AIBU to think that the reason Centre Parc prices are so high is because...

[spababe]

they want a 'certain type' of person to stay and wish to exclude others ie the Butlins type?

You may not like what I am saying but I think it is true. Prices in school holidays are rather eye-watering but my kids love the place and it's the only place they want to go to this year. I've gone for a middle of the range villa sleeping 4 and it's cost £1125 for 4 nights Mon-Fri.

I'm surprised with people saying cp is unique. There are lots similar: butlins, bluestone etc. dayshiftdoris how did you.manage to find such a high quote for Butlins? That's nuts and very odd. I went for about 150, school hols, 4 nights and with catering (2 beds).

The Aviemore place looks lovely. I went there as a child and it made a big impression on me. I'd like to go back. Thank you.

We went to CP in term time when DS was small and were quite underwhelmed by the experience.

I suppose the school holiday prices show that there are a lot of people with more money than sense who will pay a huge price to be fenced into a foresty area and fleeced of their cash.

With regard to the 'certain type of people', I feel posh at Butlins and common at CP...where does that leave me?

Been to a few of them - had a great time due to company etc and shared prices , but would never pay the full price for a Chalet on my own - I don't 'get' the prices because it isn't remotely luxurious or unique - weather hardly a draw in the UK either - hey ho - Would definitely go more often but find so much better value elsewhere.

We have a funny half term week. We are having a 4-bed lodge thing for half the price of a two-bed in the normal half-term week.

I haven't been to Butlins but SIL who has came to CP with us and was astonished at the "luxury".

Meant to add I have no idea how cp can charge this much. What do they provide which is so amazing?

It is worth bearing in mind that part of the reason it is often cheaper to holiday in France or other part of Europe is the VAT rate in France for holidays is around 7% as compared to the 20% rate we pay in the UK. There is a bit of a campaign in the tourism industry at the moment to try to persuade the government to bring our rate down as it would likely mean an increase in trade here, keep people spending their money at home and be better for the cash strapped population in general, you can see more here www.bha.org.uk/vat-campaign/questions-answers/

just had a browse on both Butlins and CPs websites for my small family for this year, and prices for same times were almost the same

I have clean fallen off my chair in shock at these prices.

Can barely afford a holiday - let alone a CP holiday - these days but the inlaws have taken us twice. If you're staying during term time it is a reasonable price, in holidays the rack the price up AND the restaurants and takeaways are exorbitant and very average. It's not at all posh either in my experience.

How bloody much? We stayed in Disneyland hotel 4nights/5days before Christmas for that, with swimming pool and park entry included! Not saying Disney is perfect, but I'd rather be there than cp!

I don't think comparing Disney with CP is comparable. Because, quite honestly, almost any holiday (except camping) is cheaper abroad than staying in the UK. My previous loathing of flying meant I always holidayed with my ex in the UK, typically hiring a holiday cottage. Just the two of us, so a one- or two-bed property of reasonable standard was fine - we didn't expect hot tubs, underfloor heating etc. We tended to go June or September either side of school holidays as we didn't have kids and even as far back as eight or nine years ago we were paying around £500-£600 a week depending on where we went. So I imagine a three- or four-bed could easily have hit £1000 in the school hols without having anything free like a swimming paradise at CP.

Which always annoyed me that we could have got a package deal to somewhere hot and sunny for less than we paid to stay in the UK.

Well we must be chavvy then!

Have booked a holiday in butlins for beginning of summer holidays (22nd July-29th July so 7 nights) for £550 total for 2 adults and 2 children staying in silver 2 bed apartment.

Normally the week would have cost over £1000 but because we booked when they had a sale of half price we paid loads less.

Free pool with slides/wave pool etc, free fair ground rides, free entertainment- well to be fair I would not have spent over £1000 as I would rather save a little more and go abroad!

Centre parcs is so expensive as they can rely on people to pay stupid prices to stay in a shed and spend their leisure time in an upturned goldfish bowl.

Whoever owns it must be laughing their bloody head off.

Prices are high because they know people will pay them so they feel so much better than the 'butlins types' it is holiday snobbery it is just an expensive holiday site nothing more, but they get away with it because people pay the over the odds prices

andfeel smug about it

Hmm. If anyone can point to a dramatically cheaper way of holidaying 2 or 3 hours from London, in a self-catering place 5mins from a big pool with waterslides, where the kids can go everywhere safely by bike because there's no traffic, and where there are tons of extra activities on offer, I'd be very interested to hear...

as for all the comments about chavvy / lower-middle etc. Jeez. The people at CP are your fellow human beings, as they are at Butlins, Aviemore, French chalets or Lanzarote. Try showing them a bit of respect. They laugh, cry, eat, sleep and bleed the same way you do. You do not need to care about what class they are or how much money they have in their bank.

the people at CP are your fellow human beings, as they are at Butlins, Aviemore, French chalets or Lanzarote. Try showing them a bit of respect. They laugh, cry, eat, sleep and bleed the same way you do. You do not need to care about what class they are or how much money they have in their bank

That is not true. As a middle class person, I cry tears of pure Evian. I imagine the poor cry tears of supermarket own brand lager and discarded cigarette ends.

Go to Butlins then. We go every year and the dc love it. They have a big swimming pool too.

We went a couple of times out of peak times when dd was about 2 and 4. As we were mostly into swimming and walking and we pretty much self catered we thought it was great. However, my DB took his boys when they were teenagers in the school holidays and of course they wanted to do various activities so the cost was pretty horrendous.

slhily I love cp for all the reasons you describe and now that dd is 10 we might go again so she and a friend can cycle around on their own a bit not having to worry about traffic. It might be pricey but personally I think they do it well.

I thought it was supposed to be a woodland equivalent of Butlins, and nothing out of the ordinary.
It's never appealed to me, "sanitised, plastic outdoors", as mentioned by Pictish, sums up my feelings perfectly!

I love centre parts but yes, they are incredibly expensive for self catering. DS loves the idea of their treehouses. Do I please him and take us all? Still deciding.

I will never ever go there. I have heard too many people complaining about how ordinary it was when the enormous cost is taken into account. When I think about all the wonderful things we could do as a family with the money you are spending on your 4 nights accommodation, op, it just makes me even more certain. And it is just a glorified holiday camp, after all.

Have never been, far too expensive. We rent self catering cottages/lodges or houses, tend to try and do it direct rather than the through a big company as its cheaper, even in the summer holidays for a week we tend to pay £500 and thats for somewhere with three bedrooms that can sleep 7.