to think that center parcs is over priced and over rated?

[minxofmancunia]

have just returned from a 4 night "break" from whinfell forest and couldn't be more pleased to be home.

It was tacky, tatty and just a bit crap really. Food in restaurants absolutley minging so ended up cooking all the time, hardly a break.

"executive2 lodge grubby, dark and decorated like a travel lodge.

Sports plaza cheap and nasty, very artificial atmosphere. Why do people rave about it?

I've never been anywhere so culturally devoid i my whole life.

Minx - hmm... ok... I sort of take your point.. upmarket and child friendly dont' seem to go hand in hand.

However, CP make no bones about it, do they? They do tell you it's a Cafe Rouge and a Bella Pasta on their website. I do take your point - and am personally still in some shock that people (in large cities, with choices) would ever wish to eat in one (not to single those particular chains out... feel the same about Garfunkels, Frankie and Benny and any other number of places...) BUT THEY DO... Inexplicably other people must like it - it is the only logical explanation.

I still think you just have to take the trade off - as lots of people like crap food and garish entertainment, and if you want to access popular child products (like Disney or Legoland or what ever), you just need to accept what goes with it.

Doesnt' mean you can't do France too

I can't believe the stick CP gets here

I have been many times to Elveden. My kids are small (pre-school age) but LOVE the pool, the little lakeside beach, playgrounds etc. We don't spend much on the extra activities such as boating etc.

It's an easy holiday with toddlers - there's no stress trying to find things to amuse them.

For those who don't live in the countryside, this is a lovely opportunity to be close to nature. My daughter and I spent ages just looking at a deer sitting outside her window at 6am in the morning. You don't get that around these parts!

(The only place I enjoy eating at is the Pancake House).

was it the parc? Is Whinfell particularly crap?

i preferred Sherwood but it was with work 10 years ago so different context but it seemed generally less grotty?

I like CP Longleat (as some of you may already know, from my various posts on the subject over the past year or so)... mainly due to it being under 2 hours drive from my home.

CP does seem to be a bit like Marmite... you either like it, or you don't.

I do find it better without my niece and nephews. Going on my own towards the end of April (it was actually cheaper than Butlins, I did try to compare... probably due largely to the high single supplement Butlins wanted).

I have stayed at Center Parcs, Longleat, twice. Twice we came home early. The second time were were greeted by a toilet covered in vomit in the 'executive' lodge on arrival. The first time both DH and I got food poisoning, why we went back is anybodies guess. Never again! SO expensive, too!

DD has a really dodgy tummy!! Aquired whilst at CP!

OK, ok... you are sort of suceeding in putting me off

However, we have paid in full for our 4 day break at Whingefull this Sept, so we will go, sick bags at the ready, and with our standard Waitrose order

Apology for the hijack - but given the place is knee deep in CP afficionardos (sp?), can anyone offer a CP virgin any useful advice on booking activities?

I worked out we didn't want a chalet a day's hike from the centre, having a 3 year old and all, and carefully picked a chalet off the map, just one chalet off the central ring (so proud to have saved myself £15 But haven't really got my head round whether I really need to book up everything 15 weeks in advance.... sounds a little over the top - or is it?

another cp virgin here.

If we arrive late will they allow us to drive to our cabin?

You are only allowed to take your cars onto the site at a certain time to allow you to unload (from 3pm on the day of arrival until a time I can't remember- check your booking details/the website). Outside of that it's no cars on site (barriers down).

Don't know about booking of activities as we don't generally bother although I know in the past when my Mum has wanted to take dd to messy play they have had to book in advance as it's all booked up by the time you go. That's children's activities though, I believe they're popular.

And I have to say, I don't recognise the 'chav' element you all seem to have met. Center Parcs Elveden when we go is home of the Boden yummy mummy. It's me dragging down the standards.

Illness I think is common but then your child is mixing with a lot of children they have never met in a germ swimming pool. Same as first week at nursery/school. That's a lot of other people's bugs.

YABU - We love CP.

We've been twice now to Elveden which is all relatively new as it burnt down a few years ago and has been rebuilt. We book one of the new style lodges during term time (our DS was not quite 2 the first time we went) cause it's cheaper and then book again using the special code they give you which gives you the guaranteed lowest price for the lodge, £25 worth of vouchers to spend and free cancellation insurance if you book within 28 days of getting home. Our last 5 day trip cost us £230!!

