Is Center Parcs worth it?

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Just got back from a 3 night break in Butlins....absolutely hated it. My friend warned me but we couldn't afford Center parcs.

Could someone please let me know how much extra the activities are at Centre Parcs? I know the pool is free, but what about things like roller skating, bike hire, etc?

It looks lovely, just rather pricey. We're currently deciding whether a week away in a cottage and go out to places would be a good choice, or blow all the budget on Centre Parcs where its all on site.

Any recommendations welcome! Thank you.

For the price your be paying I would look at eurocamp loads of places a short drive away , perfect weather plenty of free kids things can’t go wrong

your Save a small fortune even with the petrol and tunnel crossing

I hated Butlins as well 😂 have done Center Parcs but not over the school holidays, it's obviously cheaper so I think it's worth it then. I wouldn't pay £1200 for 4 nights in the summer holidays!

We do holiday parks in Devon, Cornwall, Dorset - beach, pools (indoor and outdoor) on site, usually entertainment centre with bowling, restaurants etc - for a deluxe static caravan type thing £600-£800 for 4 nights......and that's at peak season - school holidays

We do CP twice a year for a long weekend and I love it.

The activities vary - some are expensive and others are quite cheap

I adore it and it feels like I'm completely out of it all without the stress of airports etc.

IMO no, particularly if you’ll be paying school holiday prices. Everything costs extra and the accommodation isn’t worth the cost. It also gives me cabin fever, it feels like once you’re in you’re stuck and forced to have fun, it’s all a bit artificial for me.

Butlins is definitely a holiday for children, my two absolutely loved Butlins when they were little, we went a few times and stayed in the hotel.

We also had quite a few trips to CP, we went to Longleat a couple of times, quite hilly and spread out, we preferred Elveden, as we felt it was flatter terrain and had more of a central hub.

At CP the pool is free, but you pay for everything else, you can take your own bikes, or pay to hire. You need to pre book any activities you want to do, don’t wait until you arrive. Things like badminton, ten pin bowling are booked up. Mini golf is usually ok, we pre booked and didn’t need to for that, ten pin bowling is usually ok during the day, but the evenings definitely pre book, any restaurant needs to be pre booked for evenings, pancake house often has availability during the day, pancakes after swimming are the best! Quite expensive though. You can self cater, which is what a lot of people do. We loved our CP trips when our two were little, especially the pre Christmas ones.

It an expensive break, especially if you can only go in school hols.

Our boys are grown up now, but I wouldn’t hesitate to take 🤞future grandchildren there for a holiday.

Love CP but the last 2 years we have felt they are extortionate, both the lodges + activities. After going every year for 8 years we made the decision to not continue as 3 night weekend break was costing 1.5K for everything (lodge, food + activities). DD is now 12 years old so happy with city breaks etc but when she was younger CP was ideal, lots to entertain her and we loved it.

The only activity included in the price at CP is the swimming. Everything else is an added cost, and isn't cheap.
There are outdoor play areas and you can just walk, bike ride or scoot around the forest for free.
There's no evening entertainment other than a kids mini disco (I'd say for under 10s)
There's a small selection of restaurants for meals, or you can cook in the lodge (we usually do a mix of both) so that side is as expensive as you want it to be

We went in April with our 3yr old and 1yr old. We only did 3 bookable activities - mini trek and chocolate chefs for the 3yr old and a spa session for me, and spent the rest of the time walking with the little one in the pram and oldest one scooting and swimming. We ate out every evening but had breakfasts and lunches at the lodge.

Look at centre parcs in Europe. We went to one in Belgium. It was still half the price of the UK ones once we'd added in petrol and the ferry. It was great. Cheaper accommodation and much cheaper activities costs too.

During term time at reduced rates - yes it's worth it

During school holidays - no. It's robbery.

