Centre Parcs - which one (dc1 and 3)

[Kingtiger101]

I’m trying to sort out a holiday that is actually enjoyable for me, DH and our two kids who will be one and three. So far we’ve done self catering air b&b breaks and come back exhausted and desperate to be home!

Centre parcs seems like it might be a good option. I’m a bit overwhelmed by all the choice! Are they basically all the same? I want good places to eat out, activities that my kids might like, I’d like to go horse riding and use a spa!

We’re in London but happy to drive further if it is a better

Thank you!

Elveden as it’s quite flat.

I’d recommend looking into the Luxury Family Hotel Group when you have little ones. It actually feels like a break! www.luxuryfamilyhotels.co.uk/

Elveden has sainsburys and Tesco nearby for click and collect or aldi and lidl if you actually want to shop

Elveden for nice mature woodland and rabbits ducks etc outside your window.

I’m not a huge fan of centreparcs but have been to sherwood, elvedon and Woburn (with family - not our choice). Out of those, we liked elvedon the best. However if you are willing to travel, bluestone in Wales is far, far superior.

Ah yes. Those who complain they are hilly.
They arenot up mountains.

Longleat. Pay more for a villa near the pool. It's worth it.

If you go to Longleat, you can pay a bit extra to be near the plaza, which would mean you don't need to worry about the hilly bits. Bella Italia is one of the cheaper restaurants there and Cafe Rouge has some very reasonably priced options. The Pancake House is fabulous (assuming you like pancakes obviously).

@Verite1, I don't want to derail the thread, but could you give me your Bluestone highlights? We've looked at it in the past, but DH has been put off by the longer journey.

Hmm in a real longleat or elveden dilemma now. Gmaps tells me both are more or less the same difference. Lots of people here are saying elveden with little ones (and flatness appeals as does the wildlife) but longleat sounds more exciting (and I love pancakes and so does elder dd and I lose love animals so the safari park is a draw). Help!

Why is elveden so good to the people saying elveden?

Distance not difference!

We've done longleat and Elveden (and also Woburn). I'd go for Elveden unless you want the safari park at longleat. Longleat is too big and too hilly. They don't run the train on arrival and departure days which meant I ended up with a 40 minute walk just to collect the car from the car park and bring it back. We spent a lot of the holiday just getting from one place to another.

They all have pretty much the same facilities and activities, and mostly the same restaurants with some minor differences.

I'd go for eleveden with smaller children and longleat when they're older (6+). Elveden is easier to get around and it has a pancake house too. (Obviously it doesn't have the safari park though!)

By the way, I think you're making a good choice going for Center Parcs OP, based on your holiday criteria! Can be hard to find good holidays for pre schoolers.

Thanks guys! This is so helpful. So elveden definitely sounds best or longleat if we get a lodge close to the village? Is that right?

I think I’ll aim for elveden but book quite close to the time and see what deals there are.

Executive lodge seems a good idea thanks to pp.

Any other tips?

@TheABC. Several things. It was much more chilled than centreparcs. There was much more free stuff so you didn’t always have to be going from one expensive booked activity to another. We went for long weekend and only did two paid activities all weekend. It’s also much prettier than centreparcs - the central village looks like a properly old village (although it’s not). We thought the food was better (though we went with friends who knew the best restaurants etc). We ate at oak tree and had fish and chips takeaway one night. Lodges are also hugely spacious. We shared a lodge in centreparcs and felt we were living on top of each other but we got 3 families in one lodge in bluestone and felt we had loads of space. Also - it’s in a really pretty area of Wales. Tenby is gorgeous. We would not voluntarily go back to centreparcs but we are considering going back to bluestone despite it being a 5 hour drive for us.

We’ve been to Elveden, which is well suited for young children. There is a large Sainsbury’s about 10 minutes away, just off the A11 so you could do a click and collect shop there.

Thanks! Sounds perfect.

I’m excited about this - might be the first holiday I enjoy since kids!

Longleat is really annoying because the two main areas (swimming pool and sports plaza) are a long distance apart with a big hill (and I mean big) in between. So regardless of where your villa is, you can't get near both.

They've all got pancake house restaurants btw. I love them.

Those suggesting Elveden - did you get aircraft noise? The last time we were there, there was a lot of noise from military aircraft, but that was many years ago, so may be different.

OP if you go to Longleat, I would strongly suggest paying extra to get a lodge near the Plaza. Don't worry too much about the hills - the land-train goes around the park after 6.00 on arrival days, and all day on the other days. Also, the walk back to the Plaza from Jardin Des Sports really isn't that bad if you walk via the Pancake House (do NOT go round the other way).

My tips:
Take Diet Coke as it's mainly Pepsi onsite (I am very fussy about Diet Coke)
Pancake house - the regular pancakes only slightly bigger than small ones, so not worth the extra money
Supermarket closes at 4 on Sunday
Supermarket delivers over £40
Take DVDs, swimming towels
Starbucks in JDS closes at 3 on Friday and Monday
Don't need dishwasher tablets as some provided but take washing up liquid and a sponge