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AIBU?

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Original poster

To feel a bit cynical about Centre Parcs?

240 replies

ilikeyoursleeves · 19/05/2012 22:05

We are just back from a 'five' day break at centre parcs at Whinfell. It was Ok and I am sure that many people enjoy it but it just felt like a bit of a rip off in lots of ways. Our cabin thing was really tatty, lots of wear and tear, the carpet covered in stains and the toilet seat kept falling off. The five day break was really three days as we couldn't check in til 330pm on Monday then had to leave by 10am on Friday. Yes I know we could have stayed and used the facilities on those days but realistically with two very young children and me being pregnant, who can be arsed lugging everything about and having to pay extortionate prices for lunch etc.

The swimming was like human soup with about two inches between each person, the Chinese banquet we got was double the price it would normally be and pretty bleurgh, but the main thing that annoyed me was that there was only TWO infant swings for the entire place and one tiny soft play area next to an expensive bar. I just felt that they were blatantly not putting in free activities so you had to spend more money. We ended up going out to see the lake district most days rather than doing the activities that were there as I thought they were a bit of a rip off too.

Sorry I am moaning so much but just wondered if this is just me or has anything else felt like this after staying there?

OP posts:
GwendolineMaryLacey · 19/05/2012 22:42

We've been going for 10 years and love it. The comfort villas are being upgraded and we very rarely pay extra for activities. It's what you make of it.

As for complaining about the poo, it's in a forest with wildlife ffs Hmm

happybubblebrain · 19/05/2012 22:43

I've never been. I've always thought you can get on a aeroplane and go somewhere really nice for less than a Centre Parcs holiday. Our holidays to Cyprus, Greece etc have always cost less than £700 and have been great. A damp cabin in a wood with loads of English people wouldn't feel like a holiday to me, but something to endure and then be glad when we are home again.

SpringHeeledJack · 19/05/2012 22:44

the new lodges are nice- but, again- vair expensive for what you actually get

I agree that the whole thing is much too expensive

the dcs love it, though. It is Child Valhalla

TerraNotSoFirma · 19/05/2012 22:52

We went to Whinfell in January. Booked and paid for it last August while I was on maternity leave as a treat before I went back to work, Well I was made redundant in November so could ill afford to go on holiday but really needed some cheering up.

We went, took all our own food & drink, dvd's & toys for the children. We had a ball. Loved the pool but it was out of school holidays so pretty quiet, never spent any money on activities.

I think you can do a cheap holiday there with really young children.

The best bit about it for me was that our phone didn't get a signal and we knew that no-one was going to come to our door. Bliss.

lockets · 19/05/2012 22:55

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SunshineOutdoors · 19/05/2012 23:00

We've just booked a week in a log cabin in a beautiful part of the world on a small site with BBQ area and playground. Lots of things to do locally: beach, forest, castles, nt attractions etc. Cost less than a third of what I saw advertised for centre parcs. Think it will be a lot better too, for being more 'authentic' (can't really explain what I mean by that, but I know what I mean!).

OneLastSoul · 19/05/2012 23:00

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grumblinalong · 19/05/2012 23:01

Oh no! This thread is making me proper irritated. I've got to go to CP in January next year (Jan ffs) against my will for my Mum's big birthday. I'm already dreading it because I'll be lone parenting 3 DC's as DH has refused to come, it has never appealed to me and my dsis told me it cost her FOURTEEN QUID for a fajita last week. A wrap with some chicken in was FOURTEEN pounds. Feints and vents in one fell swoop.

lockets · 19/05/2012 23:02

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

exexpat · 19/05/2012 23:09

Just checked - a week in a 3-bed basic villa at Longleat at the end of July would cost over £1,500.

Last year I paid less than that for a week in a 3-bed chalet in Brittany, on a holiday site with indoor and outdoor pools with waterslides, playground, lots of activities (some free, some costing extra, no need to book more than a day or two in advance), near a beach, better weather than the UK, and the price included the ferry trip. Much better value.

BawdyStrumpet · 19/05/2012 23:09

I always end up saying this on CP threads, but factor in a channel crossing and do www.landal.com instead. Far superior accommodation for less money imho.

startail · 19/05/2012 23:09

The pool is great and I love the spa, but everything else is £££ and a pain to book.

BawdyStrumpet · 19/05/2012 23:12

I have never done UK CP but did a Belgian one once. Huge queue to check in and a bungalow you could not swing a cat in. Breakfast was good though.

ProcessYellowC · 19/05/2012 23:12

YANBU!

