Why do so many people dislike Centre Parcs so much?

Not for a long weekend. We can be at CP in an hour and a half. Flying somewhere with security and waiting and queuing takes up half a day basically. I'm not interested in doing that for a weekend.

I realise some people do very long drives to France or further but I cannot imagine a worse way to stay a holiday especially just a weekend than being in a car with my children for hours

It’s only expensive in the school holidays.

We’ve been a few times and have never paid more than £600 for 5 nights (during term time). Which I think is great value for two adults and two small children.

Surely it's a different experience if it's in a different country?

I’ve just checked on price. £2400 per week for a 2 bed lodge in July. Self-catering. No guarantee of weather. I can definitely go to Greece for that and enjoy cheaper, nicer food whilst I’m there, and have an outdoor pool.

Centre Parks are raking it in.

After messing up and missing out on the booking with Vrbo that we wanted we’ve just booked a CP in France.

Here’s hoping it’ll be OK. It’s just a few nights between other places so not a disaster if we just swim and have barbecues.

Yes, I'd rather go to Longleat.

Depends when you go and where you go. Last week in August in Netherlands is half the price of UK

Perhaps because for what you pay, its shit.

The cabins arent cleaned properly, they are grubby and dirty and not kept well. The activities are also tired and old and arent maintained well.

I do expect a basic level of cleanliness when I go away and you can get far more for your money elsewhere and even abroad

it would still be cheaper to go abroad and have the same experience

It’s Butlins for middle class. Not a fan of those type of holidays or their prices!

Never been to a UK one, but have been to lots in Netherlands and also one in Belgium when DC were younger, it was an easy holiday and kids loved it. They are late 20s now and last year asked to have a family CP holiday again. I told them to organise it and we had a great time!

the sheer cost of it..

in May half term 2027, 2 adults, 2 kids.

Center Parcs - Elveden Forest - I'd get...
2 bed lodge £2600
Now I need to pay for petrol, food, activities etc - so what another £500? and the rest?

Eurocamp - la Valee
2 bed holiday home - £660 _ they have water park, tennis courts, football pitches, kids club all inc.
so even if I drove there, got the train under the sea, paid tolls bought food/eating out, paid extra travel insurance, and got something like theme park tickets / activities - it would still be cheaper than CP accommodation alone!

CP Longleat 5 days/4 nights Monday to Friday start 3 August: 2 Adults + 2 Children 2 bed basic lodge £1749.
7 nights self catering in Turkey including flights - £1776.

I would say yes 'good', which is not to say perfect. The last time we went we stayed in one of the larger adapted lodges which was perfect for FIL (who is a wheelchair user) needs (expensive yes even out of school holidays but divided amongst all the family it was OK). They provided a hoist so he coul gets into the hot tub which was lovely, and we were also able to take him swimming using their pool chairs (may not be possible for your FIL depending on how transfers are for him). He could very happily wheel around all the main site areas, I don't think we found anywhere he couldn't go in his chair (maybe some of the bike tracks but we didn't use those). Our only disappointment was the spa wouldn't accommodate a seated head/neck massage for him in his chair, which we'd hoped they would so he could join in when everyone else was getting spa treatments - they said they can only do massages if you can get onto the table which obviously wasn't possible...

Two reasons for me!

1. it is wildly expensive
2. mostly outdoor activities and British weather do not mix well

I'd rather spend my holiday money on something that didn't mean dodging rain, being cold and spending a fortune!

We've been to CP in the Netherlands and France, and love it. It's a great place for a family of seven, with energetic boys.

It cost about half the price to fly 3 of us to Barcelona, get transfers to Port Aventura, and stay in the excellent Wild West themed on-site hotel with breakfast, evening meals and 4 day park tickets. You could walk to the beach in Salou and there was a waterpark. This was May HT 2024. DS5 had the time of his life and we spent nothing else apart from buying light lunches.

I think it's a bit of a misunderstanding of what it is. You see it on this thread with people saying that you can get a cabin in the woods for less. Of course you can! It's not about being in the countryside, for that we would go to the actual countryside.

It's a place to go to spend time swimming in a pool with slides, rapids, lazy river, I don't think anywhere else in the UK has comparable pools. And we enjoy the odd activity as well. It's about spending time together as a family basically and we always come away feeling refreshed.

It is expensive and won't suit if you are on a tight budget but we enjoy it for a long weekend a year. We wouldn't do it instead of going abroad, it's in addition

Bluestone wales and Ribby hall village are 2 that spring to mind. Even some of the haven sites have rivalled pools and many of the activities offered by Center Parcs for a fraction of the cost and some have lodges rather than caravans also. There are others like away resorts. I’m sure there are more if you look hard enough. It’s just center parcs has branded itself very well. But it’s just overpriced and not that good

The cost is excessive when I can book a lodge with a hot tub for far less, and then go to local activities. I think it’s a good idea, but a con. Also I don’t want to be surrounded by other people’s kids.

I prefer holidays abroad with new experiences and nice weather, for me it’s terrible value

It’d rather be in the Cabin In French holiday park

or if uk holiday I’d rather be in an airbnb

You get a similar experience at a Haven site for a fraction of the price.

I have never been, it’s out of my budget and you can’t trust the weather to be good.

Our summer holiday to Spain this year has cost us £3.5k for a family of four and that includes food, drink, pools etc.

I've just checked and for a week in a self catering lodge I was quoted almost £3k in the summer holidays. So once we add food costs and the fact that it's all self catered and we'll still have to do all the washing up etc, and factoring in the weather then going abroad instead is a total no brainer.

My friend goes every year to centre parcs and last year we took DDs on a four night cruise to Bruges. She asked if it was expensive and when I told her the price she'd spent the same on a long weekend at Woburn CP!