Is Centre Parcs worth it

[SchoolZooTrip]

We have an unexpected opportunity to go away next weekend and was thinking Centre Parcs as something quick and easy to book but it's coming to £700. Is it worth it?
Looked at Haven which is £200 cheaper but the other similar alternatives I can think of are more expensive.

I think it is definitely better than Haven, and I have done both. How old are your children?

People either love or hate Center Parcs!

For us, it was brilliant - right up till ours were young teens & it was often the only holiday we had in a year.

HOWEVER, it is EXTORTIONATELY expensive, particularly during school holidays - you can get exactly the same accommodation either side of the holidays for half the price! Plus, apart from the swimming pool & obviously the forest itself/play parks, you pay extra for every single activity & it very quickly adds up.

We've also found over the years that the price of the food/drink has increased a huge amount & is the quality is sometimes questionable.

That said, if you can take the financial hit, go for it - we always had great fun!

Only one, 6

Yeh I am wondering whether to just go the following weekend and miss a bit of school 🙊🙊
Or find an Airbnb and try and replicate some of the activities at local museums etc.
But I also really want to experience centre parcs 😅
Can take the financial hit but not sure if we "should" iyswim

Me and my kids like it. We've had a lot of change and upheaval through the years, so going to a place that's basically the same every time (although we go to different ones - check out the french ones - we go to a french one for a week and even after the ferry, it's cheaper than going to a UK one)

I like that we can go to a nice pool every day, that we have a chalet with kitchen so I can chill once the kids are in bed, I like that it's safe to walk and bike everywhere in the park.

You haven't caught the habit yet though, so you don't have the comfort.

I will say, we did a weekend in Amsterdam recently, and it was fun, but there still wasn't much change from a grand, so the cost really isn't as crazy as it sounds.

I often took ds to CP. I’m a LP. For me it was totally worth it as he lived the parks and pool. Also rising the land train at longleat. He lives digging in the sand on the beach and just walking around the ponds etc seeing the birds.

You can also get bikes.

We always stayed in a SC apt twin room.

My favourite is Elvedon.

If Pembrokeshire is close enough for you Bluestone is very similar to centre parcs and tends to be cheaper. It’s better for small ones (my 6 year old loves it) and there’s a great soft play and other play bits all included as well as the pool.

Yes it's worth it. There isn't anything in the UK that quite replicates it. Lots of places have some of the elements but not the lot.
We took our DC from being toddlers up to uni age. By the time they were old enough to swim the rapids became the benchmark of a good holiday. They would happily spend every hour of the day going up and down the rapids.
Last year we went back with DC and their partners. I expected them to be disappointed but they loved it.

If you’re in the nw try Ribby Hall in Lancashire. Perfect for a six year old. Like a smaller CP.

£700 is a really good price for centerparcs in the summer holidays, it wont get cheaper than that without having to take them out of school.

We love it! Definitely better than Haven, the only thing I’d say though is that it depends on what money you have available to spend there whether you’d be able to have a good time.

At Haven you could probably do a couple of activities a day for 3 days and have change from £100, and the food at Haven is much more reasonably priced if you wanted to eat out.

At CP other than the swimming every other activity is an additional cost and it really isn’t cheap- £32 for 30 mins on a peddle boat at CP vs £12 for the same at Haven. If you can afford to do CP & the activities though it really is amazing and far far better.

I absolutely love CP. We already went twice this year. It’s very peaceful and I love the nature. I felt very relaxed after the holiday. I would recommend it.

I don't think there is a better pool complex in the UK than the ones at Center Parcs. The rest of the holiday can be replicated elsewhere at other holiday parks. So it depends if you think you'll make the most of the pool

Ah to add though, as it’s last minute I’d really advise calling CP before you book and ask what activities are still available. This late you could easily find you book and then aren’t actually able to do anything as it’s all full.

CP is great if you go with friends, boring otherwise, you have to pay for everything.

I'd pick Haven or Butlins, and DH and I are (on paper), middle class. I say this as some people look down their nose at them and the people that go... I've seen some awful things said on here, assuming we're all 'rough' and 'on benefits'... we earn over £200k and love it. I only mention that to say we're certainly not on benefits or rough!

No

yes, I’ve been 3 times and loved it.
as soon as I have grandchildren I hope to go back with them all

Exactly this.

I used to love CO but the last times we’ve gone we’ve been shocked at the drop in standards.

we go to Whinfel and the lodge pub place - very limited choice and basically everything was deep fried crap. Go to the bars and you’ve really got to clear/clean the table yourself.

Had the worse massage of my life but didn’t feel I could complain as the girl doing it opened with “I’m a single parent and trying to go to college to do my nursing”.

The pool (at whinfel) is good but some of the slides looking shabby.

did Haven Marton Mere a few years back - caravan was fab but entertainment areas were extremely chav-tastic. Pool really basic but you could go into Blackpool etc. but a third of the cost of CP.

So all in all - if DC are young and easily fobbed off with included/free activities, I’d probs still go CP. With older DC wanting loads of add-ons - budget would be deciding factor.

Definitely not worth it. Lots of places much better.

That is really cheap for CP during the holidays!

Bluestone is much better.

We used to go to CP once a year as its very wheelchair friendly, but lodges aren’t clean, kitchens are very poorly cleaned and kitchen equipment is only clean if the last resident washed up properly. The pool is good, but the changing rooms are grim. Additional activities are very expensive. The spa however is fantastic.

For younger children Bluestone is good. But we went last year with a 10 and 12 year
old and they got bored pretty quickly. They much prefer the pool at CP. Pool at Bluestone is looking a bit tired these days tbh. The whole place is a bit - disjointed? Not as well thought out or as slick as CP. Had a great lodge though, and the highlight was the golf buggies. Wish they had those at CP. We did CP Sherwood Forest the year before and the pool is much much better.

Haven primrose valley for their bog standard caravan with no decking but including entertainment/pool pass is £525 for next August, 4 nights mid week. Its not that much cheaper.

No! If you have active kids they want to do everything and all the activities are extortionate. You can have run out of money by 12 noon and have nothing else to do. They are hideously overcrowded and over priced.

No, we found it weird (loads of contained people mooching around like the sims) and the accomodation smelled of trainers