Center Parcs - Les Bois France (Center Parcs)

Member Name: em..

Product:	Center Parcs
Date:	20/08/05 (6193 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: More relaxed then English Center Parcs, cheaper, great food

Disadvantages: Accomodation compares less well with the UK Center Parcs.

We stayed at Center Parcs at Les Bois France had a fantastic week. It is a very easy drive from Paris so great for two centred holidays (we went to Disneyland for 3 days before)

We have previously stayed at Longleat and Elvedon Forest and really enjoyed these holidays so decided to visit one of the French resorts as part of our longer holiday in France.

My review therefore is probably most useful to anyone who, having stayed at a UK Center Parcs, is considering travelling further afield with the same company:

The set up is pretty much the same as the UK villages. I would say that Les Bois France is most like Elveden in that it is flat (Longleat is quite hilly) and everything is very centralised in the main Plaza area (again at Longleat things are more spread out). The cottages are all self contained and set in woodland over a largish area with a lake in the middle.
There is a choice of restaurants, a fantastic swimming pool area - much better than either of the UK Parcs we have been to with rapids, slides, a wave machine and a big area for babies and small children and many sporting activities.

The main differences (good and bad) between the French and UK Parcs are:

The cottages at Les Bois are not to the same standard as the UK ones. We stayed in Executive villas in the UK which had all ensuites, outside sauna or whirlpool bath and towels and housekeeping. At Les Bois our 3 bedroom Premium cottage did not have these - towels are extra, there is no housekeeping after you arrive and also no ensuite, no oven (only a microwave) no kettle (we thought it had been overlooked but no villas there have them) and no telephone (again none of the villas have them so a mobile phone, charger and socket adaptor are essentials). Also the accomodation was a bit more worn and tired than at the Elveden or Longleat villages. It was still nicely presented and comfortable - just not as good as we were used to.

At Les Bois though there is no waiting about eg with bike hire (we waited ages at Elveden one year to have a member of staff pick out suitable bikes as they do for everyone)- you just help yourself to any bike you like at Les Bois and pay once you have chosen one (do check for wonky wheels though - they have a workshop to tighten up safety wheels and adjust seat height etc). There are no cycle helmets for hire so do bring your own especially for children.

The whole atmosphere at Les Bois is more relaxed. Activities aren't pre booked before you go as they are in the UK but are booked once you are there a day or two in advance at the most. Some activities require no booking at all eg pony riding, fun bikes, boating, mini golf, go karts and the driving range

The sporting activities were all great - we loved the boating lake and tennis, bowling and golf but there are no "creative" options as they have at Elveden and Longleat eg no art classes or flower arranging etc.

The Kids Club at Les Bois is much cheaper than the UK Parcs. I think we paid £12 per child at Elveden whereas at Les Bois it was about 7 Euros. They do not take any child under 3 here though whereas Elveden does have a baby creche. Les Bois only takes older children and is quite strict on this so a child who is only a few weeks off of their 3rd Birthday still won't be allowed to attend.

The food in France is great. It was nice at Elveden and Longleat but at Les Bois we felt we ate really well even when we opted for only a cheap lunch or a quick bite. The children really enjoyed the food as well and ate more of a variety of things at Les Bois as everything was cooked and presented so well.

The staff at all of the villages we have visited have been lovely. At Les Bois though, many spoke no or very very little English so a basic knowledge of French would be helpful if you are thinking of visiting (or a phrase book - the staff were very patient and willing to help out)

The Parc Market at Les Bois differed quite a bit to UK ones and didn't stock many of the recognisable brands - no baked beans in sight! This wasn't a problem for us as the deli counter selection was great but if your children are only keen on certain foods it might have been more difficult.

The shops at Les Bois were far more expensive and stocked mainly clothes whereas those at Elveden and Longleat are far better with toy shops, clothes shops, sweet shops and gift shops. We didn't buy anything at all in them at Les Bois as the prices were so high (a lot of the clothes for sale were designer brands)

The minus points of Les Bois would be: the accomodation whilst still very nice was not as good as the UK Center Parcs we have visited and also not having an oven or a kettle was difficult in terms of cooking for the children, making up bottles of formular etc. I also disliked having no phone link to reception as it meant visiting in person to ask any questions etc. There was also less of a choice of restaurants here (with many being closed for either parts of the day or closed altogether on some days of the week) and all of them had a tendancy to be a bit smokey (smoking is permitted in most areas except the Sports Hall)

On the positive side - overall Les Bois France compared very favourably in terms of price (food and the activities we chose were all cheaper as was the cost of accomodation although this will all vary according to exchange rates). It is also much more relaxed so you could book activities at shorter notice without the fear that everything would be full up two weeks in advance and do things on a whim more than was possible at Elveden or Longleat. The pool was also fantastic

We really enjoyed our visit and would recommend a stay to anyone. All of the slight minus points eg no phone / kettle could be easily overcome as long as you know about them in advance and the more laid back approach was lovely

Summary: Les Bois France Center Parcs Review (compared to UK Center Parcs)