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Original poster

Centerparcs France or Belgium anyone?

14 replies

hedghog · 02/08/2004 20:46

Has anyone been to Les Bois-France or Les Hauts de Bruyeres in France or Eperheide or De Eemhof in Belgium? dh and I are contemplating spending Christmas at one of these four or maybe returning to De Vossermeren where we have been before. Looking for comparisons between any of these and Longleat or Elveden where we have also stayed. As it will be cold and probably wet I am interested in indoor activities to keep ds1(aged 10) and ds2(aged 7) occupied. For instance does anyone know which has the biggest Subtropical Swimming Complex/most slides etc? Thanks :-)

OP posts:
miggy · 02/08/2004 21:33

We went to the normandy one this feb (sorry cant remember the name). It was ok but I dont think its as nice (clean etc)as uk ones (but I havent stayed at uk ones!). We had a luxury villa which was a bit shabby inside and very shabby outside. Kids loved it though! Pool had notice saying best to avoid 10-6pm sat and sun (we spent w/e there so not much good) as got very busy, and it did, was closed to admission at some points as over the numbers, didnt seem very warm either.
We have previously stayed in "sunparks" resorts in Belgium, much cheaper and I had assumed the "poor relation" to centreparcs, but actually no real difference except better restaurants in sunparcs. (v.disappointed with restaurants in french one, esp as in france). So would expect Belgium ones to be better.
Hope that helps
Also, if you book french one, go through to french site, was cheaper than booking on uk centreparc site.

Original poster
hedghog · 08/08/2004 20:14

Just bumping this. Thanks Miggy by the way. The Normandy parc HAD been a strong contender but now I'm not so sure! Anyone else?

OP posts:
foxinsocks · 11/08/2004 18:23

Hi hedghog. I have been to Les Hauts Bruyeres. It was about 2 years ago (when dd was 20 months and ds 5 months). We had a fantastic time. I can only compare it to Longleat as that is the one we go to in the UK.

In terms of the facilities, I can only really comment on what I saw for the agegroup of my kids. The swimming paradise was great - fantastic slides for little ones. They had some good playgrounds and outdoor activities. I'm sorry but I can't comment on the indoor ones as I just can't remember (and I don't think they would be the stuff a 10 and 7 year old would be doing anyway!).

In terms of child friendliness, it was great. Far better than any place in the UK. The restaurants were far more geared to children and took a much more relaxed approach to kids eating etc.

The most impressive thing by far, and the one I most remember, was the fact that the restaurants would deliver food to your chalet (on a plate, hot and ready to be eaten) at the restaurant price for a small fee. The food and restaurants were FAR better than anything at centerparcs UK. They had a brilliant bakery next to the shop selling baguettes, cakes, hot panini type thing - miles MILES better than anything here. And to top it all off, Les Hauts Bruyeres is in an area surrounded by castles which are great to explore. I'll post some more if I think of it!!

handlemecarefully · 16/03/2007 19:34

Bumping this old thread (which I found when searching the archives) because we are thinking of Centerparcs France this summer, and I would like to hear some more personal experiences...(foxinsocks experience sounds encouraging)

handlemecarefully · 16/03/2007 20:09

Please excuse me bumping this thread periodically over the next couple of days...

foxinsocks · 16/03/2007 20:14

wow that was a long time ago

it was good but not as new as the ones over here I seem to remember - was impressed with the baby/toddler friendliness but you tend to find that abroad don't you!

Furball · 16/03/2007 20:41

Well i'm hoping that De Eemhof is in Holland as we've booked to go there in August!

copycat · 17/03/2007 22:06

We have been to De Vossemeren in Belgium twice and can thoroughly recommend it. It is very very similar to Longleat and Elveden Forest if you have been to either of these. Some friends of mine went to the Centerparcs De Kempervennen in Holland last summer and are returning this year as they enjoyed it so much. I have heard that the two French complexes are not quite so nice.

chopchopbusybusy · 17/03/2007 22:45

We went to Les Hauts Bruyeres in 2004 and really enjoyed it.

It was very much cheaper than the UK ones. If you are going to book make sure that you book on their website and pay in Euros rather than booking through Center Parcs UK or a package holiday including ferry.

We went in August and we were pleasantly surprised that it was easy to book activities. Also on Mondays and Fridays - the changeover days they offer 50% discounts on some of their activities. We went to the Sherwood Forest one quite a few years ago (before children) and were disappointed to find that if you had not booked activities before arrival then they could be full for the whole duration of the stay.

We stayed in a VIP villa which was very nice.
Huge whirlpool bath and also a steam room thingy. These only have two bedrooms though so it depends how many of you are going.

The swimming pool did get very busy. There were times of the day that it was quieter - you just have to experiment a bit.

Our girls who were 10 and 7 at the time loved having the freedom to be able to go to the bakery every morning on their bikes by themselves and stock up for breakfast.

Oh yes - the bikes were a bit ropey. If you are hiring bikes go there when you first arrive so you get a better choice than we did!

Overall I would recommend it.

olliepolly · 18/03/2007 13:48

We are going to de kempervennen in holland at easter for a short break. Am looking forward to it and can let you all know when we get back.

handlemecarefully · 18/03/2007 23:04

Excellent - thanks for the advice / feedback. We are going to go for it I think...

Racers · 06/05/2007 12:27

olliepolly can you give us an update how it went? Thinking of going with 2yo, Ta.

olliepolly · 06/05/2007 14:05

Would highly recommend de kempervennen.
We had a great time.
V easy to get to we drove down from ferry which arrived at ijmuiden(nr Amsterdam)
Highlights were swimming pool ,cycling around and a 15k bike ride we did outside compound which took us through some beautiful woods and a nature reserve.
Lady on desk at check in said it is becoming popular with brits because price is cheaper than uk.
We also had fab dry and mostly sunny weather which helps.
This was our first center parcs experience and I had heard that if you want to book things to do you should do it before you arrive This IS True hardly anything is bookable in resort all fully booked we will know next time.
when we were there it was motly brits ,french and belgians I think dutch schools were back already.
We will go again next year which says a lot repeat buisiness is everything in the travel industry.

Racers · 07/05/2007 09:32

Thanks, that's really helpful. Just have to decide between there and the one nearer to Amsterdam now...

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