We love CP and go every year. We find that going to the pool twice per day (kids want this not us) is enough to keep them occupied. We go at Xmas time so the park is decorated with beautiful lights so lots of nice late afternoon/ evening walks. The only additional thing we book is family bowling (about £35 for 45mins from memory) and pottery painting (£6 to book then you buy the pottery piece to paint). We eat out twice for two evening meals.

Yes, this is spot on.

It is great for young kids. We took our 8 & 4 year old last month and it was lovely. Did the pool every day, played on the beach by the side of the lake, and they each did about £45 quid's worth of activities - older one did the tree top go ape style thing and younger one did two cheaper activities.

It was a great little holiday (did Mon-Fri) but there is no way I would pay school holiday prices for it. I just take mine out of school and pay the fine (still a lot cheaper!)

Term Time = maybe worth it.

Any school breaks = absolutely not. Over 1.6k 4 nights in the basic small accommodation.

I’m paying 2.8k for 10 nights in the Balearic Islands with flights, including bed and breakfast in school holidays for the same dates.

Thank you so much everyone. Lots of things to think about and you've really helped.

I don't think it's worth it for school holiday prices. But if your kids are preschool then it's great.

Center Parcs divides MN. I think it's great for families and there is nowhere as good. Lots of alternatives may be suggested but none of them have the facilities of CP. In particular the pool. If your DC are the right age you don't need any other activities, mine would spend the whole weekend in the pool on the rapids.

However I wouldn't choose it for our main holiday, I'd rather go abroad. Center Parcs is perfect for an out of season weekend in British weather.

My kids prefer Butlins but we only ever stay in the hotels.

I dont think CP UK is worth is, CP Europe is. Belgium is great.

Cp is very expensive, not just the cost of the accommodation but the activities, restaurants etc too and they are too isolated to walk to pubs outside for dinner. If you want outdoorsy activities I highly recommend booking in the aviemore area, you'll get hotel half board for the price of centreparcs, or to save book independent self catering then just pay for the activities you want.

If you want a holiday park look at pierre et vacances in france, even with the ferry and fuel it's cheaper

There was also nothing in the evening, no live music for instance which other places provide (quality varies but it's nice to have the option) oh and the beer selection was appalling im guessing I'm not their target market

CP Europe is fantastic, CP U.K. is massively overpriced and just set up to keep emptying your wallet

there Is an area on the center parcs website that has last minute deals. They sell breaks for the next three weeks or so, and sometimes these reduce in price closer to the time. Great if you can go last minute

we have been maybe a dozen times and it really works for us. I hired a bike and helmet for myself last week (seven days) and it was £65. The kids bikes and helmets would be cheaper.

The Dc have done all manner of activities over the years - badminton, squash, racketball, climbing, quad bikes, archery, paintball, laser combat, pottery painting, aerial trek, aqua jets, face painting, cupcake decorating, painting, nature walks, electric boats, pedalo, the lot. But the best thing by far for them is the pool. They could spend hours in there each day. And the pool is free, so you really don’t need loads of activities if you’re just going for a weekend. If you did the pool each day, cycling, your own nature walks, playgrounds (the playgrounds and fake beach by the lake at Sherwood are the best), an ice cream etc your days will be full. You don’t need to spend ££ on activities too if that makes the weekend out of budget.

I love it for a mini break, and do all the activities and love the spas. I don’t think it’s worth doing if you are going to watch every penny.

I love centre parks but after activities and accommodation you’re looking at 3k for a week in August. This year we have opted for Lalandia in Denmark which is costing us half the price including flights. I love centre parcs but the price is a bit much, activities for kids cost on average £15.

DS(9) and I are just back from Whinfell. We did Monday - Friday during half term for £499 1 bed apartment which was in a great location. We usually do Longleat but really liked Whinfell, although the pool wasn't as nice. The activities were brilliant. Did 2 each day as well as swimming every day.

Given that Center Parcs’ occupancy levels pre-covid were around 97%, it’s pretty clear that both their product and their pricing is ‘worth it’ in the opinion of their customers.