Went to Longleat, mostly loved it, the cheapest chalet type was lovely, and we got an excellent late-booking deal, BUT:

It bills itself as a family cycling paradise. As two keen cyclists with a tiny-cycling-DS we thought it would be ideal to go there and do lots of rides with DS. However there seemed to be no end to the management/cleaning/maintenance vans shooting around on the roads, breaking their self-imposed speed limit, half of the roads were cycling-prohibited, and on the off-road trails pedestrians had priority...which is fine but when you want to travel at a nice speed there was nowhere to do it. The best cycling was to & from the train station.

Ah. Rant over. Smile

dictionarydiva · 19/05/2012 23:17

We used to go loads as kids in the late 80s and early 90s and loved it then but in my opinion it was far less. Cynical and commercial then. Have been recently and was a bit wtf.... Thought the accommodation seemed dated, the food was poor and there was a Starbucks. Back in the day it was weird and European and all seemed a bit out of the ordinary but now I agree it feels like middle class Butlins with no investment in renovating the chalets. And the pool at the one we were at looked like it hadn't seen a luck of paint etc since I was last there in about 1996.

dictionarydiva · 19/05/2012 23:18

Lick not luck. Sorry damn phone.

Poulay · 19/05/2012 23:19

Oh no, it's absolutely fucking dreadful.

We went to Longleat last year, wanted to do a family thing, climbing up poles and so on. This cost about £25 and each and it said it last 2 hours. DD was too young, so we had to send her to the playcentre thing. That was about £35.

So £100+, and the pole climbing was all over in 40 minutes. 'Is that it?', I asked. 'Yes.'

And the food is shit.

The week after we went to Butlins, activities were all included, or cost a fiver. And it cost much less (less than half AIR). And although the food was equally shit, we weren't imprisoned in a plastic forest, the car was just a minute away, rather than about a fucking hour's walk up about three steep hills, so we could go out and get a decent meal in the Chinese in town.

Butlins FTW.

Original poster
ilikeyoursleeves · 19/05/2012 23:21

I can't believe the prices they charge during school hols, at least ours was £400 but that was still a rip off I think. We also had to pay extra for the privilege of staying nearer the centre and paid extra for the comfort 'plus' cabin though the only extra really was the towels they supplied. It had a dishwasher but no dishwasher tablets.

And yes, any other place would be more authentic and not as claustrophobic. I was also annoyed that you couldn't take your car to the cabin so we had to endure a huge walk with two toddlers who walk at 0.1 mile an hour every time we tried to escape the place. Something tells me that it also a deliberate ploy to keep you barracaded in! DH went cycling outside centre parcs each evening and he said the place is surrounded by barbed wire lol!

OP posts:
Poulay · 19/05/2012 23:22

And oh yes, if you wanted to go and play tennis or something, you couldn't, because some type A hyperorganised pushy family had booked EVERYTHING six months in advance. From morning until night, all pre-planned.

Want a treatment in that lovely spa? How's 7am? Not suitable? Well tough, because that's all that's left after Pushy Parents have pre-booked everything.

Just go and stay in a tent in a field if you want outdoors.

And if you want a subtropical swimming paradise, flights to Tenerife will work out cheaper than Centerparcs.

Poulay · 19/05/2012 23:25

£799 for 3 nights in a 2-bed chalet (sleeps 4) at Centerparcs next weekend.

WTAF?

Katiekitty · 19/05/2012 23:42

Grin at Poulay's 'Butlins FTW'!

Maybetimeforachange · 19/05/2012 23:42

We went to Elvedon off peak last year and stayed in a new style woodland lodge. Despite being reluctant to go I had a fantastic time. The accommodation was great, sparkling clean, the most comfy beds I have ever slept in and completely peaceful. It was totally flat so we went on long bike rides with the children knowing that it was totally safe. The spa was also lovely. Granted, the restaurants weren't great but we took a tesco delivery with us and barbecued and spent about £100 over the 4 days.

My kids are begging to know when they can go back and we will when we can get another cheap deal. I think that if you go for new accommodation and go off peak it is a hard to beat holiday with school aged DC's.

pugsandseals · 19/05/2012 23:46

Can I just say that for anyone who drives for a living, centre parcs is absolute heaven! No cars, no travelling, just get up & walk to where you want to go. That I believe, is what you are paying for. And I am very willing to do it just to know that the most amount of travelling I will do while there is a ride on the landtrain or a go on the quad bikes. Bliss!

MorrisZapp · 19/05/2012 23:48

David Lodge fictionalises it as 'Gladeworld'. And lambasts it. Suspect he's a once but never again man.

TheHouseOnTheCorner · 19/05/2012 23:53

Sorry but the line "Should anal have been part of our package?" had me in stictches op! I imagine you getting more and more outraged at your Centreparcs experience on the phone to their complaints dept.

"The pool was rank and the hut thing was tatty AND I've just learned that we should have got Anal as part of the package! WHERE was our anal??"