To be really annoyed with Center Parcs?

[VivaLeBeaver]

A year ago I booked a break with them for this August.

Have just today had an email saying that there will be fairly major building work close to my cabin and to expect noise and disruption from 8am to 6pm.

They will give me £50 of vouchers to compensate me or I can book other (far more expensive) accommodation away from the noise or I can cancel my main summer holiday six weeks before I go.

I go for the peace and quiet and the squirrels and ducks by the patio not to spend it in a fucking building site.

Legoland Hotel pulled something similar on us earlier this year at a week's notice. The 3 alternative options they gave me were all crap. I told them that none of those worked for me and that actually what I wanted was X. The call centre person tasked with dealing with me couldn't authorise a different option. So I got her to pass me to somebody who could. It took a week of phoning and chasing but I eventually got what we deemed an acceptable alternative, which was substantially better for us and more like what we'd originally booked (and funnily enough more costly for them hence them not offering it originally!) Don't accept any of their options if it doesn't work for you - that's just their opening gambit, which they'll hope most people affected will accept. They can and will do more if you're polite and firm, and tell them exactly what you do want.

Good luck

Definitely go through the reservations manager or whatever the equivalent is. They'll have a live booking system to hand and the authority to move/change bookings (usually waiving the charge that comes with one click of a mouse. Grrrrr) If you deal with someone who knows the bookings system it lessens the chance of being fobbed off with a call back whilst they speak to someone who 'knows more about this sort of thing' or 'I need to authorise it with my superiors' IYSWIM xx

Seeing those T&Cs would put me off now. I would not want to lay out the costs of a CP holiday and then get there to find there's no pool, or half the activities are not happening, and you have no comeback.

OP, I would also be pointing out to the manager that you are a regular customer going back years.

Thanks Hippo, will ring on Monday.

I booked a year ago as well and the earlier you book the cheaper it is.

Knowing my bloody luck I'll get there and the pool will be shut. Do they ever actually do that?

It happened to a friend Viva. Planned maintenance is just that! Not telling your customers is shoddy

I suppose in their eyes they have told me, its just that its six weeks beforehand which gives me no time to sort anything else out.

They've responded to me on Fb, said they can't do anything and to message them my phone number and someone will ring me on Monday. Grrrrrrrr.

Well I'm a happy bunny now.

I've had an upgrade to an exec lodge well away from any building work!

That sounds fab!

hooray.

when this happened to me, they gave me vouchers, but then the next day they started work even earlier and put orange fencing opposite our villa. we had also booked a year in advance and it was a whole week we'd booked so were very pissed off. No wildlife was around. We could have been anywhere. When i complained again, they told me that since theyd already given me vouchers that was it and id accepted the work. I was not happy, I said that me taking a measley £50 goodwill off a holiday that cost an absolute fortune did not mean they could just up their game and start earlier and earlier and closer whenever they felt like, and that there was no wildlife and we did not book centre parks to stay on a building site just because it was near a swimming pool. We live near a bloody swimming pool at home. I also took it to their facebook page.
They then gave us £200 vouchers.

Then they started earlier again and our sauna broke down.
This time they moved us to a better chalet and it was such a relief, although half of our holiday was gone, they did handle it in the end but i was not impressed by them passing me from pillar to post, each pretending there was nothing they could do, and always being so nice and friendly so you dont feel like complaining, but fixing nothing. There's ALWAYS something someone can do, and centerparcs are relying on out of date reputation which theyre not maintaining well enough.

There's no way that any amount of vouchers could compensate for noise and disturbance on holiday.

I just looked at the cost of them and I'd actually paid £500 not £450 for the holiday. This exec lodge is £550 so from a financial point of view its only the same cost to them. Its in the central area very close to the pancake house which is another bonus!

wed paid nearly 900 for a week as dp had loved the wildlife and forest thing so much before.

They are pisstakers. Id never go again

Ooh fabulous. Do yiu get a better class of bunny in the exec zone?

yay.

no you bloody do not. Normal rabbits only!

old style executive was more shabby than new style woodland lodge, except you get a nonworking sauna out the back and a special bath thats like a half strength poor-mans jacuzzi.

And with exec you get maid service and wifi. Yay!

We stayed in a different exec villa last year.

It was a bigger footprint and different layout than the usual villas. Right by the car park with a reserved space. But we didnt like feeling like we were on the edge of the car park.

This exec villa has the normal layout of the ordinary comfort or comfort plus villa. So no bigger. The last one was massive. But its in the woods not the carpark. Ad yes to wifi and maid service.

Dunno about saunas and baths.

You get a coffee maker. Didnt use it last time as didnt have any pods but I might buy some pods for it this time. Can't remember what brand I need.

Great result!

Omg. Just looked at the Cp website again.

Only earlier today I said this exec lodge cost £550. I had their booking page open for the correct village and the correct week and that was the price.

This evening the price is £1098.

How can it go up by over £500 in 12 hours?

Oh no its me. I selected a week rather than mid week.

It has gone up to £599 though!

Do you mind if I ask what villa number/area you were in....we're due to go at the beginning of Sept and am concerned I'm going to get the same thing, we're staying in a Woodland Lodge to the left of the lake from memory.

Fab result though! xD

I know you said you didn't want to travel but the CentreParcs in Europe are brilliant. Holland, Germany, France and Belgium. Their facilities are far superior to the ones in the UK and cost wise good too. We are going for a week, the last week in August to one in Holland for €499.

Jiskoot. We were in an area to the right of the lake so you should be ok. I think you'd have heard by now if you were near the building work.

I've looked at holland CP before but as we're only ever needing a 1 bedroom place the savings don't seem as good. I can't get it cheaper when factoring in ferry and fuel.

Coffee machines are Senseo. You can get some pods in most big supermarkets. They supply about 3 dishwasher tabs too so we took a couple of extra ones to avoid buying.

Thanks will get some pods and take dishwasher tablets.