Center Parcs tips

[PatrickMerricksGoshawk]

There was a great thread recently with loads of tips about what to take to Center Parcs. I bookmarked it, and have just gone back to it now only to find that it was in 90 days only and it’s disappeared. So I’m starting a new one

My current burning question is: is a teapot and a cafetiere provided?

I already know about the lube

Well we just came back.

Obvious stuff - swimming costume, sufficient clothes (take extra no washing machine unless your in extra swanky lodge) Comfy walking / cycling shoes - no cars on site most of the time so you'll be using them a lot.

Beach shoes - I didn't know the first time we went there was a beach area by lake and DS ended up with sodden sandy trainers. Bucket and spade as well.

Swimming towels - they provide towels to use in lodge but not in pool

Inflatables for children in pool (don't blow these up yourself there was an air tube by desk in pool)

A teapot and cafetiere were not provided sorry. That said we did have a coffee machine with some pods. Also there were a few tea bags and coffee sachets to start us off but no milk except those little UHT pods

The freezer unit is tiny (in the fridge) so don't rely on storing much in it. the undercounter fridge was ok for lunch stuff, yogurts milk etc.

Antihistimine cream . Lots of nettle about the place.

If you want ice take an ice cube tray as non provided

DVDs - dvd player provided but no disks. Alternatively, wifi on site was good so if you have netflix etc. take a laptop - worth having if its a cold rainy evening

There was a good supermarket and plenty of restaurants. The supermarket is a bit pricer than normal so worth bringing your own stuff but OK for top ups. They also do amazing ready meals - I think they were Cook so good for a night in.

If you want a bbq bring a couple of disposables with you as they were expensive on site and they are the only sort you can use.

Sure I've missed loads out :)

Oh and kitchen was quite well provided for plates, cutlery pans etc. They give you a small pack with cloth, scrubby sponge and dishwasher tablets. For some reason they then proceeded to provide us with another 3 dishwasher tablets day. I ended up brining a dozen home :)

We discovered that the cafetière lives in the random cupboard above the built in microwave. It didn't look like a cupboard but it was. I think at elveden all lodges have them as we've been lots of times and there's always been one.

We got a tassimo and 8 pods (2bed new woodland lodge).

splishsplash damn... had no idea ... bother had to drink instant all week ... talk about first world problems..

You can only burn those smokeless logs wrapped in paper in the wood burner. They sell them there but they're cheaper if you buy them before you go. One log lasts about 3 hours burn. They sell loads of yummy Cook frozen meals in the parcmarket so don't bother buying a load before you go but it's cheaper than the restaurants if you cba to cook but also can't afford to eat out every meal. We used microfiber towels instead of beach towels for pool. Packs up smaller for bike rides and in locker. Get underwater housing for your phone! We got loads of great photos in the pool and underwater.

We were in an exec lodge and I brought our amazon firestick and remote from home. I wrangled the telly off the wall and it did indeed have a usb port so we had access to netflix etc through the telly.

We take a clothes airer to dry swimming towels etc on..

My own sharp knife.

Enough bin bags- bin is small so we were emptying it much more often.

Anti abc wipes just to make wiping surfaces easier.

Bleach to keep toilets clean...

Home bargains sell the exact same fire logs for 99p that centre Parcs sell for £3.. They are individually wrapped and you find them on the shelves next to the matches.. Remember matches too!!

This is great, thank you!

I’ve thought of a couple more questions:
We are thinking of going out for the day for a walk in the lakes; are we allowed to take our cars out or only on the first and last days?

And how much do we need to clean on the last day?

We stayed in the executive lodge, I have no idea about cafetière or teapot, sorry. We were initially given a couple of Dw tablets and a sachet of washing up liquid but that was it. Supermarket on site was pricey and obv you have to lug everything back to your accommodation. You can order takeaway meals on site to be delivered to your house. Book spa treatments early as they get booked up. Everything on site is expensive for what it is and some activities are cheaper on changeover day. Don’t overlook activities, we did one of two paid for ones a day but tbh dd would have been happy just at the pool and cycling around a lot of the time. Pool has cafe inside the water area and lots of seating if you want to watch dc from comfort of a seat and not get wet. We brought bikes as the cost to hire seemed a lot. We arrived late afternoon/early evening in car and had to queue for ages to get in to car park and checked in as everyone arriving at same time. Presumably if you can arrive earlier in the day then this might be better.

