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Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

Original poster

Centre Parcs Europe (De Kempervennen in The Netherlands)

13 replies

AuntyDani · 09/05/2017 12:01

Thinking of going to De Kempervennen Centre Parcs for a week in August - has anyone been there recently? There are a lot of posts for Centre Parcs Europe on here but mostly quite old now.

Research so far suggests late August is good as the Dutch schools go back mid-August.

Mostly the reviews I have read have been positive and the consensus is that it's good value. A minority of reviews have said accommodation was dirty and/or activities are very expensive - anybody have personal experience; we were looking at the 'Premium' cottages which is one bump up from the basic 'Comfort' and includes the beds being made up (total bonus IMO hate having to make up beds after a tiring travel day) but not the 'VIP' or 'Eden' which are sold out for 8 person. One of my friends said it is really expensive and I will spend as much as a two week Neilson in Greece Shock which would be ~£10-14k for 6 of us. This feels unlikely given we can get ferries & accommodation for £2000... Can anybody give example prices for activities?

Will be going with my DTN who are 8 - it looks like it will be great for them. Also DM who can't walk long distances but I have been told it's quite flat & not too spread out (she can't ride a bike). (DTN = darling twin nieces & DM = darling mother; new to Mumsnet, just checking I haven't said something inadvertently offensive!! Grin)

Also - hire bikes or bring own bikes??

Any views/tips would be appreciated - thanks in advance!

OP posts:
Asheth · 12/05/2017 20:32

We spent a week there mid-August two years ago and had a great time. We booked early and got some free activities. It was busy and zip wire was booked up, but we got to do everything else we wanted. Can't remember the cost of activities, but it wasn't excessive - certainly not £8,000!

The shop on site is ok, but limited so worth doing a shop beforehand. You can have half an hour free internet in the dome or pay a lot for longer in your accomodation. DM found an internet cafe in the nearby town which does cheap coffee!

We didn't bother with bikes and just walked around the site. There was a herd of goats which wandered around all day and visited the cottages which was fun!

Our youngest child was six at the time and there wasn't a huge amount for him to do, but he liked the beach, swimming pool and crazy golf!

Firenze12 · 22/05/2017 21:25

We have just booked for August this year, would love some advice too. As the poster said most reviews are old. Thanks so much for your comments Asheth. Anyone else??

GailLondon · 22/05/2017 21:34

Oh we love it at De Kempervennen, we are going on Friday for half term week, it will be our 4th time there.
We are in a comfort cottage this time due to having to go in school holiday time, they are absolutely fine but the premium ones are definitely sleeker and cleaner looking.
We hire bikes as we get a little trailer for the kids. I think it's around 75Euros for the week? cheaper for a standard bike with no trailer I'm sure. We always spend one or two of the days cycling to Valkenswaard ( the nearby town) and back again through a lovely forest track.
One of the reasons we go is because it is much cheaper than a U.K. Centreparcs. If you want to keep prices down a bit, avoid the buffet restaurant and cook your own meals some evenings, and either bring a shop with you or stock up in the nearest supermarket in town rather than the on site shop.

GailLondon · 22/05/2017 21:41

Sorry I meant to say as our children are quite small we never tried many of the bigger activities like the snow dome etc so not sure of prices.
The site is definitely flat, but could be a 15-20min walk to the centre if your cottage was at the edge. So when you book just have a look at the map of site and try to get a closer cottage so it's not too much walking for your mum.

Firenze12 · 23/05/2017 22:07

Thanks GailLondon!

Spadequeen · 23/05/2017 22:12

Have been to de kempervennen twice now and am going back later this year. It's clean, staff are very friendly and great fun although the food is utter shit and very expensive

Activities are around 10€ per person some might be a bit more, not sure

Is very flat and they also have golf carts which would be good for your dm

Wecks · 24/05/2017 14:36

We went at the end of August some years ago.
Dutch children are back at school but the majority of guests were German. All the activities were in Dutch / English and German and were pretty cheap. Eating out was cheap and cheerful, not least because children ate free in all the restaurants (not sure if this is still the case).
Yes it was much shabbier than the UK CP. Caters for a different market than the UK center parcs but DC loved it.
We had the odd day out - Efteling isn't far.

GreenRut · 08/07/2017 06:18

Hi, I know this is a couple of months out of date but can anyone tell me what the deal is with booking activities in advance? I've tried through the website and it looks like I can only buy those bundles for a set amount of activities, not individual activities themselves. My questions are ;

  1. can you book individual activities on advance (how?)

  2. if not, when / how do you do it?

  3. do you book the ski school separately, when you're there?

  4. pp mention a forest path taking you to nearest village. Is it accessible from within the center parcs itself?

We've been to UK center parcs many times and it feels a bit odd rocking up without my trusty print out of activity itinerary!

Thanks in advance

Queentitansgo · 13/01/2018 22:25

Just bumping this in case anyone else has info.
Did you end up going Aunty?

Firenze12 · 14/01/2018 08:46

We went in last week of August and it was great.
We booked the ski school when there and there was no problem with avaliability.
We also booked bikes on the day we arrived. I would however advise doing this beforehand as it was busy and they did run out. You can book the bikes on the centre Parcs website easily. I think you can book activities on the website too but if not send them an email, they are friendly and helpful.
My husband did water skiing when there and again there was no problem booking this. I did see lots of people booking everything on arrival but we just booked when we wanted and this was fine.
We cycled out of the park and this was very easy, even with our young dds. The cycle paths are well separated from the road and it was all very safe and easy.
We booked Eden premium and would say make sure you either book this or the Eden VIP accomodation. It was still more than half the price of the UK Parcs at this time and this level of accommodation was good.
Any other questions please ask.

OublietteBravo · 14/01/2018 08:48

The Dutch have staggered holidays in the summer (determined by region). At the end of August 2/3 will be back at school and 1/3 still on holiday.

Fatrascals · 06/05/2018 21:22

This reply has been deleted

Withdrawn at request of author

I8toys · 16/05/2018 14:39

Remember that De Vossermeren in Belgium is only about 20 minutes away from De Kempervennan and you can visit nearby sites and use the facilities. Been to both a couple of times now - along with Het Heijerbos - this had a play centre with birds and animals in it when we went a few year ago now.

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