No washing machine at centreparcs

[SuperCaliFragalistic]

I'm at centreparcs for a week. Someone else paid for this holiday which I'm very grateful for. However our 4 bed (sleeps 8) Lodge doesn't have a washing machine and there are no laundry facilities on site. I know its a massive rip off anyway, and I know I should have checked the details and packed more stuff, but seriously? Now I'm expected to rinse my knickers in the sink after paying 4k for this this holiday! It takes the piss.

I watched a program once on brits abroad and the lady did the full family holiday wash before she came home as the washing machines in the laundrette were bigger.

@SuperCaliFragalistic

I'm at longleat.

Here's a list of nearby supermarkets www.tripadvisor.co.uk/FAQ_Answers-g209964-d523986-t2722839-Is_there_a_nearby_supermarket_i_e_Asda_or.html and it would seem there is a launderette in Frome too frome.nub.news/n/frome39s-launderette-on-culver-hill-remains-open

🤣🤣🤣 yep!!!

(sorry...that was my eloquent reply to @Yuckyfinger)

I have never been to CP and havent looked at their up the facilities, my question would be 'do they provide high chairs'?, because frankly the people using high chairs are likely to have to deal with baby clothes, ie, food, dirt, poo, wee etc, you would have to have a lot of baby clothes to manage that lot for week without doing a bit of washing - and at £4000 a week I would expect a washing machine as a matter of course, not to have the convienience of one would stop me booking.

@Lelliebellieboo

I've just got back from CP, and I have to say although the break was amazing, it was a bit grim in the lodge with no cleaning service at all. You're simply provided with a single sachet of washing up liquid and 2 dishwasher tablets and that's it. We also only had half a toilet roll provided. No antibac spray/wipes to be able to wipe down surfaces at the end of the day and no spare towels.

Normally, we use towels a couple of times each before moving onto a clean one/sticking a wash on, not 4 days in a row - by the end of the break, our lodge was in definite need of a good clean - as people have said, for the price that you pay at CP, a refresh of cleaning products/change of towels isn't really too much to ask for as standard. What are they doing with their cleaning teams now? Have they been furloughed if they aren't working during the week, just on handover days?

It was also a real pain that we could only swim twice. We loved the swimming and for a 5 day break, this should be upped to 3 sessions without a doubt. I don't mind booking a timeslot in advance (it meant we had no queues for the slides) but my daughter couldn't understand why we couldn't go swimming again.

Do u not think to take your own cleaning products on a self catering break ?

How did u actually clean surfaces then while you were there ?

We always take a bag of cleaning stuff like fairy liquid / bleach wipes / kitchen roll / tea towels / scourer / dish cloth / bottle of bleach etc

I understand no facilities for washing in the lodges but an on site laundry facility would be useful
for guests regardless of how long you are staying.

@SuperCaliFragalistic

I'm only an hour from home. I'm tempted to pop home (leave the kids with my mum) one evening and collect more clothes. But I realise this is probably mad.

I've never stayed in a holiday home before that didn't have a washing machine and they've always been used after beach trips, night time accidents and just to avoid packing too much.

If you're only an hour away I'd do this, take dirty washing home, collect clean stuff and come back; is there a campsite nearby with washing facilities or a laundromat in a nearby town? take a book or go for a walk while the washing is on.

Centreparcs sounds rubbish if they don't provide basic stuff like that, everyone knows kids get grubby every day. Most hotels/resort places have a laundry service. Post a complaint on twitter so their PR pick it up, they might consider putting a pay-to-use laundromat on site for people who need it.

All those smug sneerers saying 'take more pants' are unoriginal with their 'shut the stable door after the horse has bolted' advice.

@DDIJ

I think it is ridiculous that a place that markets itself on the basis of small children being in the outdoors can't provide a washing machine. Even a coin op laundrette would do the job. It's not exactly a cheap holiday.

Yes. Most holiday cottages provide a washing machine. CP is aimed at young families. Kids fall over, get muddy, wet themselves, go swimming. It's completely daft not to have a laundry facility there.

@WiddlinDiddlin

How do you not know, at sufficiently adult enough to pay for a 4K holiday... to check if there are laundry facilities or pack enough pants for a week!

Washing your pants for a week will teach you to be better prepared in future!

Someone else paid for this holiday which I'm very grateful for

Are you sufficiently adult enough to read the op?

Bashing Centre parcs is a MN past time and it sounds like this was made for that 🤷🏼‍♀️

@Duggeehugs82

Bashing Centre parcs is a MN past time and it sounds like this was made for that 🤷🏼‍♀️

I am going to be honest, I have never been. But nobody yet has managed to list all the fantastic advantages of going to CP over anywhere else. Even the people that like going say it's a rip off. It's all a bit difficult to understand.

They definitely used to have a launderette at Elveden. We lived at Centre Parcs for two weeks when we were between house moves and I used it near on every other day!

@ineedaholidaynow

How do people cope when their kids go on scout camps/school residentials? Their clothes from outdoor activities won’t get washed everyday? To be fair it was a rare day if DS actually used his towel so I suppose that wouldn’t have needed washing everyday!

