Center Parcs Elveden Forest

I am a grandmother who works long hours and difficult shifts, my children all also work full time, so get to spend much less time with my children and grandchildren than I would like.

Every year my sons and daughters in law put a week of their holiday entitlement to one side to spend with us on a family holiday and over the last 17 years many of these have been spent at Center Parcs, usually in low season as that is the only time my husband and I are able to take holidays.

This year we spent a weeks holiday at Elveden in March in comfort + villas.
We should have been a party of 12 and three dogs,in the event there were actually ten of us.

We arrived after a long days travelling at around six in the evening.

The condition of both villas was appalling, we had to clean floors and surfaces before we felt able to eat, and wipe wardrobes thick with dust before we were able to put clothes away.Someone had cut their hair in the bathroom and it had just been left.There was ingrained dirt in kitchen areas and actual mould in the gaps between the floor tiles in one of the bathrooms.

I do have to say that the beds were clean.

Had our party been complete we would not have had sufficient pillows, as it was we managed.

The decorating was unfinished though clearly years old. Every door was filthy and had patches of missing paint.

The inventory supplied was not sufficient to even reach registration with Visit England, could that be why Center parcs is no longer a member? and there were huge shortages in the kitchen items actually specified in the literature provided.

Curtains in one villa were odd and in one room had a huge hole in them, they were so dusty that the dust could be seen with the naked eye.There were cobwebs in all the bedrooms.

Showers in both were faulty and cookers in both were faulty. The smoke alarm in one was sounding constantly every time the oven was lit.

Of course I made a proper complaint and cleaning and maintenance teams were sent out straight away, they dealt with some faults but not all by any means,and the follow up was very poor.

It is impossible for me to list everything that was wrong, in this review, right up until the last morning we were finding faulty and missing items, in forty years of self catering holidays this is far and away the worst accommodation I have come across.

I work myself in the holiday industry and I have to say I found the standards and the attitude of the staff who seemed to think that the situation was nothing out of the ordinary quite shocking.

Center Parcs is not a cheap option holiday, we have always loved going there despite the cost, but because of this experience I cannot envisage any circumstances where we would risk going again.

My complaint is ongoing and I will pursue it but that cannot give us back the time with our family,yes we stayed for the week, given the amount of money it had cost we had little choice,and salvaged what we could,but in any self catering holiday the accommodation must be a huge factor in its enjoyment or otherwise and this was definitely otherwise.

There are lots of activities in the centre and those that we took part in were of an acceptable standard, although overpriced in comparison to similar activities elsewhere.

I would say to all mums contemplating a self catering holiday, if an organisation withdraws itself from independant assessment of its standards it might be wise to ask why and perhaps choose somewhere else.

Just got back from a mid-week break with DH and our 2yo DS. This is the first time I had been back since I was 10, so my expectations were probably a little high but I was disappointed.

As DS turned 2 while we were there, we were allowed to book him as a 1yo and so 'saved' money by staying at the Lakeview Hotel. We had a standard room and while it was clean and comfortable, the decor was very tired and there were cracks in the tiles, a rusty shower etc. The pot pourri didn't help. At night it was very hot and stuffy (this was February) but as we were on the ground floor we didn't want to open the patio door and there wasn't any air conditioning. The good things about it were that we could easily fit a travel cot between the bed and the wall, which meant that we could have a light on on the TV side of the room without disturbing DS. We also had lots of ducks, squirrels and rabbits on the lawn outside the patio, which was lovely for DS and kept him entertained over breakfast. There was also a fairly large mini fridge with a tiny freezer compartment so we could keep milk, cheese and fruit chilled.

We had pre-booked a lot of activities but, as another poster already said, it is cheaper to book them while you are there e.g. when we got to our room there was a

great place to go out of season and during school-time - bit pricey otherwise.

Have been a few times and love the fact that this Center Parcs is on the flat. Makes cycling around a lot easier! Also, everything at this location is only ever a short walk away from the centre so you can get to the pool and supermarket easily.

The children's activities are OK, but a bit pricey. We spent most of time in the pool or the playgrounds or going on rabbit hunts. The child flotation vests available at the side of the pool are a nice touch.

The lodges are a bit hit and miss as other people have said. I think they're working their way around upgrading them all, so my be worth phoning when you're booking to check you're getting a less tired one. All of the woodland lodges are lovely.

A great place to go and unwind. You can do as much or as little as you like.

A Centerparcs convert here, we absolutely love the place. We've been to all of the sites now apart from the Wiltshire one and we are looking forward to the new Bedfordshire one opening as its closer for us. One tip, do a little supermarket delivery and have it arrive just before you set off and you can bung all your groceries straight in the car. Don't buy anything from the Parcmarket, its unbelievable what you'll have to pay for all the basics.

We really liked it. Is great for children of school age, the water park is fun (especially the rapids), the cycling is flat and car free (except on arrival day) and the setting is lovely. we didn't do many activities as the car-free cycling was such a novelty and weather great but there is a lot on offer. The playgrounds have lots of rustic wood play activities and the whole place has a lovely woody smell. The lodges are hit or miss, if you plan to be there a lot pay for a newer lodge. The woodland ones are fine. The parc market has a good selection and the restaurants are ok, the Indian was very good. Is a total rip off price during school hols.

