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 prefer Butlin’s as more is included, it’s loads cheaper, the food is better, and the staff are nicer. I wouldn’t pay £700 for a weekend self catering in the uk even if the pool was filled with Evian.

It’s basically “middle class” (I use the term loosely) Butlins.

It’s better than Haven, but there are a couple
of things you need to take into account.

First, you have to pay for a lot of the activities, so it’s worth checking what you want to do and how much it’s going to cost you on top of accommodation.

Second, the supermarket is a colossal rip off, so take as much food as you can (bear in mind the fridge is tiny).

Third, avoid the restaurants for most meals - also a total rip off, and nothing special, just big standard chains with premium prices. So, again, take as much food as you can.

I love it. We get the cheapest lodge and cook most nights, but spend the difference on activities.

I find it so relaxing. In a world where people judge you for existing with children on planes/public transport/carparks/supermarkets, it is a place that is literally design for parents and children. I discovered it at a low point on maternity leave, and it will forever feel like a sanctuary to me. More clear headed people might see downsides.

I think it depends to a certain extent on where you live and what's "normal" for you. We've only been once as we wanted an easy holiday fairly close to home when I was heavily pregnant with DC3. It was ok, but as we live in a rural area where the DC were used to seeing wildlife in the garden and could ride their bikes on woodland trails any time they wanted a lot of what appeals to many people about Center Parks was lost on them really. They loved the pool though. Other than that they did a few of the activities, but again they were mainly things we could do near home for less money and to be honest to a higher standard so I didn't feel we really got value for money. But if you don't have similar activities easily accessible at home you might feel differently. My DC usedto get wildly excited about going on buses when they were littleas it was a novel experience for them. I think particularly for young children it's the sense of excitement that comes with doing something different that makes a good holiday.

We've been to Centre Parcs every year for 17 year's & we always enjoy it, we share accommodation with close friends & we always go in the winter when it's a bit cheaper. We love long walks, the outdoor play areas, badminton, swimming & having a fire in the evening & cooking a nice tea. It's not cheap but it doesn't have to be ridiculously expensive either. We like stopping for a coffee & deer hunting & over the years have paid for additional activities e.g the owl experience. I like that it's car free & kids can run wild outdoors. We go on lot's of different holidays but my 18 year old son will always talk about Centre Parcs.

Alas the only apartments left there are double the prince :(

Thank you!
I'm worried the swimming will be lost on my DC. He loves it but can only take short swims (20 mins or so) if the pool is cold due to a disability he has which means he can't regulate his body temperature. If it's warm he'd play longer, but then would be tired the next day so would probably only use the pool once maybe twice in the 4 days.

We love it. For me it’s the experience of the accommodation within the forest and feeling more nature all around. It’s a slower pace compared to haven/butlins. We love longest as we also do a trip the safari next door. It’s not the cheapest but we feel it’s worth it. We have a son aged 9 and a 19 year old. Eldest grown out of it.

Ah, I'll check the ones abroad out!
Thanks...like you it's a breather from the upheaval I want...and even though it's not a "familiar place" I just like the idea of him being able to run around outdoors, living amongst trees for a while, etc

Tried CP and didn't suit us, the only good thing was the pool.
We've been to Butlins at least once a year for last 10 years and love it. The pool is good but not as good as CP but the entertainment and lots of other free or cheap activities are kids favorites.
Plus food is a lot cheaper so not tied to cooking when on a break. Also like that you can walk into the local town and beach.
Going next week and can't wait 😁

Thanks this is a really clear comparison

Butlins is as good/better.

OP, the pool is the only thing to do there that doesn't cost £££££, other than riding bikes/walking in places that are less nice than you could find anywhere else in the UK that has any sort of countryside.

So if DC isn't going to want to spend hours in the pool, I wouldn't bother.

No. It’s well worth it in January/February out of school holiday time. But that’s it.

I once paid less than £300 for four nights for 6 people.

Can I ask, were the pools warm? My DC is very sensitive to temperature due to a disability so that would possibly be a deciding factor for us.

Yeh I think that's my worry. He'd only be able to spend a substantial amount of time in the pool if it's warm enough. Maybe I'll take a bit of time over the weekend to look into alternative ideas.

Unfortunately I'd find it really hard to take time off out of school holiday time AND cover the school holidays:(

Yeh I think this is what I'm craving. I guess if my DC isn't going to use the pool as much as seems worth it I could try and find some forest Airbnb and attempt to replicate the rest

If you’re not going to be able to take full advantage of the pool I wouldn’t.

I dare say Butlins would be a better choice, depending on which one, use the splash pool inside one day then soft play, huge parks, fair ground rides and such all included in the price. Also the children’s mini shows just in the pavilion.

We went to Whinfell Forest recently and honestly I found the pool a bit chilly, although that might just be me being a bit pathetic . We also found the pool was full of pretty noisy stag / hen parties, lots of pushing and clamouring around the slides etc - not sure if we were just unlucky. It was really busy and this was out of peak time. The food situation also felt pretty dire and we couldn't have got any bookings for the restaurants even if we’d wanted to as they were all full once we looked, as were most of the activities! It was a peaceful relaxed holiday but there was no room for spontaneity apparently!

We love Center Parcs. Never understood the weirdos 😝who don't. Although our child isn't of school age yet. We'd probably feel it was not so worth the extortionate prices once we are confined to school hols and half terms!
For us, we love:
The surroundings
The animals that come up to our lodge (our little boy loves the muntjac, squirrels and ducks, which come up to the lodges for monkey nuts)
The sub-tropical swimming pool

If you want forest and a holiday site, what about warmwell in Dorset? Lodges in the woods, it does have a small pool, mini golf, playground, roller rink or it did and nature trails. If you’re willing to splash you could even have your own hot tub.

What about a centre parks in Belgium? We went to one recently in may half term and loved it. Cheaper than the uk. We packed the car with food from home and self catered. Pick carefully as some don’t have a mega big pool. The one we went to had a large indoor beach/play area included in the price too so we didn’t feel the need for extra activities.

Grizedale Forest in the Lake District has bike hire, Go Ape, Woodland walks, a planetarium and and a great cafe. Lakes Lodges about 1 mile away have superb accommodation. May be worth a look?

We go annually with a big group & love it.