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.

Yes I agree OP, odd not to have washing machines. I have stayed in some wonderful cottages and villas abroad and they always have a washing machine. As a family focused venue YANBU to expect that kind of facility.

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

The cover of the carseat and fabric parts of the pram if required (which in the case of the carseat was actually last week).

It’s the same with their direct competitors such as Bluestone and Forest Holidays though.

@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!

I'm the opposite. People I know - friends and family- absolutely raved about it and how wonderful it was so I was really exciting about booking a break there. And I was so disappointed when we went!

I can totally see why some people like it, it just isn't for us.

I've been having a look at the Trip Advisor reviews. They are really mixed. Even someone who gave it 4 stars wrote 'Everyone knows when they book a visit here that value for money isn't the company's usp'.
And yet they still went.

It's not cheap. It's not claiming to be cheap. Yet it is packed out every holiday season.

People like what they are offering and are prepared to pay the price. Not everyone wants cheap cheap cheap for their family breaks.

I loathe the deliberately contrarian approach of some MN threads.

Is it so hard to imagine that some families need or want to wash clothes while on holiday? And although I’d prefer not to personally, I do find it extremely odd that there is no laundry facility at all on the massive CP sites. Not least because it’s a rare money-making opportunity lost for them.

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

Going to Centerparcs is sounding less and less like a relaxing holiday and more and more like a military expedition requiring careful planning, including batch cooking and packing up the family boardgames so you don't have to shell out extortionate prices for meals and the non-pool activities .

Also, for everyone suggesting the Warminster launderette to the OP, hopefully that will be helpful but I'd feel a bit miffed to spend a few hours of my holiday schlepping around Warminster waiting for my clothes to wash (no offence intended to Warminster itself which is a perfectly nice but entirely unspectacular small Wiltshire town).

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

Nope. I don’t clean on holiday. That’s kind of the reason it’s called a holiday.

I am simply gobsmacked that any self-catering holiday wouldn't have somewhere to do laundry.

DS was a bedwetter - night nappy + lifting didn't really touch it, so a week away = about 5 sets of sheets and pyjamas. Until he was 10.

Not to mention that it is only since the children have stopped growing that we would have had anything like enough clothes to cover 7 days of mucky activity without any washing. I do wonder how many clothes most people have!

@GoldBar I think at this point people are just trying to save OP a three or four hour detour back home to do the washing when she can just go five min down the road!

That doesn’t mean I disagree with OP that laundry service/facilities should be available onsite!

When I went to Centre Parcs they had a laundry room on site with washers and dryers. It's an activity holiday and I needed to do washing with 3 kids 🤷🏻‍♀️. This was quite a few years ago but I would expect there to be some sort of washing facilities in an expensive holiday home.

@cantkeepawayforever

I am simply gobsmacked that any self-catering holiday wouldn't have somewhere to do laundry.

DS was a bedwetter - night nappy + lifting didn't really touch it, so a week away = about 5 sets of sheets and pyjamas. Until he was 10.

Not to mention that it is only since the children have stopped growing that we would have had anything like enough clothes to cover 7 days of mucky activity without any washing. I do wonder how many clothes most people have!

Exactly.

All I can say is, when I went to centerparcs, there was an on site laundrette.

There are laundrettes in some centerparcs, obviously not all.

Op you will manage. You can all shove some clothes in a bowl in the bath to soak, then rinse, hand wring, and put on clothes airer. It doesn't have to be a big chore and you don't have to do everything, the rest can go home.

If you need clean towels I am sure the customer service area or whatever it is called, will provide them - immediately.

Enjoy your break. As you said, you are not paying for it!

Most centerparcs are set in quite interesting areas so it's nice to have some time off and go exploring the nearest town/village/beach.

Elveden is near some lovely places. So is Longleat.

@Blossomtoes

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

Nope. I don’t clean on holiday. That’s kind of the reason it’s called a holiday.

But you have to at least wipe the sides down after breakfast don't you? or a quick wipe of the bathroom/kitchen sink? I wouldn't not do that for a week at home.

I've never been to a holiday site where there's been a washing machine in the accommodation. Launderette, usually, but a lot have been closed recently because of covid. I don't know who waste to spend their holiday doing the washing though! Just go to the supermarket and buy some more knickers if you're that desperate.

That's ridiculous. Ive stayed in cheap apartments in city centres and even they have a washing machine. Id expect it for an overpriced lodge where its the norm to be staying a week at a time.

YANBU campsites have washing machines. I always do a couple of washes on holiday so that I don't have to take loads of clothes with me & don't go home with a load of dirty clothes.

At that price I would expect a washing machine on site a given.

So many people defending CP - no wonder they get away with charging such ridiculous prices.

The top thing about CP for me - no cars.

The kids can walk or cycle along the roads and there’s no worry about cars. If they are slightly older you can let them out of sight without worrying. You can walk or cycle straight from your door and not worry about having to get in the car to go places (unless you want to!)

Nope. We go out for breakfast and I can live with a few days of scum on the bathroom basin. #Slattern.

I don't know who waste to spend their holiday doing the washing though! Just go to the supermarket and buy some more knickers if you're that desperate

That shopping trip would take up way more precious holiday time than just putting some washing in the machine and switching it on.

That's very weird, I would expect a washing machine too.

Agree they shoukd have a communal laundry facility.
But you can't compare with 2xwerjs for in Barbados low season two years ago

You need to compare with
2021 prices in school holidays uk
Four bed ensuite cottage for 8 on a no - car wooded site with access to swim pool with slides

Like forest Holidays who have four and five bed cabins ...No swim pool though....I cannot see prices for August but fir October would be1600 for 5 nites so probably similar to cp
But guess what they don't either have w m either

Do cabins have washing machines?

There are no washing machines in the cabins, however, the team in the Forest Retreat will be able to advise on the nearest laundry facilities.

www.forestholidays.co.uk/faqs/

But would you just leave the washing machine on @Sparklingbrook whilst you are out and about? Having seen the damage after a white goods fire I never leave a machine running whilst not in the building/at night
The shop at Longleat is in the pool complex so wouldn’t take up much holiday time

Is washing holiday towels daily a recent phenomenon? I don’t remember my parents washing towels everyday when we went on holiday as a child, whether in UK or abroad

@GoldBar

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

Going to Centerparcs is sounding less and less like a relaxing holiday and more and more like a military expedition requiring careful planning, including batch cooking and packing up the family boardgames so you don't have to shell out extortionate prices for meals and the non-pool activities .

Also, for everyone suggesting the Warminster launderette to the OP, hopefully that will be helpful but I'd feel a bit miffed to spend a few hours of my holiday schlepping around Warminster waiting for my clothes to wash (no offence intended to Warminster itself which is a perfectly nice but entirely unspectacular small Wiltshire town).

It has a Waitrose tho! And the park is lovely.