DS loves the pool. We play crazy golf, go bowling, DH and my brother have various competitions between them and book badminton etc and play off against each other. We go on bike rides. DS loves the little play areas in every restaurant. We have a great time.

We're going back in December with our new DD too.

GoldenSnitch, our 5 day break in March at Elveden costs the same. Although, shockingly, we've just got back, tried to re-book with the quick return code and it's £100 more than this year! Going to phone them in a bit and query. Paid the same for a few years.

I do wonder if the fact elveden burnt down and was rebuilt has made a difference!

We arrived very late one time and were able to drive to the cabin - I think the barriers are open till midnight?

I love Whinfell but the Executive lodges are in a real state and due to be upgraded. I think you have to develop a kind of tunnel vision and ignore the less appealing sides of it. It's definitely a love it or hate it kind of place and I can see why it's not everyone's cup of tea. In our case the kids really love it therefore it's the old cliche that if the kids are happy then we are happy.

Sadly dd starts school this year so unless we take her out of school I think our CP days may be over judging by the price hikes out of term time.

We loved it and had a fantastic break with my parents, who are not easy to holiday with, or be with actually. Yes very expensive, but let's take that out of the equation when deciding whether you like it or not. It's not for you if you want to be lost in a forest with no one around, it is if you love countryside but want some mod cons too. DD is counting down the days til we go for the second week of Easter. The added bonus for us going with parents is that we can go for a cheap time out in the evening by swimming under the stars and a quick drink afterwards.
So, overpriced? Expensive I'd say. Over rated? Very personal choice and by the number of people who love it I guess overall not. Sorry you didn't like it.

We're having a 4 bed executive lodge this time SaintGeoff!! Really looking forward to it. I'll be dragging down the standards with you Definitely not a Boden wearing Yummy Mummy.

I've arrived at Longleat at 9pm and was able to drive straight to villa. Maybe it will vary from site to site, though I expect that the barrier is up until midnight. Ask on arrival at Security/Night Check-In... they will probably tell you anyway.

Activities - avoid booking too many. Just advance book say one per child. Then see how things go, you can always book onsite.
Some activities I feel are not any better than you just playing with your child... Tinies Tumble Time for example (£5 for 30 minutes), Teddy Bears Picnic £8. If you want to do a Teddy Bears picnic, pack the bear and a blanket/rug and have a picnic lunch somewhere on the site - or even off site (if at Longleat, there is lots more woodland behind the site... access via turning Right after the security lodge (cycle path sign).

Some activities can be done for free... such as Treasure Trail. Instead of paying, just locate the start point (Longleat, it's by a map board near the lake on the part to AquaSana) and follow the clues. No treasure of course... as you are not paying... but you can buy your children their own reward for completing the course (or part of it, as it is quite long).

Book things that you would not normally do when at home... for example Abseiling, Archery - Crossbows, Archery - Flu Flu Golf, High Ropes, Mini Crossbows, An Outing With Owls.

Watersports don't tend to need advance booking, except in peak Summer. However the boathouse does have strange opening hours in my view... so check when they are open/closed. Pedalos are fun and Canoes (they have canoes which seat 1, or 2 people).

Oh, vital activity to book for yourself is a spa session at AquaSana. Though have to say I am surprised by the price hike this year... my usual evening slot 6pm-9pm has gone up from £26 to £36.

We went to Elveden for the first time this year and absolutely loved it. Ate in and out. No I would not choose a 'family american diner' to eat in normally, but the food was actually ok and the children were able to run off and play in the play area which meant we could actually sit, chat and have a nice time. The pool was brilliant and the toddler area was perfect for my youngest who gets too cold in normal pools. We had deer, squirrels, rabbits, pheasant outside our house every day. Accommodation looks bit grim outside but was perfectly fine inside ... 3 beds, very clean, big double all with comfy mattress toppers. Went to the spa for a morning - amazing. Could have stayed all day.

Only problem is sheer number of bikes ... they do tend to take over. Plus we went after half term so mid week cost £240 (not bad for 4 adults, 2 children), but had we gone the week before it would have cost around £1000.

It is crazy if you arrive at opening time. Best thing to do would be to get there earlier and go and have a swim, mooch about, lunch etc. Then wait till after the 3-4pm craziness and go and get your car so you can unpack.

We will DEFINITELY go again. Not sophisticated elegance, but it doesn't claim to be. It was the easiest holiday I've had with children.

And the only activity we booked was pony rides for the children (mine are 3 and 7) ... that was fully booked by the time we got there so was glad we booked in advance.

