Centre parcs - fantastic family fun (Center Parcs)

Member Name: lindseyphilpot

Product:	Center Parcs
Date:	28/09/09 (180 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very child friendly, lovely surroundings

Disadvantages: Expensive

I had visited centre Parcs a few times when i was younger with my mum and dad and quite frankly I thought it was the best place on earth. As a young girl your dream is to be in a place filled with fun things to do and surrounded by your family in the middle of the woods.

Since growing up and having my own child i have visited Centre parcs again and lets just say its not as good as i remember. I dont know if this was due to the fact that I was paying for it this time or that its just not how I remember.

I have only ever visited Elvedon Forest so unfortunately cannot comment on the other parks but I have heard they are all much of a muchness and not a lot more goes on in other parks.

I must admit the facilities are fantastic. There is so much to do at Centre parks and you will never get bored but this is only if your willing to spend out the money.

The swimming pool which is a huge activity pool full of slides and attractions. Is the only thing you get in with the price you pay. it is definately somewhere you will want to visit once a day if not more whilst you are there. We have had so much fun in this pool. There are various slides and a section for younger children. it is lifeguarded around all different parts of the pool and you do feel like your children are very safe. there is somewhere for non swimmers to sit and watch and get a coffee and everything is extremely clean and well kept including the changing rooms which there are hundreds of.

The chalets themself are pretty basic and even if you book an upper class one it is still very basic and looks asthough it needs updating. Depending on how early you book you could end up miles away from the centre where everything happens in which case you will HAVE to hire a bike!! YOu do get your own barbacue with every chalet and they are clean and well kept even if a little old fashioned.

it is lovely to see all the wildlife in the forest, you can be sitting eating your breakfast and a duck will come up to your window. The kids love this and it really makes you feel like you are somewhere other then home.

There is a lot of water about so do be careful if you have young children. There are lakes everywhere and they are not excellently fenced off! The pathways are also not very well lit at night and unfortunately we opted not to leave the chalet because of this one night because we found it too hard to find our way back.

it is extremely easy to get lost here if like me you have a bad sence of direction. Unfortunately on various ocassions I went the wrong way and couldn't find my way back. Although things are sign posted they are also misleading and confusing which is very frustrating because it makes you look very silly!

The 'centre' has lots going on in it. there is a small Centre Parcs supermarket where you can get all your essentials but I would suggest bringing your own as these are seriously over priced. The swimming pool and sports complex is located here along with all the restaurants which again are seriously over priced!

You can do pretty much ANY sport here including badminton and tennis, to roller skating and quad biking. they hold various tournaments including a snooker tournament and a 5 a side football but these activities all cost and they don't come cheap. You have to book early to avoid disappointment and you have to have a serious amount of cash if you want to experience everything as each things costs around £10 per person.

You can stay at centre parks either mid week, weekend or a whole week. B careful when you book as various weeks cost more and they go up very steeply, especially if the kids are on holidays.

There are many different chalets avaliable depending on how many people and what sort od comfort you want, each chalet varies in price but you can also stay in the newly built hotel which features the new revolving restaurant! I think we paid about £400 for a 4 day break in a comfort chalet, pretty basic and pretty expensive for what we got for that.

You can hire bikes which is loads of fun and very much needed if you are far away from the centre. Make sure you lock them up though as they do get stolen which means you wont get your deposit back!

Centre parks is located in Suffolk and is very well sign posted when travelling.

The whole place is very child friendly with many activities and shows for the kids to watch!! The kids will absolutely love it as it is very geared up towards family. There is however a spa should you wish to have some me time!!

I do love centre parcs and although I think it is expensive I would definately return. I will just save up more!!

Summary: Would always go back!