Center parcs is basic. Alternatives please.

[Summerstarsarepink]

Bland food. Floors sticky. Shouting parents drinking beer . Crap coffee. Dated. Kids unattended causing problems.

The Swimming pool was the only saving grace. i

After years o my brother telling me jow incredible CP’s is , we went with him last year. It was , for me, horrible. DH and I were shocked. Run down, hectic and stressful.

It was like weatherspoons and created a family park . Now maybe this is my stupidity but I was led to believe it was a luxury Butlins! I’m sorry but it (Elveden Forest) was just so disappointing .

Please recommend a luxury alternative .

Lower earners, the horror!

I've been to adults-only off-season trips to CP plus one brief trip at school holiday time, and it's always so crowded and SO expensive, and just grey and uncomfortable. The settees are like rock.

I'd go to a big French campsite or mobile home park every time.

I bet it's completely luxurious compared to Butlins 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Agree Whinfell is the best.

I was disappointed too. Very basic accomodation but with expensive prices and you have to pay for activities on top!!!!

Christ, no! That's not a great recommendation at all. Relative went recently and said it was the worst trip of her life. food was terrible. Charged for using the park with her DGC and it was a piece of grass with a football. Overrated much!

I was channeling my inner Mumsnet, I love the place really, going there in March.

Was about to say Bovey Castle but I see someone has beaten me to it. Great place but I think it has changed ownership since we were there.

We have been to Whinfell lots so decided to try Sherwood for a change. It was looking very tired and run down. Back to Whinfell for us! It's great for kids of all ages , our tweens can Potter about on their own

Ive heard good things about this place https://www.pottersholidays.com/

Chewton Glen

It is, Butlins has gone really downhill and the lack of investment in the accommodation etc is really beginning to show.

I like the idea of Center Parcs but the reality I’ve found underwhelming. The lodges are far too run down for the price. Also, the activities were expensive with too little capacity, so they needed booking well in advance which makes for a much less relaxing holiday for me. I had a good Spa stay at one once, but that was without kids.

For family holidays I have preferred to just book a nice AirBnB somewhere with lots of tourist stuff (Lake district, various bits of Wales, Bath, etc.) and freewheel it. When the kids were young we did try Woolley Grange and some sister hotels and enjoyed them. But less active than somewhere like Center Parcs, and v. expensive.

Camping in a bell tent. There are lots of luxury resorts/estates with pools. Fewer people, actually in nature and cheap! We were next to a deer park last time it was beautiful. I wouldn't go to Center Parcs even if for free - once was quite enough 17 years ago!

Or me. We go to 2/3 different parcs once a year and have never experienced this.

But, this is so mumsnet. A middle class site, that. hates a middle class break.

Centre parcs is disgustingly overpriced for what it is! Nothing included except swimming, so it's just a costly "holiday" and if it rains then its even more crap.

Centre parcs is really, really over priced.

The lodges are often not well cleaned and maintained and feel a bit like camping in ikea. Last time we had a sauna that didn't work. Heating that didn't work and a bath that wouldn't drain. Complaining to customer service was pointless as "we re full so can't move you and won't have time to send anyone to look at those jobs this week"

Kids normally love the pool but to me the pool feels very crowded and rowdy. Last time I went there was a group of teenagers hiding round the corner in the lazy river thing waiting to hit and kick people as they went past. Nice.

The other activities can be hit and miss and are fairly pricey.

The on site shop is crap and expensive. So are the restaurants. The fridge is small so you can't stock up for the week.

On the plus side, it's lovely to have no cars, and the wildlife is normally very nice.

@Summerstarsarepink I felt exactly the same, very underwhelmed and also ripped off as so many extra charges!

The following year I spent my 2.5k on a decent all inclusive in Spain same week (October half term) and it suited us much better, far cleaner and no hidden charges, amazing pool and water park

However the family members who had been badgering us to go for years still go that week every year and still love it, why I have no idea as they only really say about the swimming and cycling that you can do anywhere, but each to their own!

If you seek a holiday park with communal facilities, you have to be prepared for Other People - whether it's Centerparcs or Butlins.

You're better off finding somewhere that's just a base - cheaper, too, when you're not paying for third-rate entertainment and crappy overpriced bars and restaurants.

I went to the one in Longleat and it was shite. This was in 1996 mind. Haha.
Really expensive, and there was only about 3 food places. There was a disco which was a really rock n roll night out (not). We basically just rode bikes around, and went swimming twice. There was a lake I guess we could have gone out on a boat. Yeah, much better just go to Spain for a week, costs less probably.

Yeah those feckin plebs wantin a holiday after the their bingo windfall, god luv em

So Butlin's accommodation is nicer than your regular home... really?

I think it makes a really good mini break, I like doing all the activities, using the spa and then eating at a different restaurant each evening. I have some lovely memories of when my DC were babies and toddlers and they still enjoy it now in they are in their 20’s.

I don’t go on any other self catering holidays so don’t have anything to compare the accommodation to.

I think CP have lost their way a bit. It's become very commercial and expensive for what it is. Some of their sites are at the point where they need significant investment and upgrading. I feel they have over built with the villas and the facilities are not keeping up with the number of guests on site. They have chain restaurants who very much know they have a captive audience. Food quality is down but prices are high. So much has been removed or downgraded since COVID (housekeeping, check in times ect) and the price has gone up.

We've been to Bluestone, tbh I was not blown away. I think we would have had a better experience had we had a buggy as pushing a toddler in a pushchair up and down all those hills was exhausting. The serendome was lovely and so was the pool but it was no-where near CP pools. It was a very long way to go for us. I must say if the Bluestone company made parks in England it would give CP a real kick up the arse in terms of what to offer.

I really liked Ribby Hall. The cottages were lovely and the best accommodation we have stopped in. Ours was newly redone. There were plenty of activities but it's more for under 10s. The pool was nice but again not a patch on CP pool. I would definitely go again to Ribby Hall. We did a lot off site as well as on site.

This. We go to the longleat forest one and always thoroughly enjoyed it.