CENTRE PARCS, AN IDEAL FAMILY HOLIDAY (Center Parcs)

Member Name: Laluhen

Product:	Center Parcs
Date:	14/05/09 (428 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: ALMOST EVERYTHING

Disadvantages: HUCKS

Centre Parcs at Elveden forest is a wonderful place to visit. In the last few years myself, my husband and my two children (a girl age 7 and a boy who is 2 and a half) have been on several occassions. To begin with we went for the long weekend breaks which are from friday to monday, but on the last occassion back in february we went for the midweek break from monday to friday.
I would advise anyone thinking of going, to try and book into the new style woodland lodges, these are absolutely stunning, contemporary, fresh, wonderful design, great amenities, speaker in the bathroom so you can hear the television or music, heated towel rail, fully functional kitchen, the new beds were such a dream i have not slept that good in years, in comparison the comfort villas and old style lodges are not up to scratch, they smell musty, they are damp, the carpet has seen better days, the bathroom, kitchen and bedrooms are all in need of some total rennovation, which is what centre parcs are doing, hence the new lodges popping up everywhere. There is no difference in price for having a new lodge or an older one, the last time we went it was in fact cheaper booking the new style lodge, we had a 3 bedroom one which cost roughly £300 including insurance, the older villa was about £50 more.

As a setting for a holiday, centre parcs is all you could ask for, especially if you have active children, which mine are, you are surrounded by stunning scenery, all lodges are situated in the forest, you come across all kinds of animals on your walks and cycle rides, the squirrels are so tame that people were feeding them out of there hands, and the ducks came right up and took my sons sausage roll from his hand, (which my son was not happy about). The lake is stunning, it has a mini beach with sand that is perfect for castles, sun bathing, feeding the ducks or watching the water sports.

The facilities for all the activities are great, none were over subscribed, there was never too many children trying to participate, we have been in the summer holidays and out of season and found this both times, it is easy to book the activities, now they have computers around the sports plaza where you can select your activities and book there and then, alternatively you can book before you go, this can all be done online, although some are expensive my daughter (who is the perfect age for centre parcs) enjoyed every single minute of it, and to see her happy made those extra pounds all worth while, anyone who is shocked by the prices should know what they are letting themselves in for in the first place as you are sent a pack before you arrive, so you can view what the activities are, and also they can research online. The last occassion that we went my daughter did quad biking, fencing, wall climbing, tennis, time out clubs, swimming and much more, however what centre parcs is lacking is a huge indoor play area, they have some small ones, but when you have an active two year who needs plenty of room to run these are no good. We did book him into some activities for small children but in the end we cancelled them as he is highly active and wanted to do his own thing, so he loved the outdoor play areas, the beach, swimming and the ducks, i would advise if you have an active child to test the water with one activity first before you book more.

As for the food, we decided the last time we went to cook at the lodge and eat out, although it is expensive you should budget this before you go, we all know that eating out in general is dear, so just budget the same, one reccommendation is bella pasta or is it bella italia, anyway the food there is wonderful and not that dear, the staff were friendly, in comparison, hucks was expensive and the food was awful. The pancake house on one of the days did fish and chips instead of pancakes and they were nice. Centre Parcs does have a mini supermarket which has absolutely everything and the price is not to different from home, they also have a kiosk where you can buy hot dogs, chips, burgers, sandwiches etc all once again an ok price, everything is expensive when you go away, but you go as treat so i would say just budget for it and work it all out beforehand. Also there is a takeaway service, we never tried this so i cannot really comment.

I have not mentioned yet the checking in, i dont mind that you cannot get into your lodge until 3pm, we decided after the first time that we went, to get there early and go swimming, have lunch and relax, and then unload the car, take it back to the car park, relax and have dinner, you are more chilled that way, as you have been there for a few hours previous. The idea that you leave your car in the car park for the whole stay is so appealing, you just have to mind the bikes on the roads, you dont have to worry about any cars. Also when you check out at 10am, you dont have to leave then, you can go swimming, go for a ride, take your time leaving.

What i would advise is to put your bikes in the lobby of the lodges, my husband on one occassion, locked his and our daughters bike outside and in the night someone moved my daughters bike out the way and stole my husbands minus a wheel, so i would say either hire them or keep them inside.

Overall i would say to try centre parcs just once, look onine for the best times to go and for money off codes, although you are extremely busy the whole time, the setting is so relaxing, i know my family are always so sad to leave and we all get the post holiday blues, by the way there are many activities are beauty treatments for adults, however with two extremely active children we never got to try these out, although one day maybe my husband will allow me time out in the spa, a girl can dream.

Summary: A WONDERFUL PLACE FOR ALL AGES