Obviously there's some iconic things to see like the Statue of Liberty etc but I just enjoyed walking around, going to a few bars and taking in the atmosphere. It's difficult to explain, it's just a feeling of an atmosphere, but I loved it.
A few little tips though, don't bother actually going on to the island that the Statue of Liberty is on, when you're on it you don't actually get a great view of the statue! We got some cracking views of both the statue and Manhattan from the Staten Island Ferry.
Don't, unless you're desperate just to say you've done it, go up the Empire State Building. You get better views, and IIRC it's a bit cheaper and has smaller queues, from the top of the Rockefeller Centre.
Visiting the UN might not be everyone's idea of fun but I'm a geek so I loved it.
Don't bother visiting the USS Intrepid (aircraft carrier on West side of Manhattan) it's expensive and a bit rubbish.
If you're flying in or out of New York don't use the taxis to get either to or from the airport. They're expensive and rather uncomfortable if there's more than 2 of you or you're 6ft+ tall. There's a perfectly good bus shuttle service to the airports in and out of New York. Or, if flying out of New York, your hotel concierge can book a "black taxi" that is effectively a pre-booked taxi service but in a much nicer, more spacious car that was actually a bit cheaper than the regular "yellow taxis".