To want to go to Haven instead of Centerparcs?

[IndiaRose22]

Posting here for traffic really!

Me and DH would like to get away this summer, just to somewhere in the UK. We have a 2 year old who would be coming with us.

I want to go to a Haven site and am looking at Blue Dolphin in Filey. I used to go with my parents to Haven sites, and have been to Blue Dolphin a few times! I like that they have entertainment on and arcades and stuff, although I can't remember exactly what Blue Dolphin is like. Has anyone been recently? I love Scarborough and Whitby so think I am a bit biased to that area too!

DH thinks of Haven as being 'sticky' (we had a bad experience at a soft play center at the weekend which was grim, and if DH thinks somewhere is dirty and grim then it definitely is 🤣 and i think this place has scarred him now) so he would like to go to Centerparcs, specifically the one in the Lake District. Whilst i do not doubt that Centerparcs is an amazing place to go to, I think they are more expensive and more suited to an older child. I am happy to be told I am wrong though and there is plenty to do there - bonus points for examples at the Lake District one to suit a 2 year old. Do they do evening entertainment?

Any other suggestions welcome!

We love Scarborough too.
Blue dolphin was quite a few years ago and was ok but not our favourite
Reighton Sands was good but a bit hilly and quieter.

we loved Cayton Bay we loved, site was clean and tidy and had great access to the Beach.

I just don't get the love for centre parks - admittedly I've never been but nothing I've read has ever made me think it was worth the money .
Haven probably depends on the site - it's a lot cheaper and children normally enjoy .
We always enjoyed Butlins.

I went to that one last year with 6 YO DD and we had a great time! Plenty of little parks dotted around, fairground rides, good places to eat, beach within walking distance and not too far away from Scarborough to drive down for the day

We've done Haven, Centre Parcs and Butlins. For a toddler I would definitely say Butlins first and then Haven. We went to Devon Cliffs Haven which was very clean, fantastic swimming and my kids loved it ages 3 and 4. Centre Parcs is expensive and definitely more for older kids in my opinion.

Nothing for a toddler at centre parks apart from the pool.

My kids love haven. More than centre parks. It's more entertaining for younger kids.

I don't like either, though the water park at centre parks is tonnes better than the haven ones, but at 2yo it'll make no difference.

Can’t comment on haven but I refuse to pay CP school holiday prices on principle.

we went in term time before the kids were school aged and that was reasonable.

Butlins. Hands down. We’ve done all three. And Butlins is utterly perfect for little ones. I went last Easter holidays for the first time with mine (then 2&4) we’ve been back twice since and have two more booked.
they love it, tonnes on for kids and it’s really reasonably priced, we always book with a dining plan so I don’t have to cook.
after a few trips we’ve concluded that the standard rooms/apartments are the closest accommodation to the main area, done both room & apartment in standard and it’s literally 1-2 mins from the food/pool/skyline. (At Skegness anyway) plus their new park is amazing, they spent hours!
the fairground rides are included in the cost too.
when I booked it the first time I completely dreaded it but I’m completely converted.

I’ve just booked a silver caravan! Photos look lovely online :)

Just been to this center parcs, it was so much fun! The lodge was lovely and you're literally in a forest with wildlife everywhere. There is the water park, and a soft play at the visitor center which your 2 year old would enjoy. There's also nature walks, a craft centre, and outdoor play area. I would definitely go back (once I can afford it).

I would go haven over centre parcs with aged 2 child any day!!!

We've been to blue dolphin and was fab. We've also been to primrose valley in Filey and Thorpe park in cleethorpes and one in burnham on sea but I can't remember the name.

All brilliant holidays. We have 3 yo DS1 and baby 7 months

Woops I mean to say promise valley was better than blue dolphin

CP always strikes me as really good for very little ones - they can toddle about in the woods, and be excited to see all the animals, play on the play equipment and use the baby areas of the pool, without having to pay for extra activities. Plus you can go during term time and get a good price. I always wish I’d tried it when mine were really little!

That said, there’s not right or wrong answer, it’s just what you choose. Ive been to Haven too, and quite liked it (we didn’t got during warm weather so mightn’t have got the best of it), but there’s not as much “built in” for toddlers in my opinion.