The 'chalet' we were in was damp. Early 90s decor. Bathroom needed upgrading. Only went to 'Hucks' - an American diner type place. Food was average. It had a childs's play area so that was good! Ummmm...swimming pool: FAB. Did bowling and roller skating which together cost

We very much enjoyed our first stay at a Centerparcs in April. Our 2 year old loved the swimming pool and we barely left it! I had a lovely spa treatment (the fish nibbling pedicure!) and we really enjoyed the facilities. Our accommodation was brand new - and we loved the flat screens in all the bedrooms! Only complaint - the food was all a bit dire - the chinese takeaway was dreadful and went in the bin. And the sunday roast at cafe rouge was a bit bla - far better was the spit roast chicken to take home from the little supermarket! We will definitely book again next year.

We've been to Elveden Forest Center Parcs 3 times now and always thoroughly enjoyed it. The facilities are all quite new due to the original villiage center burning down a few years ago. The pool is well thought out and includes separate areas for little ones away from the big pool as well as indoor and outdoor flumes, rapids, a lazy river, salt pool and a wave machine. The whole parc is on quite a flat site too which helps when little ones are cycling around. My advice would be to make sure you get one of the newly decorated cabins as they are much nicer than the older ones

Love, love love Center Parcs Elveden. Have been with the children about 6 times now and they and we never get tired of it. Yes it can be pricey but worth every penny.

Having been to Longleat we were dubious but this is without doubt the best place we've ever taken the monsters to! Accommodation was fab - we had a woodland lodge, lots of space, nice bathroom, extra loo, three rooms, patio with duck nesting etc. right on the lake so we could go for walks in the evening. Usual center parcs irritations were of course present (missing remote back anyone). Water centre was brill, kids bit is separate and has lots of seating for adults as well as two water slides for little kids and a sand and water jet bit for babies/under threes.

Big people pool - well the water slides and rapids aren't my thing but they looked fun. Did try one - never again - give me a cornetto on the side any day. Lots of disabled people there, lifeguards seemed to know what to do to help them in and out of the water. Best bit for us was probably the outdoor saltwater pool, or the directional loop when the currents push you round (convincing my three year old she could swim all of a sudden!)

Restaurants, pretty good, cafe rouge was your normal cafe rouge, Bella Italia was nice, as surprisingly was Hucks American Diner with playstations for the kids and a kids buffet (no waiting for the little ones). Coffee in Made was not great but the ice cream was.

Activities - DD did princess academy, pricey at

We've been going to this Centre Parcs for 10 years now and absolutley love it.

The villas are a bit dated and if you buy food on site it is pricey but the facilities and freedom for children is amazing.

I have been to 4 different UK Centerparcs now and I liked this one best. Lovely forest scenery, and everything was easy to get to. There was plenty to do and the activities were fairly good value; the spa was very good as they always are. "New Style Woodland Lodge Accommodation" a bit disappointing. Its basically no better than the "comfort" accomodation as far as I could tell, apart from the addition of a wood floor and a nice duvet.

This was the best holiday we have had in 5 years - why have we battled with airports with small children - I don't know. We had a woodland lodge and our stay was magical - surrounded by trees and wildlife a perfect get away with everthing centred around meeting the families needs a truly lovely experience.

had an awful weekend. first "comfort villa" stunk. really bad damp. 2nd villa was cleaned then damp stench returned in the morning, then finally moved to something which didn't overpower us with smell. food awful. husband served raw chicken. service terrible in most places. swimming pool was the best thing about it

Forest was beautiful - even when it rained it was lovely to be in. Too much junk food - also spent a fortune on essential snacks. Would take lots of multi-packs of them next time.

Forest was beautiful - even when it rained it was lovely to be in. Too much junk food - also spent a fortune on essential snacks. Would take lots of multi-packs of them next time.

Elveden Forest - Lovely forest setting. Villa was a bit 'worn out' but had cot and high-chair as standard. Unless you can share with about 7/8 people I personally think it is expensive for a family of four.

If you want to do lots of activities it can get really expensive. Unless you like swimming all day!

Relaxing weekend and great fun if you have the money to spend on the extras everything is there except good food for the children. Best to stick to self catering.

forest setting was lovely, and getting about on bikes was great. it rained the whole weekend we were there, so some activities were cancelled with nothing to replace them. there was far too much junk food available and not nearly enough healthy food. the chalet was very tired but comfortable (we booked executive but looked at friends regular accommodation and there was virtually no difference except in cost! the swimming pool area was fantastic. all in all we had a great weekend and would go back weather permitting.

Elveden Forest is a "compact, easy to get around resort" which "is perfect for an easy and relaxed weekend break" and is "jam packed with things for the kids to do." "You aren't reliant on the weather" and the "pool complex is amazing." "You can save money by self-catering a bit" as "everything you need is in the chalets - including usually a barbeque." "If you live in a city it's a great contrast to be surrounded by trees with the odd goose or pheasant walking right up to the window." Most thought it good value although cautioned it "can get expensive if your older kids want to do lots of extra activities."

Easy and convenient to reach; well-equipped villa with cot and high-chair as standard. Lovely swimming pool and playgrounds; supermarket is reasonable. On the negative side, the restaurants are expensive and there is too much emphasis on chips and fizzy drinks for kids. Take your snacks and cartons of juice.

The pool facility-it is excellent and loved by kids of all ages.