A lot of fun if you can share the cost (Center Parcs)

Member Name: manonfireuk

Product:	Center Parcs
Date:	11/10/09 (219 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful surroundings, always something to do

Disadvantages: On site shops very expensive

The first time I went to Center Parcs I was expecting something really naff along the lines of a cheesy Bultins holiday but I was completely surprised and had a great time.

I visited the site in Sherwood Forest Village, Nottingham with family and friends. I would say you may struggle to get there unless you have car, public transport in the area was not very helpful so if you're not a car driver invite somebody along who is!

We stayed in a self catered villa with 4 bedrooms that could accomodate up to 8 people. The villa was very nice, there was a well equipped kitchen and patio furniture if you fancied eating outside. I would suggest staying in a self catered apartment and bringing most of the food with you. There are on site shops where you can buy food but they are much more expensive than you're average shop / supermarket.

I won't list all the prices of the various villas here because there are lots of different prices depending on which Centre Parcs you visit, how many people go and what type of villa you want. However, I would say if you plan on sharing a villa with a big group of people then this is the cheapest option if you can all split the cost.

There are plenty of family friendly restaurants on site if you fancy eating out but don't worry, by family friendly I don't mean they all have cheesy cabaret shows on! There were no young children with us and we still managed to have a great time in the evenings. There are places you can just grab a quiet beer, places to play pool or darts and lots of different food to choose from at the restaurants.

To get the most out of Center Parcs in the daytime you have to be a fairly active person! First of all, the best way to travel around the site is to hire a bike. Make sure you stick close together though if you're in a large group because when you're cycling around the park everything seems to blur into one and look the same so it can be easy to get lost or become disorientated (despite the signs!)

There are plenty of spa and beauty treatments you can book while you're there or if you want to make sure you can get in then you can book online before your holiday. Again these vary in price depending on how many and what treatments you actually want.

There are also plenty of outdoor activities for the more adventurous including horse riding, watersports, golf, tree trekking, abseiling, high rope assault courses, tennis, archery, quad biking and many more!

There is also an onsite gym where you can use the equipment plus they often run aerobics and exercise classes too.

If you're planning to take children with you they run various clubs for children of different ages. This is good because often you find one group for all children and the activities often exclude older children. Here they have different activity groups for children from 3 to 13 years old and you can feel perfectly happy leaving them with staff while you go and do your own thing. Plus kids will also love the water park with the slides and various rides, I was 26 when I went and I loved it in there!

Overall I had a great time at Center Parcs. It is quite pricey but you can cut the cost, especially at meal times by going in a big group and sharing responsibility at meal times, try making a big vat of chilli, that will go around plenty!

It's worth checking out the website before you go to find out the price of everything and work out a budget before you go and what everyone wants to do. That way you can make the most out of your stay.

Summary: Lots of fun, can be quite expensive