To ask for your Centre Parcs Longleat tips?

[Fitzsimmons]

Not a TAAT but having just seen a thread about if Longleat CP is any good I thought I'd post my own.

We are booked in for a week in June (yay for academies setting odd half term dates and off peak prices). There'll be me, DH, DS who is 5 and DD 2.

If you've been can you share your tips please? Things that are a must, things to avoid etc. Thanks.

Place marking as I'm going in 2 weeks!

Never been to the longleat one but a standard for any of them.... Take dishwasher tablets, washing up liquid and toilet rolls. All available there but extortionate price. Don't forget swim nappies. Once there, write down where you left your car

Loads of toilet rolls and a box of wine.

We took a bike out. I don’t do bikes normally. Underestimated the hills! Could barely walk for the rest of the holiday.

Book the restaurants! Eat the pancakes. Then eat some more!

Go to the spa.

Our toddler hated the things we booked but LOVED the pool and wave machine so we spent a lot of time there. Bowling was good too. He loved the mini shopping trolleys you get in the supermarket too.

I've been there hundreds of times. It's great! My mind has gone blank for tips tho! Hire bikes, take rucksacks for lugging your stuff around, don't eat out much unless you're minted, get your food shop done as soon as you get there and they'll deliver it later to your villa, swim first thing if you want it a bit quieter, book things as soon as possible or even pre book activities, it gets busy. Tell guest services anything at all that's not right with your villa, they'll sort it super quickly . Watch our for tick bites. Pre book your bike hire, it can be rammed on the first day. Always lock your bikes (We suffered a theft unfortunately). I'll keep thinking.

Lol definitely eat at the pancake house!

We had lots of ants in our first villa so don’t leave food out on surfaces. Toddlers toys were covered each morning! Our second villa was less of an issue.

The minitrek would be good for your 2yo. DS enjoyed the junior tree thingy when he was 5, but he was very tall and quite brave for his age.

Leave plenty of time for getting between sports plaza place and swimming place, it's steep and the path is zigzaggy so it's further than it looks.

We like the take-away pizza.

As well as loo roll, dishwasher tablets and washing up liquid, take a small sharp knife, pocket torch, matches (to light the log fire) and cling film. If you're going to have a log fire, pre order the logs so that they're there in the lodge when you arrive. They're quite heavy yo carry from the shop!

Oh god, I hate ants

Thanks all. I read that it's quite hilly but I live in Cumbria so I'm hoping I'll be prepared.

One question i do have, when you arrive do you have to lug everything from your car to your lodge or do they let you drive and drop off first?

If you are going in for booked activities get a lanyard so your DS can collect the pin badges. My DS loves his- has it hanging in his room as we speak.

If you paint pots pick something SMALL .

You can drive to the lodge to unpack then move the car.

Don't do what we did first time and think you can do a day out at Longleat after checking out on last day. DS was exhausted and going to Longleat nearly finished him off.

Take extra towels for the pool, and more for when the ones you’ve used to shower get wet. I used a damp towel and it was gross. Rucksacks for belongings, take bottled water and snack pots for the kids, and yourself as drinks are very expensive out. Pre book a baby sitter so you can have a night off, and pound coins for the lockers in the swimming pool. Wine wine wine. They have bbqs in the villas so bring sausages etc as you’re going in the summer. SMALL buggy for the landtrain.

Remember the Vaseline

We're going for the first time much later this year to celebrate a Golden Wedding anniversary.

Do you drive your car to the lodges to drop off luggage on arrival?

Planning to take our own bikes - I presume there are bike racks at the lodges etc? Clearly will take locks, etc

Apart from pancakes, is there a great option for good dining options? Husband is a great chef, so we enjoy our food.

Can you just turn up for bowling or do you pre book?

And is it true about Centreparcs and more exotic nights in?????!!!! That's all I ever read on Mumsnet!!!!

You can drive up to the lodge to unload and then you drive back and park up in the car park.

We do an Aldi shop before we go and cook in the lodges. It's fine if you keep it simple but I usually pack my own oven tins, a decent knife etc.

Definitely take extra loo roll, dishwasher tablets, tea towels, cloths etc

The spa is brilliant, go if you can!

RJnomore1 Remember the Vaseline

Beat me to it.

You have to prebook virtually everything at center parcs! When my kids were so young we didn't do any extra activities - they loved the pool and cycling about so much. You can drive to your lodge to unpack. Take snacks and easy meals with you. Take your own bikes but always lock them.

I'm afraid to ask about the vaseline

I've been about 20 times and never yet needed vaseline... I'm intrigued... have I been doing CP wrong?

Hang on - you can drive to your lodge from 3pm onwards - until then you can only park up in the car park. But you can go and do everything - so you just need to pack a bag with swim stuff.

We've not been to Longleat but been to Whinfell a few times and going again in a few weeks .

I didn't actually rate the Pancake place

If your kids like swimming then I wouldn't book too many activities for the kids. I've booked loads this time for DD 3.5, as I'm not a fan of swimming so would prefer other things to do with her! There's not so much for littleys under 3 but enough to make it interesting. Our DS 18 months will be happy enough just having the freedom to wander.

Book restaurants ahead of you plan to eat out, we tried to book on the last day and couldn't get anywhere.

Don't take the Paper that Supported the Blackshirts with you as Center Parcs have stopped advertising in them.

Take a bag of birdseed with you. We take one and I'm not kidding you, the scene in the evening and morning after putting some out was like something from Snow White.

Deer, rabbits, squirrels, little birds (finches, sparrows, bluetits, others I'm unsure of!), ducks, geese, coots, moorhens, buzzard, heron, woodpecker - all within ten feet of the big patio window, amazing. Saw badgers once too - not on the patio, but in the woodland.

If you want to eat early - BOOK in advance. The 5 - 7pm slots fill up really quickly.

We find, now the kids are older that we can book a bit more activity wise - when they were young, they just wanted to swim and use the play areas and little beach - for free. Now they like archery, laser clay shooting, table tennis, putting greens, crazy golf, badminton and table-football - it has got expensive.

According to the great burghers of MN, some form of lubrication is required.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/mumsnet_classics/a1385104-Center-Parcs-Anal-sex