Center parks - a bit tacky?

Yeah I get you. We enjoyed it when the kids were little as it totally fit the bill and we will go again as love the biking with no cars element and can take Nanna with us (food chains are crap but ideal with very little kids). I think everyone harping on about it being middle class doesn’t help as it really isn’t these days….. It’s just really expensive….The ‘middle class’ that people are referring to were doing Centre Parcs years ago as UK breaks and are now doing their own campervans or airbnbs in Rock or St Agnes or Cornwall stays in Carbis Bay, Scotland at Crieff Hydro or the Scottish islands centrally the Woolley Grange type hotels (but these are probably ‘behind the times now’ too). Where the masses are the ‘as were Boden wearing’ middle classes are not…. that’s the nature of change and not wanting to be doing what everyone else is…

The restaurant food and service was pretty dreadful when we went, and it is dated, and really overpriced.

But, our kids loved it, and it’s a fairly relaxing atmosphere (aside from the crowds), so it has a place. You’re right though, tacky isn’t quite the right word, but it’s very expensive for what you get.

Rude to describe Butlins as tacky tbh. What does it mean in all honesty?

it’s a perfectly good child orientated holiday, and when you’re there you see hundreds of children happily enjoying everything. There are great shows that they feel grown up going to. Wide choice of food. Swimming every day. Redcoats who are lovely with them.

Do, pray, tell me what’s ‘tacky’ about that?

@ThePhantomoftheEcobubbleOpera yep, completely different trips for me.

Disappointing and overpriced wank, yes.

Tacky, no.

It is expensive though but what isn't these days

No, I don't. Love the facilities on a french campsite but nothing knocks the shine off a break like spending a whole day driving home with shattered kids.

@9uygjk As a Londoner I really appreciate the lack of cars when cycling, there are lots of cars in my part of London...

The food options are pretty crap but we take Cook stuff & someone in the group loves to cook, we only ever eat out once per trip.

It was ok back in the day, but now it is just getting more and more run down each year as they cream off profits and reinvest naff all of you thousands you've paid back into the sites

We wanted to keep liking it, and tried many different parcs, many times but when you pay through the nose and see increasingly delapidated facilities each year it tastes sour. where is the money going??

I have also done lots of holiday parks abroad but who wants to travel hours for a long weekend?

I haven't been to Butlins but we have done group holidays to other caravan parks. Enjoyed those too but CP wins for the best swimming for the dc.

It's an easy family break, entertains a range of different ages, it's a lovely forest setting and I've always come home more relaxed than I went. It's a good middle ground of competing interests, the staff are brilliant but it isn't cheap for what it is. I don't think it's tacky.

The french campsites are fantastic but it's a lot of driving, it isn't a weekend job.

We love CP, it’s quieter, there’s lovely scenery, walks, wild life, plenty to do, some choice of half decent food in certain places. Butlins is brash, loud, tacky, crowded, chaotic, noisy at night, a fucking dreadful place to relax and have a half decent holiday!

Surely it depends on what you want from a break? We always go as a group & it's just easy with stuff for everyone.

Yes to French Eurocamps. The last one we were at had freshly baked bread and croissants, pains au chocolat etc every morning and excellent coffee!

I agree about the lodges. I found the beds comfortable though, good quality mattresses. Not parking at the lodge is part of the experience, so that you can walk around and enjoy the peaceful forest surroundings without noisy gas guzzlers passing constantly.

we went in 2003 and paid £300 for a mid week break, which seemed like decent value considering it’s a mobile home park with a big pool. The same break costs considerably more now and not worth it.

I think french campsites might be more your style - decent bread anyway

I absolutely love CP and go a few times a year. The idea that’s it’s mainly middle class kids in the pool has actually made me laugh out loud.

If you decided one time to stomach the cost in order to be surrounded by middle class kids you would be deeply, deeply disappointed! 😂

It's a middle class, Joules wearing prison.

Just to add, I went into a Butlins for the day a few years ago and CP is nothing like it in my opinion.

It used to be naice I reckon… but now it’s older and dingy and they let anyone with money in so those annoying nouveau riche tacky families are all over it.

Far more Nevaeh and Jaxxons than Persephone and Bartholomews nowadays.

I've been to a few CP, went to Woburn last month. It's a great environment for young kids. Our 3 year old loved the pool. It's smaller than some of the others but quite a bit for smaller children.
What I like is the car free zone, so it might be annoying for some people to have to walk from the car park but it means children can run around and ride bikes etc without fear of motorists for a change. There's lots of activities for kids too (at a price).
If I wanted to be picky I'd say the restaurant choices are a bit fast food for me but others in our group were happy with them.
I wouldn't call it tacky. Not my ideal holiday for myself but as somewhere to take the grandkids or spend time with the family it's nice enough.

I like Center Parcs. We've had some good holidays there and make the most of the activities, cycling etc as well as the pool when we go.

What were you expecting OP?