Center Parcs

[Eliza72]

Afternoon 😁

Has anyone been to Centre Parcs since they opened? I am due to early November and I'm a bit gutted that we are only allowed 2 x 2hr swims. I imagined us being in there for most of our time!

It's such a lot of money as well. Is there much else to do (free) apart from the pool?
Thanks in advance for any advice. Feeling like I should of cancelled it to be honest but it's too late now😔

We are going next week and I can't wait. It very much depends on the age of your kids but 2 x 2 hour swim sessions will be enough for us. I hate the idea of going on holiday with it all preplanned out anyway so we've made a few reservations for food but nothing else. We will enjoy using the hired bikes, cycling round, spotting wildlife etc. But ds is only 2.
We went when I was a kid and my parents never paid for the extra activities and I always remember our holidays there being jam packed and fun

How old are your children? Apart from the pool nothing else is free at CP.
They have play areas though and lots of walks and it is Generally lovely.

I do k ow what you mean about the pool, if your children are old enough, you could easily spend all day in the pool area as it’s so warm you dry out really quickly and you can eat in there (in normal times), read a book etc then get back in.

I would plan to take it hire bikes, take a Frisby and football. Pre Book bowling which isn’t overly expensive and maybe one other activity so you’d have something each day that you can plan around.

Even in the past, if you didn’t pre-book you’d likely not get to do an activity you wanted if you waited until you were there so definitely choose ahead now

We've just come back and had a lovely time. It is all very well organised and welcoming. We didn't go swimming as my two are apparently too old for that now! Not much free stuff to do though I guess other than walking and the playgrounds. Worth booking some of the cheaper activities though like badminton, bowls etc. And book takeaways/restaurants ASAP if you want them as they get booked up.

We moved our CP holiday once during lockdown to Oct and will likely move the date back again as the whole point of it for us is the swimming. But we’ll wait and see what the offer is nearer the time - their website says the following so I think if you want to cancel you will get a chance to do so:

“We’ll continue to update this page as the situation changes, we will also contact you by email no later than two weeks before your break to let you know what facilities are available. Don’t worry, you’ll be offered a change of date or full refund if you’re not happy with the range of facilities and activities available on your break.”

We are meant to be going in March. We spend most of the day in the pool, Dd1 loves it, so we usually go early morning for a couple of hours, back to the lodge for lunch and a snooze (when she was younger) back out for a walk and another swim before dinner. We have already said we'll move our break if it's still the same.

Outdoor play parks are open there but none of the soft plays.

@Eliza72 it’s not too late, we’re due to go in Oct and if things stay the same will cancel. We spend most of the time in the pool, also later check in and no housekeeping which you pay extra for if staying in executive accommodation isn’t happening. I spoke to them yesterday but you have to wait for your 4 week email to say exactly what’s available and then have the choice to go, move your booking or cancel.

Well that’s all they can do? Just do other stuff too.

Thank you so much all for the advice, I didn't realise that we might still have an opportunity to cancel or rebook so I think that's what we might do!