Am perpetually surprised by how many people on MN, despite presumably having had younger children and knowing people in different circumstances, are unable to imagine other setups.

Older kids are fine me for me. I personally like washing machines, and to me cp is definitely somewhere you might go with a possety baby and/or a messy toddler who in one day can get muddy at twice, drop a clean top onto the grotty wet floor after swimming, and tip a bowl of bolognaise on their lap, and/or older kids who want to cycle everywhere, and/or adults who want to go running and play around too. And while in theory you can just bring more clothes and let the smelly clothes from day1 just sit there until you get home after a week, it would be nice to be able to bring less, wash more, and get home without facing a mountain of laundry.

@tingletongs no, I've never needed to supply my own cleaning products. I've always done self catering - usually Butlins or a cottage in cornwall and the cleaning products have always been supplied or there has been a regular maid service. I find it really odd that you've taken your own supplies.

I understand that Centerparcs are using the excuse of Covid but let's be honest, the lack of cleaning is more to do with their ability to save money.

At £1,500 for a 5 day break plus extras for activities, I don't expect to have to provide my own cleaning products!

Was it advertised as having a washing machine?

Just handwash what you need and hang it out to dry - yanbu though I was surprised too. I had checked and knew there wasn’t one so took loads of extra stuff but still ended up hand washing as it was so hot we were changing way more than usual!

@SuperCaliFragalistic

I'm at longleat.

If you go to Warminster there's a launderette at the bottom of Sambourne Road, if you're coming in from Longleat go straight down the Frome road (second exit on the longleat roundabout) to Warminster(big roundabout second exit) keep going until you get to a t junction turn right, next mini roundabout turn right, launderette is on the left. There's a car park just up from there, first turning on the left.

I can’t imagine staying a week somewhere with small children and no washing facilities.

Are towels provided for swimming etc?

I’ve been to Disney world and done a wash. Even if you take a lot of clothes it’s humid and it’s nice to be able to rewear favourite things.

It’s pretty much always at full capacity (when allowed) so clearly they’re doing something right and lots of people do think it’s fantastic. I have friends who raved about it for years but I wasn’t interested in going in the slightest based on my impression of it. That changed when I actually went and we’ve since been back every year. Why do people need to list the ‘fantastic advantages’? I don’t care whether other people go or not. The bashing on here gets very tiring. It won’t suit everyone, just as I can’t stand the beach holidays that so many people can’t live without - I don’t feel the need to post on holiday threads stating this though!

@JoborPlay

And if they'd thrown up on the carseat? Or the pram? Or their outdoor coat? I bet housekeeping don't replace those.

You put your car seat and pram in the washing machine?

@gratedbeetroot

It’s pretty much always at full capacity (when allowed) so clearly they’re doing something right and lots of people do think it’s fantastic. I have friends who raved about it for years but I wasn’t interested in going in the slightest based on my impression of it. That changed when I actually went and we’ve since been back every year. Why do people need to list the ‘fantastic advantages’? I don’t care whether other people go or not. The bashing on here gets very tiring. It won’t suit everyone, just as I can’t stand the beach holidays that so many people can’t live without - I don’t feel the need to post on holiday threads stating this though!

Because if people listed the fantastic advantages it would make it easier for people like me to understand. I don't see 'bashing' as much as questioning. Nobody seems to quite be able to articulate why it's so popular at such high cost?

@gratedbeetroot

It’s pretty much always at full capacity (when allowed) so clearly they’re doing something right and lots of people do think it’s fantastic. I have friends who raved about it for years but I wasn’t interested in going in the slightest based on my impression of it. That changed when I actually went and we’ve since been back every year. Why do people need to list the ‘fantastic advantages’? I don’t care whether other people go or not. The bashing on here gets very tiring. It won’t suit everyone, just as I can’t stand the beach holidays that so many people can’t live without - I don’t feel the need to post on holiday threads stating this though!

Lack of cleaning provision inside the lodges aside, I thoroughly enjoyed my break and will likely book again.

I agree with you that there are lots of reasons why people love CP and go year after year.

I was saying to my husband, one of the reasons why people love to go abroad to resorts (aside of the weather) is because everything is readily available in one place. You don't necessarily need to hire a car/navigate public transport etc to find local activities and amenities. It's about convenience and ease.

That's why Butlins and CP are popular - everything is right there in one place, so you can literally switch off from the 'outside world' and enjoy your break. I'm actually surprised that there's not more of these type of holiday resorts in the UK - I'm sure they would be popular. Other than Butlins and CP are there any others? I'm sure there must be?

I really enjoyed the range of activities available, the swimming pool, the country walks and the bike rides - in my opinion, there really was something for everyone at CP.

@Blossomtoes
Car seat covers and pushchair covers most definitely go in the washing machine. Mines in now after DD spectacularly vomited over the lot

@SuperCaliFragalistic just in case you’ve missed it, Warminster has a laundrette. It’s literally a few minutes away from you.