Yes you can go out for the day. You'll take the car out of the car park and return it to the car park. You can only drive the car to the lodge on fridays and mondays.
In the last day just pack all your stuff, load the dishwasher and set it off and leave towels in the bath, same as for a hotel. No actual cleaning required unless you've done some heinous mess!

We also go out into Appleby when we go to Whinfell, it's fine going in and out.

I like the Parc market but think the restaurants and the takeaway place are rotten! Hence to trip into Appleby, there's a nice Indian

You don't have to clean any more than anywhere else when you leave.

Have a great time

I always take a sharp knife, decent frying pan and tin foil. I take salt & pepper too (but have a sneaking suspicion it was provided last time).

Depending on the "crowd" we will sometimes make a lasagne / pasta bake etc in advance, freeze it and let it defrost on the way down.

I also always make sure a swimming bag is packed separately so we can go straight to pool etc when we arrived (early) and sort out unpacking at the lodge later.

Just saw your new post. You can take your car out of CP to go out from the car park any time but you can only drive it in the actual complex to dump bags etc on changeover days. So if you go out for the day you need to walk or cycle to your car in the car park to leave.

We had a daily maid service who kept on top of cleaning so really wasn’t much to do and I can’t temember what we did before leaving or if it specified. Usually we would make sure things superficially ok and empty dishwasher before leaving. Didn’t take off bedding or do much more than a wipe around the kitchen.

Toilet rolls! IIRC they only provided 1 or 2. Multiple pairs of socks/trainers you don't care about. Depending on age of DCs, some rainy day activities - colouring or sticker books, tablets, DVDs etc.

Don't bother eating in the restaurants! They are pretty much all crap. The takeaway service though (think it is called Dine In?) is actually really good and we did that a few times and cooked in the lodge the other evenings. Bring a disposable BBQ as the shops ones are quite expensive. We also brought quite a bit of food with us (mostly non-refrigerated) to save money.

Don't book too many activities or you feel like you are rushing from pillar to post. Book anything popular which will sell out (aerial adventure, quad bikes etc) and if the kids are bored things like electric bikes can be booked on the day.

Get something to tie on your bike so you know which one it is! When I was in a huge bikepark with lots of bikes that all looked the same I ended up trying my padlock key on loads of different locks until I found the right one

Go to the spa if you can!

Bring an airer to hang up swimming stuff at the end of the day to dry

Bring a amazon firestick for the evenings

Get a padded seat cover for your bike. My arse felt bruised after 2 days of riding that thing!

Bring some bird feed/animal feed to leave on your patio to encourage the woodland creatures out.

Take back packs. So much easier to carry stuff when on a bike.
Take plastic bags to put over your bike saddles so you don't get wet buns when it rains.

Ooh ziplock bags! I always put my cossie in one after swimming as it keeps my towel that little bit drier (and therefore quicker to fully dry out - not such a problem in summer I guess!)

We’ve just got back from Sherwood and there were rats everywhere. People feeding the ducks/squirrels had obviously attracted them.

They do provide a teapot and a pod coffee maker.

We couldn’t get the internet to connect to our fire stick last time we were there. Will be bringing the laptop for Netflix next time. Yes to caffitere, no to a teapot. We usually bring ikea kids plates, cups and bowls so the kids have something a bit more robust. We generally all use them as snack plates at home anyway. After buying a roofbox last time as the car was full due to a huge travel system for DC2, I’m looking forward to having space this time!

On the list for this time is the little slow cooker, toastier maker and nespresso!

A torch can be useful.

If you have little ones, food for birds etc can be, as you usually have wildlife coming up to your lodges. If you have a pushchair a bicycle lock can be good for at the swimming pool.

We have only been to the Longleat one, but we normally get there early, and take swimming stuff in separate bags, so can leave the car in the car park with the rest of the luggage we take, and use the pool and have lunch before it is time to go and get the car.

