To think that people should at least go to Centre Parcs before they slag it off

[Ohbehave1]

I am fed up with my friends saying how expensive Centre Parcs is or how they wouldn't like it when they haven't even looked on the booking site.

I know they can be expensive but I have done it on the cheap. And I know that they have gone downhill a bit, but they can still be good value for money.

For those that want to complain, at least look at the booking form.

We go every year, we home ed though so are lucky that we can go during term time. I wouldn't go during the holidays as it is ridiculously expensive. We only do swimming - it's hard to get the children out the pool lol!

Sienna, londonrach and fuckit - thank you! Fingers crossed :-)

For £600 Ted you could have had 3 nights in a really swanky spa hotel with breakfast and probably evening meals too.

Are the Center Parcs woods naicer than normal woods? What is this obsession with walking in the woods as if it is something that is unique to Center parcs .

To be fair the spa is really nice, as long as there are no shrieking teens in there (and you can complain if there are). If you stay away from the central areas and the weather is decent, the forest is quite nice too - but then there are loads of other forests to walk around in near us which are free and bigger, with nice pubs nearby, bike paths and so on.

I think CP suits people who want everything laid on and who live in places where kids can't roam. They can around here, so there's limited appeal for us.

What frustrates me is that I can see what CP might be if someone showed the place a bit of love and stopped treating the guests like idiots to be fleeced. That kind of eats away at me during each visit and I resent them for it. The potential is huge but each visit never quite lives up to its promise.

I am amazed nobody has mentioned the CP bumsex thread ....

I did have a really good massage there, I must admit!

I've been. It's expensive. And we didn't hire bikes or do anything other than walking and swimming. DD was only 2 so that was fine. It is a bit shit going and not being able to do anything else they have on offer. It's a bit like going camping in a house. Its nice enough, but better if you have more money.

But I've stayed in lovely hotels so I'm not having any wool pulled over my eyes. I know it's not cheap. I know it's a bit herd like in the pool. It's still a nice half term break for us. I have 4 kids. My boys are 12, 10&3. Dd is 1yr. If we just had DS1&2 we'd probably spend feb half term doing something else but CP allows me to occupy all 4 at the same time.

I don't understand the comparison to 2wks in the sun or a luxury hotel break. They're different things altogether. I have lots of friends who go to CP and I don't know any who chose it as their summer holiday or would consider it as a romantic short break. It's a short activity break that allows us all to relax and breaks up that miserable Jan/Feb post Christmas pre spring slog.

It's ridiculously expensive, and the kinds of activities we like to do as a family can be done for free in the great outdoors anyway! Walking, cycling, rock-pooling, visiting local places of interest etc. I don't see what on earth CP would offer us that we wanted tbh. And the prices!!! We do camping (in small campsites with no 'entertainments' etc) or fairly budget cottages etc. My idea of a good holiday is not squeezing into a shared pool full of other people's children, doing spa stuff or paying a fortune for extras. I don't need to try CP to find that out.

Which is why it's each to their own, Holmes. The idea of camping makes me shudder. Communal loos and showers are not my idea of a relaxing family break. But I know lots of people love it which is fine.

If we didn't have ds3 and dd then we'd probably go skiing for feb half term instead which would probably cost 3x as much to stand around in the cold and be just as herded in. But I know lots of people who couldn't stand to miss their annual ski trip whereas I can take it or leave it. Each to their own.

It's not that expensive, just bulk it out with lentils and nobody will know the difference once they're in there.

I really don't understand how families can afford a 2 week foreign holiday AND a break at this overpriced shit-tip too.

Actually giggling at the poster who said you'd have to be "boringly urban" not to enjoy CP. I'm as outdoorsy as they come and that's precisely why I hated it. Why cycle on flat sanitised paths when you can go in the actual, real, outdoors?

It's shit. An overpriced high street of shit chain restaurants in the middle of a forest, next to a busy swimming pool. Frankly I'd rather go to the Lake District and walk up a real hill, before eating in a proper pub.

Frankly I'd rather go to the Lake District and walk up a real hill, before eating in a proper pub.

Exactly.

Ditto Running

And so would I if I didn't have 4 kids from 1yr up to 12yrs.

Entertaining all 4 on the same break is hard. CP allows me to do that once a year. I'm not the OP. I'm not saying everyone must love it. I'm just saying that for some families, it works as a short winter activity break better than anything else ive found. My older 2 are very active;very sporty. They go enjoy walking but it's difficult even with an off road buggy and also a 3yr old. It also doesn't offer them the variety for a week in February.

Centre Parcs is not the countryside. I love CP, I hate the countryside. I'd be miserably bored walking up a hill in the soggy Lake District.
Centre Parcs is an activity holiday.
Going to a spa hotel, or a beach resort or hill walking or other types of holidays are not comparable.
They aren't better or worse, they are just different.
The CP restaurants are terrible tho. Even the Indian was awful.

I really don't understand how families can afford a 2 week foreign holiday AND a break at this overpriced shit-tip too

What's to understand? families have different budgets for holidays.

We have been 6 times in last 4 years. I still agree with most of the posters . It is expensive. There is not much point going if you aren't doing activities, which don't last very long so you end up doing quite a few of them. The food food in all of them is crap. We are going next year. The kids love it.

Oh yes, the restaurants are rubbish. No argument there. Especially hucks which likes to think it's Hard Rick Cafe but is closer to Little Chef. But, it is what it is. We don't go expecting great food slthough the Forrresters Inn isn't too bad and is set away from the hub.

Hard Rock Cafe obviously

I agree, each to their own, M4blues, but the OP is the one expressing disbelief that anyone could fail to like CP.

Wow and crap food too? Definitely not going then!

Forrresters Inn is actually ok but more expensive. I think we spent about £150 last time we ate out there but that did include a bottle of wine.
Hucks probably as expensive but crap food.

There is nowhere that serves very good, quality restaurant fayre but then we never go expecting that. Dh regularly eats out at top end restaurants both in London and NY and he seems to manage for a few days at center parcs.