Is Center Parcs worth the price?

[Vergus]

I am considering taking the family to Longleat Center Parc over the May half-term. I don't really want the hassle of flying abroad this year but the price for a 7 night stay over the half-term week is making my eyes water slightly. I could get an all inclusive package in Majorca for the same fee. I see also they almost double the prices for that week alone, which is standard practice I suppose for the holiday provider market as they know they have you over the barrel. But the cost for essentially a cabin in the woods is somewhat breathtaking.

I have heard very good things about Center Parcs however so am keeping an open mind. I understand the Subtropical pool is included in the price tag and is a real hit. I also like the look of the location - Longleat looks great for cycling and getting out in the forest. Kids are aged 6 and 10. It's also only a two hr drive from us so that's always good.

If anyone is happy to share their experiences/thoughts - both pros and cons I can weigh things up. The price is coming in at £2958 - activities I see are extra as well. And - of course - it's self-catering.

Thanks in advance!

If you don't want to fly, would you consider a cruise?

For example, Royal Caribbean's half term cruise to from Southampton to Spain and Portugal looks like it could be about £3.5k for 4 of you if you don't mind having inside cabins.

would be perfectly possible to replicate a Center Parcs holiday for exponentially less by renting a holiday cottage near a water park.

Where would you recommend? I'm a Londoner and what I hate about some of the country areas I visit are the lack of pavements and very 60mph narrow twisty roads. I wouldn't cycle on them or let my dc do similar.

No it's not worth it. It's a self catering cabin with a decent pool. Pretty much every single other thing has to be paid for on top.

I always thought that the point of spending all this money on center parcs was that it is more middle class than the other options. A weeks all inclusive in Majorca if the same price would attract a different clientele, as would the cheaper parkdean and Butlins options.

If you want an exciting pool, holiday in Dunster and buy a day ticket for Butlins to use their fab pool and fairground.

Most holiday seaside places have a decent public pool nearby but won’t have all the features of CP. But is it worth paying an extra £1k or more for?

Seaside places usually have kayaking, surfing, cycle hire (often near disused railway lines for easy flat cycling - think TarkaTrail in Devon) plus places like soft play, children’s farms or zoos nearby. There is often a pier and of course a beach is always a big hit.

Not sure Center Parcs has a very different clientele to other holiday Parcs really.

We love it but I wouldn’t pay £3k for a week. We are going in the Easter holidays for half that.

Its good but not that good. I really liked going, we went in term time for a long weekend so it was cheap. I can't justify the holiday time prices based on what it is, unless you specifically don't want to go overseas then it is a great uk holiday destination.

We went five years ago and I hated it. Paid £1500 for a three bed lodge in school holidays, place was rammed, activities were ££££ and only lasted 45 mins, food was chain restaurants at double the normal high street price, water in ‘tropical’ swimming pool was cold, had to queue for 35 mins for a 10 second whizz down the flumes……. I honestly felt conned beyond belief and would never go back!

We stayed in Poole a few years ago and visited Splashdown Water Park, that was quite good. www.splashdownwaterparks.co.uk/poole/

@Holdonforsummer did you need to drive to the water park though or could you cycle/walk everywhere?

Myself and DH been going for 33yrs over all 4 seasons. First, when pregnant with our daughter. Now with her, her fiancé and our 2 grandchildren. We love it. With the arrival of grandchildren we’ve been going to the Winter Wonderland in November and it’s the start of the Christmas build up.

We take 90% of our food with preprepared evening meals and eat in most days. Although the Sherwood supermarket is a Co-Op so reasonably priced. The pool saves us a fortune as the kids are water babies and don’t want to leave.

I get a bit confused when people say how expensive it is. If you were at home how much would you be paying to put a child into football school or a play centre for an hour or the day?
It also can’t be judged beside a beach/ sunny destination holiday. They’re completely different holidays. It also depends on what type of beach/ sunny holiday you go on. Are you going private villa/ boutique hotel or a large chain hotel ? Huge difference in price.

What I will agree with is 7 days is too much. Mon-Fri is great.

No it’s not worth it in my opinion. We enjoyed a couple of days off peak at the centreparcs near Longleat. I would not want to pay full price.

We have had lovely holidays in Northern European centre parcs for half the price.

The thing about all holiday parks, esp in school hols, is that everything is v overcrowded and resources stretched. Regardless of if it’s Butlins or Center Parcs or somewhere else, there will be lots of families and small children having melt-downs in the cafes and at the activities and everywhere. The whole nature of a park is that you are in close proximity with lots of people. If you want more space such as a proper private garden or the chance to be somewhere isolated and quiet some of the time, a holiday cottage or flat will give you that.

All depends what you want.
Center apart knows lots of people want a one-site holiday. They know many are tied to school hols and so they can charge what the marker will bear - people will and do pay those peak prices.

If you’re booking now for half term or Easter choices anywhere will be expensive but you might find the odd bargain a few days before .

For 3.5k not worth the price imo.

I recently paid 300 euros for two nights at a Dutch centre parcs, that was worth the money! Dutch half terms are at different times than the English, so you might be able to get a good deal. There is also parks in Germany, Belgium and France. My DD7 would spend the entire break in the pool if it was up to her. No pricey activities needed.

I’d go abroad

Go to the De Haan one in Belgium! Take a ferry from Dover to Zeebrugge or Dunkirk. Much cheaper than the English ones.

As some PP have said, try Bluestone. Much better, more to do.

I don't think it's worth it but they're extremely popular so all those people can't be wrong I guess.

I understand they charge what the market can take, but I was disappointed at the cynicism of the utter rinsing they do once you're there.

Two things I can't forgive them for: making the swimsuit spin drier in the changing rooms coin operated, and the total lack of leaving a big enough patch of grass for kids to play football on. DP got together with some other dads and paid for the official football pitch and when the hour was up they locked it again. Miserable.

Two things I can't forgive them for:

£3k for centre parcs, are you having a laugh! No way would I pay that.

The New Forest has a lot of walking/cycling tracks that are accessible from the road, but no cars allowed except very occasionally for forestry management. Ditto the Lake District - a number of lakes have walking around the edge, so not too hilly for small kids, but they are not all suitable for bikes. New Forest is a short drive from Southampton, & Bournemouth, Portsmouth is a bit further, but has the Mary Rose, and a massive retail outlet place (Gunwharf Keys).

Go to centre parcs abroad, cheaper and the parcs are so much bigger.

Nope. You can get Forest Holidays or an
AirBnB chalet in woodland for less than that. The Tropical Pool is good, but not much more than Butlins, which is:
a) Cheaper
b) Has a lot more on-site activities
c) Has evening entertainment.

Depending on where you are, look at the Eurocamps in Netherlands and France. You can drive/ferry to them and they have decent lodges.

I think it's worth it to some people and not others. We've been once and I was pretty underwhelmed to be honest. We live in the countryside anyway so there was no novelty value to having wildlife on the lawn and most of the activities available can be done easily, and to be honest better, near where we live. But the family from in the lodge next door to us really loved it. Had the situation been reversed and we'd been on a city break of course, my kids would have been really excited at the prospect of travelling on the tube or even a bus whereas their's would have wondered what the fuss was. I think holidays are often about change. Just doing something different is what's enjoyable. So what's "worth it" will vary enormously from family to family.
I would think you could do everything that's available at Center Parcs yourself for a lot less money but the convenience of having a lot of facilities really works for some people.

Haven’t RTFT @Vergus but see some people have already mentioned the European ones. We just did 4 nights at kempervennen in the Netherlands and the kids LOVED it. We got accommodation, tunnel crossing and activities for the same price as just accommodation in UK.