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.

We don't eat out much though, the food options aren't great

Feels like living in The Truman Show

I thought it was the biggest rip off ever and I wouldn’t go back.

The pool centre environment is really warm and they have splash park bits and pool, rapids, wave bits but also from memory it’s really quite warm. There are family cabanas you can rent within the swimming area which we did when one of ours was a baby which has a tv and soft drinks and chairs so you can have some ‘time out’ between the swimming which might be a nice option too to wrap up in towels in between short swimming bouts. We love centre parcs and if you take (or hire bikes), do the swimming and parks that are free and then do a BBQ at your lodge and bring food for wildlife on your patio you don’t really have to spend much more unless you want to

If you want forest and a holiday site, what about warmwell in Dorset?

I think CP is much better than Warmwell, dc liked the ski thing though.

CenterParcs pool is 29.5 degrees all year round. There are slides and the wave pool, if the weather is good swimming in the outside bit is lovely.

We have been going to CP for 20 years. Free stuff, lots of playgrounds, walking around just spotting wildlife, the ducks on your patio and being in the forest.

As for restaurants everybody's booking window opens at the same time for that week so saying places were fully booked means people looked later than invited by CP.

Activities are not cheap, 45 minutes of badminton would be about £15 for the court. We do one activity a day but not on check in or move out so just Tue, Wed and Thurs. We do bike rides instead and we swim every day including Mon and Fri. Sports Cafe doesn't need booking and all menus are online. A lot of the restaurants have a children's play area inside so they can run about clambering whilst you wait for food. As my children are now adults this is not something I pay attention to anymore.

We love it, it is expensive but we are nowhere near London otherwise we probably would drive over the the European ones. We have been to all the UK ones except Longleat.

Love it. Have been most years for the last 8 years. We go back to the same one and are familiar with the site now which makes it easier. It is expensive yes but all holidays are unless you go in term time. We are going back in December, can’t wait. £700 is a fab price for a weekend in school summer holidays, we have paid that for December out of term time.

Centre Parcs’ year-round occupancy is an astonishing 97%, so their customers obviously think the product is “worth it”. And their pricing policy is obviously spot on, too, because people are evidently prepared to pay what it costs. The appeal of ‘a British holiday which the British weather can’t ruin’ seems to be as strong as ever.

Center Parcs was amazing for us when the DC were younger, they both loved swimming, cycling and seeing the ducks and rabbits around the villas. A funny quirk in our county is that half term is different from most of the rest of the country so the price wasn’t too bad. At some point Center Parcs caught into this, the price shot up and we stopped going every year.

The many playground areas, the woodland walks and the pool are great, although the pool does get very busy and all are included in the villa price. There’s loads of other activities you can book but most are overpriced tat, I wouldn’t bother with them, far too expensive. We always took bikes with us, it’s lovely to cycle around (mainly) car free roads. You can hire bikes there but omg £££. We always take loads of groceries with us as well as their Parc Market on site is like an expensive Waitrose. They have chain restaurants like Bella Italia, Cafe Rouge and Starbucks on site but they are always excluded from any discount offers which makes them very spendy, we don’t eat out as often as we used to there now. But we definitely used to get through lots of £££ when we were there, more so than any other UK holiday.

I like the spa there as well if you can offload the DC for a bit. Made me smile that one of the first holidays my 25 year old DS booked for him and his girlfriend (after a few years of boys booze holidays) was Center Parcs. We’re going later in the year with both DC and their partners, taking advantage of the price dip when the schools return. I don’t see my DC as often as I’d like now they’re grown up so I’m looking forward to spending time with them while drinking wine and beer. Like you do.

CP is great for a 6 year old as you won’t need to pay for any activities if he’s happy pottering around and exploring the beach and all the parks. Longeat is fab with the land train too! The 4 days will fly by and two will be changeover days (arrivals and departures). The pool is mostly warm in the wave pool (perfectly safe for 6 year olds) and weirdly the outside pool as it’s warm as long as shoulder under. The kiddie bits might feel cold to him as the water is shallow and kids run around out of the water. Could he have a wetsuit or similar. Honestly though even with 1-2 swims and the rest exploring/walking/train/park/beach the time will go fast. Take some Cook meals and cook in to save a bit of money but still have a treat! Or the dine in menu for takeaways was really good.

also with CP like others have said - it’s chilled and slow. So take some toys and dvds and chill in the lodge too. Often ducks and deer pass the lodges.

someone mentioned stag and hens - I’ve never seen this so might have been a one off. Never had any issue with noise or boisterous behaviour. Most people are respectful and I thought they actively discouraged big groups?

it’s pricy yes - but worth it and familiar for us too.

we also like the bit with the shops and sometimes just go for a walk, few parks, up to get an ice cream and coffee, then slow walk or train back for lunch. Depends where lodge is of course but often there’s a destination of sort with an ice cream!

hope you find something suitable.

sorry just thought - for the pool you can take towels and things in to pool area. So you could take warm things for a break and cuddle. There’s cafe in there too!! Then warm up, snack and rest and back in again if he wants. There’s cabanas you can hire - little huts with tv in pool area.

