To wonder why on earth anyone goes to Center Parcs?!

[CakePigeon4]

I’ve had several friends who have been to various sites and raved about it, but to me it just looks like a slightly more upmarket Butlins?! It’s extortionately expensive, the chalets look like they’re furnished by Premier Inn, you have to pay for activities, you’re stuck on site eating at their overpriced restaurants... Am I missing something?!

We usually go after Xmas hols when it’s cheap (we paid something like 300 for 4 nights in accommodation for 2 families to share so 150 pounds per family makes for a v cheap winter holiday) No way would I pay full price though!

We like it because it’s a super easy break with young kids/toddlers compared to the camping/days out we do during summer. Accommodation has always been clean and pleasant and even the very cheapest option is very nice imo. It’s also a great choice for winter compared to a lot of places.

I definitely think it’s not really a ‘posh’ or ‘middle class’ holiday anymore though. I always see a proper mix of people including what would be described here as ‘chavvy’.

I have been nagging my dh to go to CP for ages but he feels the way a lot of pp do.

For me - it's just so easy, easy to book, easy to drive (less than 2.5 hours for us), activities are just all there, good is just all there whether it's self catering, easy reach restaurants or takeaway. I just want feeding and entertaining the kids to be easy as therefore I get more of a break.

For him - prefers proper countryside, doesn't like being surrounded by other people, thinks its expensive (it is of course).

I think it comes down to how much you value the convenience of having everything in one place. Perhaps if dh did the cooking he'd agree.

@Jenniferturkington The activities were very expensive and frankly pretty shit. For example dd was 3 and went on a balance bike activity. They rode balance bikes around cones in a hall for 45 minutes.

What the heck did you expect she would be doing- cycling Mont Ventoux perhaps, or a few laps of a velodrome? Surely if you choose to book an indoor cycling activity for a 3 year old you would apply an iota of wit and realise what it might entail?

@Artesia I have tears in my eyes

We go to one in Belgium, it’s loads cheaper (700€ for a week in the school hols if you time it right, compared to £1,500 here), nicer, you can pick your chalet for free and you get a voucher towards some of the activities, which are generally also cheaper than the English version. We stay in a chalet the other side of the lake from the main activity centre, there’s a lovely walk across a bridge to get to it. There’s loads to do. Cycling is really safe in Belgium (and Holland, it’s right near the border). It’s a fantastic holiday. Luckily I have never experienced any bum sex though!

“Here's an idea... rent a house in or near an actual forest.. not a manufactured one.. take your bikes, go to a local swimming pool and save ££££”

I’m LOL’ing at this during the night feed - visions of Renting a pebbledashed 2 up 2 down and cycling to the local council run leisure centre daily with a sweaty packed lunch 😭😭😭

are people so stupid that they can't work out how to find a riding stables, a cycle path or a swimming pool. I despair

Maybe they are @Fontofnoknowledge. After all, it would appear that some people are so stupid that they don’t understand that everybody doesn't like the same things, and that just because you don’t see the appeal in something, doesn’t mean that others don’t. Staying in a cottage in the middle of the woods (because there are literally millions of those 🙄) and cycling along busy roads to get to the local council swimming pool, then having to research and separately organise a load of activities and arrange transport is NOT the same as staying on a car free resort where everything is on site, accessible on foot or on a bike, there's a huge swimming centre with flumes and rapids etc, and activities can all be organised online in 20 mins. For someone so very superior and intelligent as you believe yourself to be I would think that's quite obvious. It might not be authentic in terms of an immersive forest experience, but that's not why people go. They go because it's convenient and fun.

We are about 55 minutes drive from one. When the boys were younger it made for a very easy holiday. And there are lots more activities than just cycling, riding and swimming. I remember DH getting up really early to join a Tai Chi class at the side of the lake. Sure it was expensive, but the convenience made it a truly relaxing break.
Whereas when we hired a cottage in the Lake District we had a nice week, but also a fair bit of driving to get to suitable activities. And no opportunity for one of us to nip out for an hour to do an adult activity.

I'm amazed that people go to the same place every year (where ever it is), even buy a second home to enable it. Amazed too that people go to places like Benidorm, or to more exotic places and remain in complexes and never visit the country around their hotel. I'm amazed at people leaving a nice dry home, with beds and en suites to camp under canvas and have to share a toilet block with strangers and suffer rain leaking into their tent. I'm amazed some people never travel abroad.