We do what wishing suggested. Get there at 10ish, pick up the bikes, go for some lunch, have a swim, then go and get the cars about 5ish, unpack, have dinner (either made by ourselves or delivered - CP do pizza, indian, chinese, ice-cream and WINE delivery in pre-bookable half hour slots) and mooch about in the lodge watching TV and playing board games till bed time.

And also don't recognise the "1 million pikeys" either. Thought Elveden was just like a slice of normal society to be honest ... a wide spectrum. Like if you went into any normal high street and airlifted everyone into a holiday park. Now if you're the sort of person who doesn't like to mix with people who you didn't go to school with, then possibly CP isn't for you.

And yes there are nicer settings for a spa, but not many where you can be happily in a spa in full knowledge that your children are having a whale of a time elsewhere and you can all meet for lunch later. And they will make friends and be happy and exhausted and sleep and the whining will be at a minimum.

It may just be the one up North wishing, someone told me before I went it was (HER WORDS DISCLAIMER ALERT) it was full of "rough geordies" and she was a geordie herself.

I suspect Elvedon does have a more desirable "catchment"

As an an adult, I've only been to a European CP - but it was so sould destroyingly dire that I've sworn off the whole franchise.

It was just so joyless. Like a microwave meal holiday. All the elements are there, but the whole thing tastes like scrapings and cardboard.

For calibration, we liked: Landal holiday parks, Eurodisney, camping, Bosinver holiday cottages (super lovely) and general bowl up the motorway-stop-in-the-first-travelodge type breaks.

What was wrong with it:

--Too many people, and badly planned set up, making it feel competitive and crowded. Queue for the park, queue for your cottage queue for your groceries, queue for your dinner in the 'dinner enclosure pavillion thingie' quefor your morning croissants, queue for your activity booking and queue for the fricking pool to open at 10 before watching your 3 year old get trampled by the hairy teenage boys who just about wake up at ten and need to swill around in the same water as boobies (did I mention the heavy petting in the jungle river?).

-- Food was very poor. No oven, which cuts out a whole swathe pf shorcut meals (pizzas/nuggets/ jacket pots).

-- It varied from person to person - but in general too much bad service and plain old rudeness for a 'welcomed' feeling.

-- PLASTIC covered mattress. apprently for hygiene reasons. I've never stayed in a hotel (i.e. new guest every night) that found this necessary - so I can only shudder at what the average CP punter must get up to in the privacy of their executive lodge....

-- ... which isn;t actually very private, since beyond the patio there is no barrier, so we were forever fetching our kids back from 'exploring' both to prevent them going too far away, and to prevent them bothering the people next door.

--- Next door means "a breeze block away" secluded it ain't - unless you have very poor peripheral vision.

-- Random rules and arrangements. Like a coffee shop that only opens at 10. So you're a bit stuffed if you wanted to head out for holiday brekkie treat with early rising kids to give OH a lie in. How many cappuccinos would they have to sell to their captive audience to justify hiring a kid to stand behind the till? Is it maybe that they don;t give a shit once you've paid. Maybe.

kif - that european CP you went to does not sound that good. UK CP's are different... no 'dinner enclosure pavillion thingie' - that sounds more like Butlins (though Butlins has improved over the years, by the look of their latest brochure).

UK CP's have Ovens in all villa's... only the apartments/hotel rooms don't have an oven. Not that the oven's are that great - seem to take ages to heat things, perhaps a gas pressure issue.

True though about the next villa being just beyond the patio. I wouldn't go fetching children though... let them explore, that's what the place is for. At Longleat there are streams to dam, ponds to pretend fish.

My kids were 5, 3 and 1 - so a bit young for 'free explore'. If they were older, I'd say it's a bit antiseptic. The wildlife and plants seemed overwhelmed by the density of building and people. The farm bit was nice - but small and fenced (so no spontaneous interactions). And some other kids were chasing chickens - which is not quite hat i had in mind for 'get close to nature'.

The 'restaurant' pavillion - indeed it would not have been seen in the UK. I'm sure we have laws to prevent an (indoor) 'attraction' being made out of Koi carp 'swimming' in one foot of water (one dead one morning - natch), complete with such a miserable flamingo that it was only on the second visit I realised it wasn't plastic....

I've been to a few of the european ones and nothing like the atmosphere kif describes. Service always extremely efficient and friendly. Yes the cottages are next door to each other but they are arranged so that privacy is not really an issue.