Centre parcs?

[jalady385]

Just wondered what people's opinions of centre parcs is? I would like to try it but Dh is unsure. We are not into caravan holidays or Butlins. But to me it doesn't look like the same type of holiday whereas that is how DH is seeing it.

Wow, prices must've risen a bit since 2015. We went in June this year and a few hours at the spa cost £45pp. Was lovely though.

The spa was on a two people basis. So there were six of us and it was £66 for two people for three hours.

I went with my sister so it was the two of us and we paid £45 each in June.

I love it. Been to Whinfell and Sherwood and prefer Whinfell because the setting is nicer.
It is marmite - Husband hated it so we go without him. Never met a kid who didn’t like it. We usually book the nicest cabins we can and they have always been lovely.
Pros: easy, stress free, very safe and family friendly, activities and service is excellent
Cons: restaurants are not great, everything is overpriced, pool is too cold and gets overcrowded
It’s perfect for a few days away, however, if it was my only holiday I would go abroad instead. As pp said you can go somewhere nice on a plane for cheaper.

We love it - we’ve been to a few and by far love Whinfell the most. We’ve been taking ds’s since ds1 was 18 months - they’re now 16 and 14 and there’s are still things they love. I think that’s what I love about it the most - the range of stuff available (yes, at a cost...). Dp though loves birdwatching so goes to the hide every day - at least that’s free..! I’ve always found everywhere to be clean and we’ll maintained and if you time things right, bizarrely you can find quiet times even in the school holidays eg a good time to go to the pool is around 5pm, when families with little ones tend to have gone to have tea/bed (we only discovered this when ds’s were older, obv..!).

I agree it’s worth getting the best lodge you can - but even the ‘basic’ lodges have lovely outside space - this has been a highlight for us, just watching all the wildlife outside and being amongst the trees - just so different to where we live so it feels like you’re a world away from usual life, even though Whinfell is less than two hours from where we live.

It’s expensive no doubt, but it’s easy to get to, relaxing (once you’ve unloaded and parked!) and the range of activities is fantastic. Last year for the first time I tried the spa and couldn’t believe it had taken me 15 years to do it - it was amazing and was the most relaxed I’ve been for a long time, or since!

Shouldn’t think we’ll keep going when ds’s have up and left, but it’s definitey served its purpose for us so I would highly recommend.

We go every year. Love it. We swore we'd stop when DD started school as it's about 70% more expensive than out of school holidays which feels rude.... but, we've just booked again for next April despite the oncost.

It's a super easy holiday. Definitely my almost stress free break of the year. I know what to expect and there's loads to do.

I also love that it let's us see how far DD has developed in a year. Each time, she can take part in activites she could not before or does them way better / more independently.

Get the best accomodation - I believe the cheaper lodges can be a bit basic. We have a new executive style lodge which is the standard youd expect from a nice new premier inn. It's not the Ritz, but I've found these lodges to be clean and equipped sufficiently. Good Wi-Fi.

Also, We take only basic food. I've done all combos from menu planning and cooking there (way too much work and the kitchen isn't really equipped for it), freezing things like chilli and spag bol to take. Now we just take breakfast stuff, one basic meal a day (so the doings for pesto pasta or cheese sandwhiches) and then we eat out. And we take snacks.