Better Than Center Parcs?

[PleaseDontJudgeMex]

Hi there, created a burner account as this might be sound very snobbish… but… where can we go in the UK that’s like Center Parcs but…. More upmarket?

I’ve been to Center Parcs an awful lot, firstly as a child, and now as an adult. We’re a family of 5 with 3 boys (5-lower teens). It’s always seemed like we were surrounded by people whose lives were similar to our own.

We’ve been here for a week. We get nice villas. The quantity of people staying for a few days (confirmed by activity staff - one said we were the only guests she’d spoken to who had booked for a week) and not booking activities (presumably due to cost) has increased massively. People openly drinking and smoking adjacent to the Plaza now seems to be a thing. Yesterday we walked past a man wearing a hooters hoodie, and I’m pretty sure down by the lake has become a drugs hangout 😳. It’s also been raining quite a bit, and the quantity of leaks in the roofs of the swimming pool and plaza is really surprising.

We always felt our kids were safe here and we didn’t need to worry about them popping to the shop or going out on their bikes, but it doesn’t really feel like that anymore.

We were considering booking a Treehouse next year but we’re now questioning the whole thing. So… if you’ve got £6000 - £10000 to spend on a summer holiday for 5 in the UK - what’s the Center Parcs alternative?

We are also just back from cp and commented that the people around us didn’t seem as posh as usual. We have been going for 10 years and would regularly see a few minor celebrities. I’d also feel a bit dowdy comparing my clothes to the branded versions everyone else was wearing. Also noticed more people on mobility scooters and more very overweight. I am in that bracket so not judging them, just noticed it has gone that way where it used to be mainly gym bunnies bouncing around the site.
We do have food allergies in our group though and the food worked fine for us, they seemed very careful.

Thought you’d also appreciate a picture of the wildlife. Obviously named him Roland.

Someone's hoodie offended you 🙄

Wilderness Reserve in Suffolk?

It’s not quite the same but they have ‘experiences’ like the activities at Centre Parcs, spa treatments that come to you, gorgeous properties etc. It was the comment about minor celebrities that made me think of it as you often see ‘influencers’ go, especially the more posh ex Made in Chelsea types.

You can easily spend £1500 a night without trying. Often much more - can sometimes get decent late deals though.

https://www.wildernessreserve.com/home

Where are you in the UK? DD is also ND so we drive to places in mainland Europe a lot. For example, going Harwich or Hull to Rotterdam leaves you within a couple of hours drive of several of the Dutch or Belgian center parcs. DD copes ok on the overnight ferry as long as she has her special teddies, a book and her ear defenders but I appreciate it's different for everyone. Places like Duinrell would also be within easy reach. There are also center parcs in northern France or somewhere like Les Ormes which are within easy reach of the southern ferry ports. Might be worth considering?

I love this place. It isn't posh in itself but I don't think I've ever seem anyone smoking or vaping.

Carbis Bay or Carlyon bay are very nice but don't have as many activities and the pools definitely aren't as exciting.

I think it's fairly impossible to have that kind of holiday in the UK OP, reason being that if people have that kind of spend available they usually go abroad.

How about Woolley grange which is only a few miles from us just outside Bradford on Avon - indoor pool, outdoor pool - lots for kids . Attracts an upmarket family clientele .

luxuryfamilyhotels.co.uk/locations/woolley-grange/

Glamping somewhere like the Lake District or snowdonia and organise your own activities... kayaking, hiking (mout snowdon) mountain biking, ...
All can be organised beforehand so all you have to do is "rock up" and enjoy!

Plus, for your budget, you can probably go a week at Easter and during Summer holidays!

One guy was wearing a hooters hoodie......

Would a family friendly hotel be an option or do you need your own cooking facilities?

Una St Ives is fantastic. Great pool and restaurant on site and loads to visit, it's a great part of Cornwall. And Gara Rock in Salcombe. You can walk directly into Salcombe down a gorgeous path into Mill Cove and then get the ferry into Salcombe. You're right on the coast path for walking, and they've got a pool/restaurant on site. My favourite UK holiday place but it's costly.

Wilderness Reserve

The "luxury family hotels" group - I think there are 5 of them. We went to the one in the new forest and it was lovely.

We have just come back from wilderness reserve. It was very nice and looks beautiful but I didn’t think it was good value for money.

God forbid people vape or wear a shocked face Hooters hoody 🤣 Sorry OP but the hooters hoody really cracked me up!

