Why do so many people dislike Centre Parcs so much?

It's all about price for me! Give me a tacky caravan park over centre parks any day. A quarter of the price and way more fun for my kids.

We're an easily pleased family, love an evening disco or a 2p machine. Centre parks is probably too upmarket for us anyway. Infact the price is probably to keep families like ours out 🤣

Agreed. And I’ve been multiple times too

I’m very surprised at the comments at it being damp etc. we have had a problem. The lodges are gorgeous and well equipped

You're right on the evening entertainment but not really on the rest of it!

The CP pools are very much playing pools - perhaps you accidentally went to the spa or something? They all have - a lazy river, rapids, at least 3 flumes, a water playground type thing with several smaller water slides

There are many activities that aren't woodland walks. Over 200... https://www.centerparcs.co.uk/discover-center-parcs/things-to-do.html

There also is an arcade..

One type that plans and books holidays with the kids being happy and having fun as their main focus. So they will go to places like CP, Butlins, AI’s with kids clubs etc etc.
Then there’s the other type where the adults plan and book the holiday they want and drag the kids along.

There’s a middle group surely?

We have never done AI but do CPs regularly. It’s great for a multi generational group family holiday and easy which makes a difference. The restaurants are a bit crap though.

As I said a rat in the rapids. That would seriously ick me out. My SIL is petrified of rodents and she’d freak out. Not the relaxing treat you’d expect.

I’m relieved the foreign ones are better, would consider going there.

I live near Whinfell, and they treat the staff like crap, so I dislike them just for that tbh.

Also, it's expensive for what it is. You'd be better off hiring a cottage in the location you want to visit since you have to pay for all the extras anyway.

A lot of people rave about the pools, but I really don't understand why, as they're often not very clean and very crowded.

The cost of the package and all of the activities, food etc whilst there. At Sherwood pines, you can see into the CP and it feels a bit like an inner compound! of a beautiful forest.

It’s expensive, the restaurants are really average, and I found the tropical paradise air temperature too cold.

If we holiday in the UK, I want to be at the seaside, not in a damp shed in the middle of Bedfordshire.

It’s extortionate for what is essentially a posh Pontins/Butlins set in a forest
I look at the indoor pools and think if the weather is bad they are going to be heaving

If you are going to spend the money it costs, surely you could find a place in the world that costs the same or less for a week or two and get guaranteed weather and have the freedom to pick and choose where you go and what you do

It reminds me of a cruise ship. You aren’t expected to leave

Or one giant Airbnb that adds nothing to an area (at least with an Airbnb people shop, go out to dinner and generally spend money in the area)

Of the people I know who regularly go and call it a “real family holiday” from an outsiders perspective they swap full time/wraparound care in day to day life with dc going to as many lessons/activities as they can
There doesn’t seem to be much family time going on.
Or maybe I only know people who don’t want their dc around them.

It’s supposed to be a “posh” haven. It’s not, it’s the more boring version that’s really expensive.
My family have been going to Haven since I was 4, every year, sometimes 2/3 times a year, and we love it! We love the evening entertainment (none of that at CP), we love the activities (the only ones CP do are woodland walks as far as I can tell), we love the swimming pool with flumes and slides and stuff, CP pools are spa pools/swimming pools not playing pools.
Theres no arcade. That’s a huge pull for my family.
Weve been to CP a few times with my parents. They’re boring AF and even my kids (play rugby, swim, scouts and cubs so very outdoorsy) were sick of riding their bikes through the same lame trails after day two and were incredibly bored with the pool after about 2 trips.
I can get a 2 week holiday to Haven, with all the passes in the summer hols for about £2K. For CP that’s a week in a dingy, cold, woodland lodge.

We’ve done the Belgian and Dutch CPs a few times and going again with our young adult children. Really enjoy it. It’s cheaper than the UK CPs by a mile and although there is a bit of travel we don’t mind. It’s nice hearing lots of different languages too. Never tried the UK ones as the sky high prices put us off.

The pools are clean and we do one or two activities. All self catering and buy our food from a local supermarket. There’s things you can do outside the park as well.

We used to go quite a bit when the kids were little as the activities are great fun for children. I'd never go now.

It's hideously over priced, the supermarket is expensive, the food is frankly shit as they're all chain restaurants and the cabins are getting rundown. The tropical swimming and activities are/were very good though.

We would sink £4k over a weekend on the cabin, activities and eating out. You could have a luxury villa in Corfu for a week at that price.

I get the appeal somewhat. We stayed at Lalandia in Denmark, which is broadly similar and was fab but the key differences for me were that

• the Lalandia park had a amazing facilities beyond the pool and they were all included if you paid a small fee for wristbands for the week
• it cost less for our flights plus accommodation than a week at Center parcs
• lalandia was opposite Legoland and a short walk from centre of Billund with a zoo and other attractions very close by

Having tried that and having been to Center parcs once when the kids were pre school age I’m firmly in the camp that it’s not worth the cost for us.

Love Centreparcs, but we've been priced out of it for quite a while. Especially when you can get Eurocamp in an EU location with some actual sunshine for less. Love that the pools are included at Centreparcs, at Eurocamp they can be a pain with extra charges and times.

I do think some of them have gone a little downhill. I went to elveden last year and a lot of the pool is exactly the same as 25 odd years ago. Needs a bit of a revamp.

And.. I always find it amusing when people with children use the environment as a lording it over thing on their choices when having children is by default a huge impact on the environment.

Flying children on holiday once a year is a drop in the ocean in comparison.

The cabin felt no different to a static caravan - just bigger. The pool was overcrowded. The extra activities made an already expensive break even more poor value for money. Went once - never again. Would rather book a caravan in a beautiful park with kids activities included. A fraction of the cost of CP and actually nicer. I’m no snob - spent my youth at Pontins - but CP thinks it’s something it’s not. When it first appeared here it looked amazing on the adverts and I was so happy when I finally booked to go but was very disappointed.

I am not doubting them, just honestly surprised as we have gone 1-2 times a year for the last 10 years and never had any issues.

I totally understand it not being someone's thing or finding it expensive, but the cleanliness comments have surprised me

Well obviously some have had bad experiences. Like I said I went years ago a few times when it first opened in UK and it was very nice, clean and so on.

You don't need to drive for 12 hours to cross at the channel tunnel - there are plenty of other options including the ferry to Ireland, a cruise from Liverpool or a train from pretty much anywhere to London and then onto Europe.

They can't even spell the name of the company correctly to start with - why is is 'Center Parcs' instead of 'Centre Parks'??

Full of kids, poor accommodation for the price, awful food and fenced in like a prisoner of war camp! Awful.

Because it’s full of scruffs trying to be “Content Creators”.