When we leave I always strip the beds and leave bedlinen in a pile with the used towels (they used to ask you to do this when we first started going, but I can't remember seeing the note about this the last few times we have been) I do all the washing up, I wouldn't put it in the dishwasher as the cleaners can arrive as soon as you leave so they won't be able to sort out crockery etc And take any rubbish out. That is as far as my tidying up goes. Obviously if we had made an horrendous mess I would sort that out.

If you are going to eat dinner in any of the restaurants I would book a table beforehand

If u are planning on cooking at all dont forget salt, pepper, oil, condiments etc. We thought there may be staples like this at the lodge but there weren't any. We decided to do mostly self catering as didnt want to spend too much on food while there. Had read that the parc market could work out quite expensive so we stocked up on a few dry goods before we went (tea, coffee, pasta etc), and then actually stopped off at supermarket (Tesco I think) just round the corner of the parc we were at (woburn) for fridge stuff just before we checked in. Worked out really well especially with a 3 year old in tow. There was so much for her to do that we came back to the lodge every lunchtime to make lunch and have a bit of chill time to re-charge before we headed back out for more fun. Then went back to the lodge at a decent time to make 3 yo some dinner.
I was pleasantly surprised by the activities on offer-not too expensive. Our day consisted mostly of a class/activity in the morning, and then swimming walking cycling etc the rest of the day. BUT if u are planning on booking activities do so as soon as u have booked your trip to avoid disappointment. You can book once there but things do get booked up quickly.

Enjoy!x

We've just got back from Longleat

BBQ pack was good value - £11 and inc 2 large disposable BBQs ( the size that would cost more than that if you bought elsewhere I believe). We pre ordered these and they were delivered before we arrived. We also pre ordered a family grocery pack and cooked breakfast pack. That was ok, nothing special but saved our legs! We didn't realise but you could do your shopping in the parc market and have it delivered as long as it was over £40. Probably would have chosen this option had we known.

Activities go up in price depending on age of child, have definitely noticed a difference since DS became a teenager

We love CP! Very jealous right now and wish we were planning a trip.....

Personally, contrary to other comments on here, we all love Hucks restaurant. Although it's not cheap! Some restaurants are definitely better than others though.

Towels - if you don't want to take your own, you can hire ones at the poolside. But if it's a family of 4/5 and you go every day it's cheaper to take your own! I would recommend taking a spare one each of you plan to go every day, just in case you can't get them dried out in time (but we usually go in October if we go, so can't rely on the weather to dry them).

Definitely take comfy shoes and clothing for lots of walking!

Backpack style bags for the pool, especially if you're cycling.

Take your own bikes and decent locks. Their prices to hire have gone up a ridiculous amount over the years. If you take your own bikes, take them inside if you can at night as there are lots of thefts at CP I'm told.

Oh on your last day you're supposed to strip the bedding off (someone earlier said you didn't but they definitely ask you to and personally I find it a good way of knowing I've finished checking a bedroom)!

Take a couple of games (cards, board game, etc) for a cheap night in!

If you'll be eating in the lodge, take salt, pepper, vinegar, ketchup etc. We've never taken extra cooking stuff with us, but it is very basic and I'm sure every time we've wished we remembered to take a potato masher with us or something like that!

Cheaper to take alcohol with you than to but it there, if you're staying in (obviously you can't take your own into the bars).

If young children, one of those side things you can put in a bed and a travel stair gate is useful!

The supermarket on site is great - but take any specialist/must have items with you in case they don't have it! It's also expensive, so the last few times we did a big shop beforehand and took it with us.

Have an amazing time!

You can get into your lodge at 3pm (2.30 in some villages). Don't - its super.busy and tough to get parked outside your lodge. Go to the pool at this time as it's super quiet. Then go for dinner around 5pm. (You'll need to book it ahead of your visit). Then around 6pm one adult walks to the lodge with the kid(s) whilst the other one walks to the car park and drives to the lodge. (Assuming two adults in your group - obvs adjust as approppriate) You can drive to the lodge as late as you want on arrival day. The roads are nice and quiet and you can usually get parked right outside your lodge.