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Original poster

Center Parcs -extortionate?

110 replies

tomboytown · 30/07/2019 22:01

I’m so shocked at the prices of everything.
Basic pasta dinner for 4, one beer- £85

No availability at 4pm for dinner, the restaurant had just opened and was deserted, nothing available TIL 8pm apparently
Was still half empty at 5pm

V basic (crap) burgers for 4 £35

A badminton court for 4 for 1 hour is £35

The map is really bad

The staff are great, fabulous idea, but needs a massive overhaul

OP posts:
OhWifey · 30/07/2019 22:03

Which one are you at? The thing is, their occupancy is ludicrously high: high 90s%. So they can just continue, knowing they've got the customers. Why change?

bloated1977 · 30/07/2019 22:05

Which one are you at? Our badminton cost £15 for an hour. We pre booked all our restaurants so have been able to walk in and eat fine. Our meals for 4 are costing about £45 each.

madeyemoodysmum · 30/07/2019 22:05

Not been for over 7 years now. Just won’t pay the inflated holiday prices

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PrayingandHoping · 30/07/2019 22:07

We went at Easter. All meals were sensibly priced and good quality although they did have issues with serving a party of 14 with food at same time!

They always stagger their seating at restaurants which is why they recommend you pre book your restaurants before your holiday

Holenewme · 30/07/2019 22:07

I don’t think there’s anyone who thinks that Center Paris is cheap. It’s school holidays so it’s even more expensive at the moment.

I don’t know how you can be surprised that there’s no availability in the restaurants. They staff it based on bookings and they email you reminding you to book tables and activities about 5 times a day from the moment you book your holiday.

Original poster
tomboytown · 30/07/2019 22:08

But how do you book when you don’t know what time you will be hungry ?
You have to plan everything within an inch of its life!
Whinfell

OP posts:
Shinygoldbauble · 30/07/2019 22:09

The Irish one has just opened and I had a look at the cost. It seems incredibly expensive. I read somewhere that laser tag for a family of 4 costs €100.

Original poster
tomboytown · 30/07/2019 22:09

I didn’t think it was going to be cheap, but 4 bowls of pasta and some dough balls for £85?!

OP posts:
PrayingandHoping · 30/07/2019 22:10

We tend to eat our main meal at a similar time of day every day in our family 🤷‍♀️

Holenewme · 30/07/2019 22:10

Yeah, it’s grim. We go once a year or so as dc’s love it and for a weekend it’s a nice break. But looking at the itinerary with everything planned to the minute is the opposite of what I imagined holidays with kids would be

Holenewme · 30/07/2019 22:11

I’m at Bluestone in Wales at the moment which is similar but a lot cheaper and in a beautiful part of the country.

Original poster
tomboytown · 30/07/2019 22:13

At home, yeah we’d eat at 6/7
But you are limited to the availability for the activities, so you have to fit in eating around that.

OP posts:
Scissor · 30/07/2019 22:13

You will surely know when your family eat ? Then pre-book around that??

Original poster
tomboytown · 30/07/2019 22:14

They were starving at 4 today

OP posts:
Shinygoldbauble · 30/07/2019 22:15

I just priced up a 4 night midweek stay for 2 adults and 2 children in Longford. I included bike hire for 4 and 1 gym pass. Close to €1700.

NoBaggyPants · 30/07/2019 22:15

£20 each isn't particularly expensive for a meal.

teddypasty · 30/07/2019 22:16

People must really love it to pay the prices which are extortionate. Same goes for butlins. We go to Spain every October half term for £1500 including flights, and all food and drinks. Weather is hotter than typical English August week. Center parcs and butlins don't come close on price.

BubblesBubbly · 30/07/2019 22:18

I’ve only ever been to the Whinfell one. We just get the take aways and use the pool. The only thing I’ve paid for additionally is the pony trekking which my dd loves. But we mainly just use the pool and play area

PrayingandHoping · 30/07/2019 22:18

We had 6 children in our group from 4-12. Meals books at around 6. If they were hungry before they'd have been given a snack.

We had Italian one night. The prices were similar to what you'd pay at a high street Italian 🤷‍♀️

Original poster
tomboytown · 30/07/2019 22:23

Yeah but you have to cycle up the hill to go home and get them a snack!!

OP posts:
Namechangeforthiscancershit · 30/07/2019 22:23

Is £85 for 4 people extortionate? And yes, you do need to book everything especially at this time of year.

The rapids though!

Impatientwino · 30/07/2019 22:24

We paid £15ish for a badminton court at Woburn on Saturday.

BubblesBubbly · 30/07/2019 22:24

Don’t you own a rucksack? Stuff it with snacks

Jsmith99 · 30/07/2019 22:24

Center Parcs is not ‘extortionate’. It is a business selling what it considers to be a premium product at a premium price, just like Waitrose, Mercedes-Benz or Apple.

That premium is higher during periods when demand far exceeds supply, such as school holidays. Nobody who thinks they offer poor value for money is forced to stay there.

underneaththeash · 30/07/2019 22:25

We just take food with us. Restaurants are generally crap at the ones we go to.
Last tag is expensive, but badminton courts aren’t.