But hey - I also accept people do what they think will be a good holiday for their family, and that we don't all like the same thing.

I’ve actually been to Butlins. And premier inn. (What’s wrong with premier inn? Nice comfy beds). And stayed in chalets in other holiday parks.

Centre Parcs just does it way, way better.

Have always wanted to go, but too expensive. So I will claim it's shit out of jealousy

Honestly don’t understand about bum sex? Is it full of swingers and I never knew?

@jennymanara yes for me it was, oh my goodness I can actually relax on holiday for the first time ever! Kids are happy. Everything is clean, accessible and easy.

For me it’s a massive plus not getting into a blinkin car every day, or ordering moody kids on hikes in the country and trying to enjoy a cafe in France with screaming toddler.

Restaurants on site are pants though.

Who cares? Go on holiday to where you want to, where others go is none of your concern.

I went to centre parcs ten years ago, and hated it so much we came home a day early. Accommodation was substandard, food was crap, and activities were overpriced. The pool was nice, but absolutely jam packed. I've vowed never to darken the doorstep of CP again, it's not for me.
That said, I completely understand people wanting an "easy" holiday, where everything is on-hand. I've done self-catering with young kids, when it's actually been quite hard work - and that's the last thing a holiday should be.
My kids are lucky, we live so rurally that they have forests and nature on their doorstep, and they can get out on their bikes whenever they want without worrying about cars/traffic.
Everyone's different, we all try to choose the holidays we can afford, and what suits us best. I'm not into any sneering about it.

I should probably add, when we went all those years ago, we had a young family and money was tighter. I couldn't have afforded to pay for the activities willy-nilly. Maybe it makes a difference at CP if you can budget to pay extra for all the activities?
We're more comfortable now, but I'm still not in a rush to return!

Haha - what’s in a name, spot on post.

I’ve been a few times - it is not my cup of tea for all the reasons above but the kids loved it and even though we have been to many lovely and sunny child friendly and fun places since, they still ask when we are going back.

Have only ever been to woburn and even though accomm is simple it was relatively new so fine.

They aren't going to find it at Centre Parcs Brain

Reported.

Brain is seriously trolling mn right now. What a loser

Yep - it's on almost every active thread.

@mnhq you need to "up" the spam protection.

The guaranteed dry weather has to be quite a draw for a UK holiday, surely.

I had no idea it was that expensive though. 2.5-3K

We love CP. we’ve been to every single one of them in the UK and several (such as sherwood) multiple times. In total we’ve been about 20 times. We go as often as we can and we have taken the kids out of school for the cheaper long weekends at non peak times. We’ve been going since our kids were babies and still go now they are much older. We are a cycling/swimming/climbing/kayaking family so CP is perfect for us. We don’t like Butlins at all. I go to butlins with extended family as they love sitting watching shows. There’s no kids club at butlins. They play piped music in all common areas. It’s tonnes of slot machines in the common areas. It’s a totally different holiday to CP. When our kids were small, we put them in the crèche/kids clubs every day and as we raised our kids with no family support, for us it was a rare/precious chance to spend alone time together. We were utterly exhausted and my husband is scared of flying so going abroad wasn’t an option for us. I hate heat as I burn very easily so this country works best for me. I also get very seasick so my idea of hell is a cruise. CP fits all of us. Years ago, when kids were toddlers, we’d drive like zombies to CP, hand our kids over to staff in the fab crèche/kids club. we knew they were checked and safe and we then did activities together like badminton or go to the spa. Had some fun just the two of us, then had a meal together before picking the kids up. CP saved our marriage! Now the kids are older and cycle/swim independently we can rest easy, knowing it’s car free and the pools are well watched (lifeguards). The sports bars are great and we can sit with a drink while kids run off to the playground/amusements. It’s easy for the kids to make friends. Everything’s done right. We rarely eat out now. We take our own easy meals and spend a lot of time cycling/swimming which keeps the cost down. It’s easy to criticise but if you’re overworked, over tired, zero support parents then CP is the thing that works. Safe/contained kids club, easy UK short journey to get there. Everybody in the same boat plus a Starbucks. Perfect.

What are you missing? Bum sex and turds in the swimming pool.