I'm the type of person who would actively visit hooters over setting foot in CP, so not sure my advice will be deemed exclusive enough for you lol, but if you have up to 10k, drive somewhere nice in Europe, maybe France, Netherlands, Germany or Belgium? You could rent a beautiful villa with private pool for that much and still have plenty spare left over for doing the type of overpriced activities they have at CP, for much better value. There's a gorgeous place in Germany where you can stay in a tree house and it is has activities on site similar to CP. It might also be good for your neuro divergent DC as it will have a familiar feel for them! Sorry I can't remember the name, but maybe worth a Google im sure it would pop up.

lochkenecobothies.co.uk

Is Scotland too far?

These are lovely and part of the Galloway activity centre which has loads of activities available.

You said you would consider a drive into Europe with your ND DC so if the channel tunnel is accessible, and if you're having a bad experience or getting a bad impression of a UK centerparcs, as per PPs I recommend the European Centerparcs: CP De Vossemerren or CP De Kempervennen (both 4 hrs from Calais). I've done both. Lovely experience, lovely people, fabulous hearing all the different languages and no drug dealing that I could see (!) or dodgy characters. There IS a little smoking in the outdoor cafe areas but saw no vaping whatsoever. Also considerably cheaper than the UK CPs.

Bluestone is no posher than CP. it’s nice but more suited to younger children I think. 10 and under really so might not be as appealing to your older ones. It’s in a nice area though to go sightseeing

Sorry, but I think that U.K. ‘holiday centres/camps/villages’ will always attract groups of people who want to gather in groups to drink, smoke and potentially have a rowdy time. It’s the easy holiday option. Lots of people who want to do the things you don’t like aren’t short of cash and are drawn to a one-site type holiday where you don’t have to exit the park the whole time they are on holiday. The ease of it is all is what bumps up the price, but also means you get a much broader range of people’s than the prices might first suggest.

If you want something more exclusive, choose a lovely cottage in a wonderful location. For the money you’re talking, you can have brilliant accommodation right by or in glorious beaches or countryside or by the kind of activities you’d like to do. If you go for a town or village that has wonderful beaches, you can find ones with brilliant restaurants and all kinds of activities available locally that you might do at Center Parcs. So you could have proper surf lessons, nature trails, sailing, swimming or whatever activities your family might like. You can have properly good restaurants rather than chains, quality provision of activities rather than just beginner, low-level, almost fake, sanitised versions, and proper countryside/beaches instead if what is essentially a glorified caravan park.

There’s nothing wrong with caravan park holidays. It is essentially what Center Parcs is, for those who don’t want to say they are going in a caravan park holiday. Once you opt into a holiday park, you can’t control who else is there. You need an independent holiday property for that.

Walked past a man wearing a hooters hoodie😂😂 bet ur clutching ur pearls

Center Parcs isn’t ‘posh’ and never really has been. It’s targeting an ‘aspirational’ market. It brands itself on being outdoorsy and family focused and middle class. But anyone who is genuinely interested in the outdoors doesn’t get their cycling kicks from some low level paths at Center Parcs, or half an hour rowing on a small lake, or a beginners archery session. People wearing Boden or Joules aren’t really ‘posh’. The ‘posh’ don’t go to Center Parcs.

If all-inclusive type stuff is what you want, the good stuff is available abroad at a price. The equivalent isn’t really available here. In the U.K., all-inclusive or on-site all-available essentially means caravan parks. Yes, there are variations in price and accommodation and activities, but this is what they basically are.

Especailly at peak times, these parks are busy and the facilities are often a bit over-stretched. So by opting for this kind of holiday you really are with the masses. Even when it’s a more expensive version, you get those attracted to that kind of holiday.

Have a look at potters resort in Norfolk

Have a look at potters resort in Norfolk

I would go abroad and get a villa.

Bluestone and Woolley Grange best suited for primary age kids. I have done both several times and are both lovely but will feel tame after centre parcs. Some rough folk at Bluestone though on my last visit so its probably not exclusive to CP.

The Netherlands might suit you - the Dutch speak wonderful English, the Netherlands is very family friendly and you can easily get the ferry over and take your own car.

Last summer we stayed at the Beekse Bergen Safari resort - there’s a Safari park, plus a water/amusement park called Speelland on the lake. Our lodge was by a big enclosure with giraffes and rhinos and zebras and seeing them just wandering feet away from us of an evening was incredible.
If I remember correctly it was about £5k for 6 of us (including 2 cars on the ferry). We had a day out at Efteling theme park, but otherwise there was plenty to do at Beekse Bergen.

Crieff Hydro in Perth Scotland is pleasant with lodges and lots of outdoor activities.