Centre Parcs - self catering or room only?

[RosePosse]

First time going to Centre Parcs. Will be just me and DD (4) for 4 nights. We'll be getting there on public transport so packing light.

Is it worth paying an extra £80 for a self catering apartment? I'm not sure how expensive the restaurants are vs the onsite supermarket?

(Both would be within the hotel - all the lodges are 2 bed which we don't need)

We went, there were 6 of us, 5 adults, 1 child. I packed loads of food for us but my in-laws didn’t pack sensibly and enjoyed eating out. It cost us £700 and we paid for 2 nights, they paid for the other 2 plus we split lunch costs. While that is not a lot of money to some people I thought it was extortionate and have refused to ever go on holiday with them again. There’s more to that but it was my final straw. I’m generally careful with what I spend like that. I came home feeling ripped off by Center Parcs and my inlaws.

I love CP but the restaurants and on site shop are eye wateringly overpriced and it's just the high street chains (Bella Italian etc) so you're not getting anything exciting. We much prefer to bring in all our own food and cook (or get Cook fancy ready meals and re heat at the lodge). The on site supermarket is nice and good if you forget something or have a fancy for something

The restaurants are quite spendy, they don’t accept any discount vouchers you might be able to find for the relevant chains and rarely offer any of the ‘happy hour’ type deals.

The parc market is well stocked but you will also be paying a premium in there, the prices are more like petrol station prices with minimal offers as they know they have a captive audience.

Some of the supermarkets will do you an online delivery though, but only to the park gate so you would have to carry it to your accommodation.