To not get Centerparcs?

[goingmadinthecountry]

No holiday this year - finances - friends suggested a weekend at Centerparcs. 600+ for a weekend without activities, showers rubbish compared with ours at home, basic kitchen with not too clean stuff in it, cheap plates, tiny outside area, all the effort of shopping/cooking/washing up/cleaning/making beds. Overcrowded overpriced activities, screaming children. Having to be at every activity at a set time, riding a crappy hired bike around for absolutely no reason whatsoever. Been before and it all seemed like an effort. Really, am I missing something? Disclaimer: I live in the countryside so feel no need to get away from it and commune with nature.

YANBU it's totally shit. Expensive, overrated and feels like being trapped in the Truman show.

Have stayed in Holland ones a couple of times - much cheaper I agree. Maybe I'm just too antisocial.
For 1300 between 2 families for a weekend I do not expect basic anything.

I wouldn't rave about it, but I've been a couple of times with The Toddler.

He loves it and we only go to the European ones which are cheap as chips.

We paid €215 for 5 days in a luxury chalet in France over February half term, and got a last minute long weekend in the Netherlands for about €200 last May.

I wouldn't pay UK prices though. Some of the accommodation is grotbags.

I wanted 3 ensuite bedrooms with good self catering facilities and the executive lodge ticked all boxes and was cheaper than other options in the same area. However it was not during school holidays.

It's the only holiday DM ever takes - medical issues mean she doesn't travel well and certainly can't fly, and doesn't like to be too far from a proper loo. She can have fresh air and nice walks, and have half a day in the spa pampering. She goes on the flumes in the pool bit and soaks in the Jacuzzis.

And she pays for us to go too so we obviously love it

I absolutely get why people don't like it. I think it's very Marmite, and yes the pricing is infuriating.

If you don't like it don't go! We're going on Monday and are all looking forward to it. Our girls love the swimming and the cycling and love being able to walk out for dinner at night. They love the climbing wall and the archery and the tree trekking. It wouldn't be top of my list without kids but if they're happy we're happy. I don't think you can compare it to a self catering cottage holiday (which we also do every year) - they're just different animals.

I love CP and have been 20+ times.

it's a bit of a posh Butlins isn't it

I have been once, many years ago, for a hen weekend gathering of female friends and family,

I wouldn't go now - it seems very overpriced for what it is really and isn't really my idea of a nice holiday, so no yanbu

We've had a few lovely times when the children have been v young. We live within 45 mins drive of one of them, and when we go, usually book at the last minute for a weekend out of season: go straight after school on Friday, leave in time for school Monday morning. The kids love it, we all sleep amazingly well after all the activities, the spa's very good and the accommodation is a lot better than basic gites in France!!

Some of the activities are pricey, but not all of the, by any means.

My main grudge against it is how popular it is, so even in January, it's full, so little opportunity for off the cuff planning. I can't imagine ever being willing to pay school holiday prices for it though, would rather go abroad.

We love it I am booked up for Oct half term and its costing us £479 in the Woburn one for a 3 bed lodge. We buy breakfast passes so we go out for breakfast and come back for lunch outside if its nice.

My ds loves being able to ride everywhere, this year was the first year we have booked any activities. Dh sid a 2 hour one for £12 and ds had a 3 hour one for £22 which I didn't think was that bad.

But its each to their own. We are looking at France next year and the Centerparcs there is €1000 cheaper than Eurocamp

We go to the french parks and love it. My ds could live in the pool quite happily and we love hiring the bikes to cycle through the french countryside.....bliss

thewittank please could you let me know which one you went to in Holland?

My idea of hell but I am not the target market.

Yes of course -it was called Het Heijderbos.
m.centerparcs.com/gb-en/netherlands/fp_HB_holiday-park-het-heijderbos
We went in 2012 and really enjoyed it. Even the overnight ferry!

I think it's a bit like North Korea. Last time we went I had to drive to a local petrol station to get my fix of Diet Coke because they only sell Pepsi in their hideously overpriced supermarket. And I hate having to eat in shit chain restaurants like Cafe Rouge where they never have enough staff and there always seem to be loads of things off the menu. Some people absolutely love it but I find it all a bit eerie.

We went to one of the French ones in May, we live a couple of hours' drive away. Think it was about 1000 euro for a premium one, it was OK because out of the school holiday season but pool was pretty busy so wouldn't like to see it in school holiday time. It suits us having everything onsite and the posh chalets are allright (no washing machine or laundry onsite though, which is a total pain), onsite shop is a Carrefour so you eat OK... it was just really quiet and calm as well which was ideal for us, we were knackered. I'd struggle to think of another holiday setup where we'd have separate but adjoining rooms for us and the girls, plus no cars around, and a big decent pool and other activities. It wasn't my all time favourite holiday but with 3 year olds I reckon you just count yourself lucky if everyone sleeps .

We love it too, loads to do, safe cycling, easy holiday, my boys are veery active so having lots of activities within easy reach is great. I love the pool ad the spa. I like self-catering, so we don't eat at the restaurants.

DH hates it - he doesn't like lots of other people's children and he doesn't like some of the people who go there - so I tend to go with girlfriends and their children instead.

I wouldn't swap it for a beach holiday though.

Thanks thewittank i'm interested as we went to Duinrell last year, loved it and loved Holland but fancy trying somewhere different next time :)

Holland is beautiful isn't it! We also went to
m.efteling.com/nl/
theme park when we were there which was fantastic (if it's your kind of thing!). The kids liked it more than eurodisney!

Trapped. Children got norovirus from pool. Cycling in pointless circles (with OP on this one). Horrible food in restaurants, and overpriced rubbish in the shop. A horror.

Oh I fancy Efteling! I'm currently researching prices for a week at het heijderos for next Easter :)

I hate it. Overpriced accommodation. Overpriced food. Everything charged except swimming. It feels like the Truman Show with a fence around to keep the real world at bay- and truthfully, you could access all of the things it offers for half the cost if you moved outside of the fence!!!

The one we went to in Holland was Port Zelande - dh was working near there so we went there instead of a hotel - he went off to the office every day. Went out most evenings to local towns to eat and there were good local beaches with chilled live music and kite surfing etc. Town house for a tiny amount of what villas cost here and we fished for starfish etc off a jetty.

Pool and eating areas were busy - glad we went out for lovely local food every evening.