Why do so many people dislike Centre Parcs so much?

[coulditbeme2323]

Following on from the thread about over rated things, CP came up again and again.

I feel I am in the minority on MN, but in real life it runs anywhere between 95-100% capacity.

Of course people are entitled to their opinion and if you dislike it you dislike it, but honestly what do people find so awful about it?

Never been to a UK one, but have been to lots in Netherlands and also one in Belgium when DC were younger, it was an easy holiday and kids loved it. They are late 20s now and last year asked to have a family CP holiday again. I told them to organise it and we had a great time!

It’s Butlins for middle class. Not a fan of those type of holidays or their prices!

it would still be cheaper to go abroad and have the same experience

Perhaps because for what you pay, its shit.

The cabins arent cleaned properly, they are grubby and dirty and not kept well. The activities are also tired and old and arent maintained well.

I do expect a basic level of cleanliness when I go away and you can get far more for your money elsewhere and even abroad

Depends when you go and where you go. Last week in August in Netherlands is half the price of UK

Yes, I'd rather go to Longleat.

After messing up and missing out on the booking with Vrbo that we wanted we’ve just booked a CP in France.

Here’s hoping it’ll be OK. It’s just a few nights between other places so not a disaster if we just swim and have barbecues.

I’ve just checked on price. £2400 per week for a 2 bed lodge in July. Self-catering. No guarantee of weather. I can definitely go to Greece for that and enjoy cheaper, nicer food whilst I’m there, and have an outdoor pool.

Centre Parks are raking it in.

Surely it's a different experience if it's in a different country?

It’s only expensive in the school holidays.

We’ve been a few times and have never paid more than £600 for 5 nights (during term time). Which I think is great value for two adults and two small children.

Not for a long weekend. We can be at CP in an hour and a half. Flying somewhere with security and waiting and queuing takes up half a day basically. I'm not interested in doing that for a weekend.

I realise some people do very long drives to France or further but I cannot imagine a worse way to stay a holiday especially just a weekend than being in a car with my children for hours

Of course I expect mud in January. But this was a bog. You couldn’t even access the secure dog area as the mud was a foot deep! Let alone allow your dog to exercise in it. It was unusable so lead walks only. What I had issue was the fact CP advertise this facility and sell it as a dog friendly holiday but it was unfit for purpose. It needed resurfacing to be usable all year round.

And if you do the first week of the school holidays in the summer from the 12th of July or the first week of October half terms you also get it for about £650.

I've never been to Centre Parcs, but it must be popular for a reason. They certainly do well. It's like everything, not for everyone.
Some people don't like lying by a pool in the heat all day either. It's just about preferences.

Yes was just going to say I did a quick comparison of 4 nights at CP Woburn in school holidays Vs 4 days in Greece self catering, basic accommodation flying from Luton (2 adults 2 children) with Jet2 and it came out pretty much exactly the same. You could say Greece much better value due to beach, guaranteed good weather and maybe cheaper/better eating out whereas you could say CP better due to having swimming pool, soft play and other activities on site, not having to fly/shorter journey, getting a whole lodge with living area rather than a one bed apartment so easier for evenings after kids are in bed etc. Different strokes isn't it, just what you prioritise/ prefer. For me when we had little kids I'd take CP over self-catering abroad, I don't think they really benefit or enjoy the beach and hot weather that much as toddlers and for me it was easier having the shorter journey, familiar easy foods and then everything being right on your doorstep, whereas by the time they're primary age you do maybe want to be a bit more adventurous and do more of a range of activities etc so abroad became better...

Bluestone is I think the one place that can claim to be more or less a direct equivalent of CP. There are of course places like Forest Holidays and haven, but they either don't come close to CP in terms of range of facilities or just have a completely different vibe.

Yes CP is expensive, but for a holiday in the UK that just offers a completely self-contained break where you can just dump the car and have enough to do for a week while not really having to think or plan anything it's still fairly unique, and that's the appeal really. It's all very well saying "oh, you can get a lodge in the woods for half the price" but it's not the same offering.

Agree you can definitely get cheaper abroad, in the holidays at least.

But as people are saying, it's very successful and they charge what the market will bear. So it arguably isn't too expensive, it's right!

Not too bad if you remember to pack lube.

Butlins is absolutely brilliant for people with small kids I absolutely cannot knock it!

Thank you. It’s DB’s FIL but they’re often up for places to go.

It's always been too expensive for us. We tried Butlins when dc1 was a baby and unfortunately really didn't like it. So moved over to caravan holidays with free swimming- and made the most of having two toddlers in the pool, local walks etc. As the kids have gotten older we've found what really suits us all is a quiet cabin, no swimming pool or bar on site, and we spend most of our days visiting different national trust places, the occasional theme park and beach thrown in too. I'm not a beach fan really, but the kids love digging. We live very rurally, but we have been to another - also rural - county for 8/9 years and always look forward to going. I just don't understand the attraction of being around other people in large amounts, which (along with food allergies) is why we always self cater, I find it less stressful because we all eat exactly what we want and like.

well, 2 minutes of googling would instantly prove you wrong

Yes, I think that's a fair point, it depends what suits you as a family and what age your children are.

I just think it's very expensive for what it is. Plus I'd rather spend that kind of money on a week/weekend abroad, somewhere a bit different.

Fair enough, I mean I have never paid more than grand for cabin for a family of 5.