Center parcs alternative?

[Holidaycomedown]

So, we love staying in 'the forest', waking up with wildlife on the porch, toddler friendly stuff everywhere and having access to a brilliant pool. We (I) do not love the now incredible ££££ price tag for a 3 night break. Any ideas?

We had week in Thorpe Forest. The forestry commission offer a more basic/reasonably priced but similar experience to Center Parcs (minus the swimming pools/spa etc). Our kids loved it!

www.forestholidays.co.uk

Sandy balls...?

Butlins

Landal Darwin Forest

Bluestone in Wales?

We love Center Parcs but some alternatives we have also been to are
Bluestone
Ribby Hall
Landal Sandybrook
Haven Hafan y Mor and Greenacres

@ooosnedh

Sandy balls...?

Is this a typo?

Bluestone
Sandy Balls - this is real and safe to Google.

Manor House Hotel in Devon. You don’t have a forest on your doorstep but you do have Dartmoor as a view

Another Sandy Balls vote

Warmwell? The pool isn’t as good but it’s lodged in a forest setting. We went for Christmas and it was lovely

Another vote for Landal Darwin Forest

Another vote for Haven Hafan Y Mor, we went and really enjoyed it (DC were 4 and 11 at the time).

@thebigpurpleone

Butlins

Not sure if aggressive seagulls are the kind of wildlife the OP is after?

Isn't Blue Stone equally as expensive as Center Parcs?

OP How about Center Parcs in Netherlands/Belgium- much cheaper than the ones in the UK.

@beavertowers

We had week in Thorpe Forest. The forestry commission offer a more basic/reasonably priced but similar experience to Center Parcs (minus the swimming pools/spa etc). Our kids loved it!

www.forestholidays.co.uk

We live very near to there. It’s nice. You could get quite a few of the Centre Parcs extras locally too, it would just be a question of doing the legwork and booking yourself

Kielder

www.kielderwaterside.com/

Why anyone goes to Center Parcs is beyond me.

It's a wood. That's it. Stop pretending the shitly furnished rectangular boxes lined up and sold as "forest lodges" are anything other than shitly furnished rectangular boxes.

Everything else? Well you pay through the nose for that. At twice the standard price. So you've paid two grand to sleep in a hideous polyester trimmed box in the woods and nothing more. Next up, is £30 on shit bowling, which would cost you £15 at the far better actual bowling alley 3 miles away.

Spend £2k renting an incredible Airbnb, then spend half what you would at Center Parcs, on superior activities nearby.

Literally, I'd stay at home over going to Center Parcs. We live right near one, and it's embarrassing what people will get convinced to spend their money on.

Despise the place. Can you tell?

I would also suggest looking at Center Parks in Holland or Belgium, we’ve been to Belgium once and Holland twice, for far less than the UK equivalent, even allowing for the Eurotunnel.

I’m also thinking about trying Duinrell in Holland. Friends loved it

Agree with PP - go to the Belgian or French CPs. Even with paying for the Eurotunnel it works out less expensive.

I've never been to centreparcs but love bluestone.

Bluestone is much nicer than Centerparcs and much cheaper.

If I was adventurous, I'd book Center parcs in Europe. It's far cheaper (although you have more travel costs so i guess for 3 days maybe it isn't cost effective)

I haven't found anywhere else in the UK that keeps the DC occupied like the pool at CP.
None of the other options seem to compare in that department.

If it wasn't for the kids I would never go to a CP ever again. But they absolutely love it.

Are CP still limiting pool slots?