It really is a marmite place. We had to go on a family holiday and hated it. Fake woods, grubby accommodation and the okay pool. DC were too small to do any of the ‘activities’ so we just went to the play park and the soft play.
I saw someone say it was like going on holiday to a local authority leisure centre.

But we have relatives who are obsessed with it and spend so much money going they can’t afford holidays abroad. I’m old enough to remember people going in the 80s where you could fill a lodge with as many people as you like and more activities were included.

We love it, have been three times (so far!) with DS when he was 3, 6 and 7. Don’t bother with too many activities, and bring a food shop with you & cook to avoid eating in the mediocre restaurants (or shop onsite). Enjoy!

I hated it - grotty accommodation, mediocre eating options, a busy pool, loads of other people and a curated experience of everything. But then I’d much rather spend £700 on three nights in the Cotswolds, Lakes or Dales and make my own fun, at my own pace somewhere truly beautiful. Most of my friends love it - mostly for the happy kids and craic if they go in a group.

its too late for this holiday, but I highly recommend the CPs in The Netherlands. Travel and accommodation work out cheaper than just accommodation here. We go to De Kemprevennan as it has a snow dome on site. It’s cheaper than the Snow Domes in the UK and was perfect for my DCs to have skiing lessons for the first time.
the accommodation is clean comfortable and well equipped. We don’t eat in the restaurants as they’re pricey and mediocre. We take all our food (some from home, some from local supermarkets) and cook in the cabin. The pool complex is great.
There are lots of activities that you need to pay for, but we’ve only done a couple. My kids are happy with the pool, skiing and the outdoor / indoor play areas.

Have done both. Prefer Haven. The Forest setting is lovely at CP but the cost of the break plus the rip off cost of everything else puts a downer on it.

however not all haven sites are equal and some are s bit tired. For a good pool, activities and location I’d go for Hafan Y Mor in wales. Youll spend a lot less of just staying there and then can do more once you’re there.

Lovely & warm every time we've been plus there's hot tubs!!

The pool is very warm. However for us the pool was always the main focus of the holiday. For small children it would be comparable with Butlins / haven but none of those have anything like the rapids which older kids and adults love.
Much as I used to love CP it's probably not the best choice for you if you wouldn't bother much with the pool.

I love it. Went as my one and only holiday this year for a 3 night stay (4 days) after a successful 4 night stay last year. My 8 Yr old LO has ADHD and its the only place I've had a good holiday in years. I love the forest setting and the subtropical dome thing. I come back feeling healthier as we walk such a lot. I've had numerous comments whenever I've mentioned it to friends about the price, but I'd rather have 3 nights there than 7 at Haven (nothing against haven, just doesn't feel like as much of a holiday to me).

Just to add, we've done the woburn one both times. Water always pretty warm in the indoor pools. There's a nice lazy river you can float down. Would echo that the food at the restaurants isn't great, but there is a supermarket on site and I would advise bringing some food with you.

I have raynauds and often wear a wetsuit to help combat the cold . I may look a bit strange but it’s worth it to keep me swimming !

I camped at the one in Belgium, it was brilliant so much cheaper and you can use all the facilities. They have pods if tents aren't your thing . I think it's the only one you can camp at, only a few hours drive from Calais.

It's definitely worth an extra £200 to go there instead of Haven, if it's your thing that is. The water park is amazing, the forest walks are lovely and relaxing, lots of sporty activities, although these are an extra cost and quite expensive. Centre Parcs doesn't really have evening entertainment, it's not got the rowdy, energetic feel like Haven. Centre Parcs has a small man made beach but nothing like a sea side holiday which most Haven's are.

No

We rate Butlins for value. The price includes the pool (nice and warm, range of slides suitable for tots up to adults, splash area, rapids) plus soft play, fair rides, playparks, pavilion shows. Then there's the extras, such as bowling, indoor golf, arcades, circus. We stay in the hotel, as its a higher standard of accommodation. However, it's noisy and busy and non stop fun for kids, so might not be what you want.

Landal might be another option? They have lovely sites, mostly in the Netherlands, which are comparable to centre parcs. They have some sites in the UK, usually set in nature, but less 'going on'. Much better value than CP.

As PP have mentioned, Centre Parcs in Europe is often better value, even after channel crossing, but is a bit more travelling, depending on where you are in the UK.

Or just find an AirBnB or cottage or glamping site in a preferred location?

Or look at Eurocamp, Yelloh or other holiday park places? I went to north France in May half term to Domaine du Drancourt, only 1.5hours from Calais. Lovely rural setting, near to pretty towns, coast, etc. But I live in the South, so not too far for me.

No.