Butlins is good too, but again you don’t have that nature element built in that is so lovely for preschoolers - I’m thinking of Bognor as that’s the one I’ve been to. Plus that’s right by the sea.

My kids don’t like “evening entertainment” (kids discos and the like) and never have, so that’s not a thing for us.

Our favourite place is Bluestone in Wales, but not sure how handy that is for you. It’s fab for little ones though, and not remotely sticky! No evening entertainment at all though, of the kind Haven have. They do have a few specific things that go on in the even that you can book, but it’s not included, or a kids disco or anything like that.

Butlins, only in a hotel or haven. Centre parcs is over rated.

I’m not sure that you could justifiably call the Cumbrian Centerparc in the Lake District. It’s well outside the National Park and ten miles to the nearest lake, (Ullswater).

Primrose Valley. And go for a private caravan if you can afford it.

Just been to this center parcs, it was so much fun! The lodge was lovely and you're literally in a forest with wildlife everywhere

Then why go to Centre Parcs - go to an actual forest?! You've got Grizedale and Whinlatter on the doorstep.

Centre Parcs baffles me tbh. It's a holiday in the outdoors for people who don't really like the outdoors, so need a sanitised, "pretend" version.
Essentially if you go to the Lake District CP you're paying several times the normal price to do things you can do in "real life" in the real Lake District.

I'd go to Haven or Butlins in your shoes, OP. It'll be easy and fun. Then when your toddler is a bit older you can do outdoorsy stuff in the Lakes or elsewhere.

I’m not sure that you could justifiably call the Cumbrian Centerparc in the Lake District

True. Remember when it was Oasis?

Blue Dolphin does look nice from the website though

We are going to CP in the summer, the Whinfell forest one (Lake district). Our kids will be 3 and a half and 19 months old when we go. We went when we just had our first, he was about 19/20 months at the time and he enjoyed it. There are loads of activities that you can book in advance. For my youngest this year I have booked pottery painting, toddler sensory play and a music/dance class. My eldest has a mini off road explorers activity, pottery, and mini archery. It's a great place for riding around on bikes, and the pool is AMAZING. Lots of nice on-site restaurants too as well as a shop if you'd prefer to self-cater.

Definitely Butlins and Skegness will have the Scarborough vibe. Haven is a bit sticky and the entertainment is dire.

i rarely take my kids in holiday because I can’t afford it but last year a family member had booked a haven caravan and was unable to use it so offered it ti us. The kids loved it but it was very grimy/sticky, the swimming pool and changing area was revolting. I think the location of the park can affect the type of ‘clientele’ as well, We saw people vomiting out caravan windows and dirty nappies/rubbish lying around because people were leaving bags of rubbish beside bins instead of in them. The icing on the cake was a massive fight breaking out in the park on our last night. When we left the next day my kids said ‘the best bit of the holiday was when that lady punched a police man and got arrested’ 🤦‍♀️ in reality it was awful.

I think the thing is that it’s right there - you walk out of your door and you’re where you want to be, you don’t have to drive anywhere, wildlife comes up to your door etc. It’s just really easy!

Im sure there are other holidays where this is also the case, but I think that’s the difference between CP and hiring a cottage for the week, and then driving out to where you want to go each day. That’s great fun too, but less easy with a toddler than something like CP.

My teen, on the other hand, would definitely go for a walking holiday in the lakes above CP.

Haven at Thornwick Bay is great. Site not too big. Pool nice. Evening entertainment if that's your thing. Filey an easy drive. Some lovely walks including to a lovely cove/beach. It's a steep but flat walk so doable with a pushchair. On a sunny day it feels like being abroad and you can watch the fishing boats coming in at certain times of day. Pubs in walking distance do nice food and are family friendly. The on-site pub is a like a slightly posh weatherspoons but does the job for the first night if you cba to cook or explore. We cooked some nights in the van and ate out others.
In all the times I've been I've never seen an adult obviously drunk in charge of children, never heard loud parties or fights and the site is generally clean and tidy. Also you can get one of the big supermarkets to deliver an online shop direct to your van which was a game changer for me!

What I didn’t like so much about Haven is that the caravans where we went were packed in very close to each other, and there wasn’t much to look at from your caravan except the next caravan 😂