Center Parcs - Europe

[StampOnTheGround]

Hello!

We've decided to go to an abroad Center Parcs later this year, I've looked at all of them and have ruled out most of France and Germany based on travel times (we'll be driving).

I've then looked at all of the others in Belgium and the Netherlands and for the price and facilities have decided between Het Meerdal, De Huttenheugte and Erperheide - have any of you been to these and would you recommend/not?

Bonus if I can find someone whose done all 3 😂

It's 2 adults (who love the rapids) and a 2 year old who loves swimming and slides!

Our only comparison is the Sherwood Forest Center Parcs that we have been to lots of times, but not for a few years.

Thank you 😊

Or open to suggestions of any others I may have hastily ruled out!

We went to Het Meerdal earlier this year as two adults and a 2 year old. The pool was great! Perfect for a slide loving 2 year old as they could do everything except the high flume and the outside rapids (so we just tag teamed those while the other adult swam with our son).

It also had a fun mini farm and animal feeding, a huge soft play, lots of playgrounds and little free tractors to pedal round a track.

The accommodation was basic, but clean and all been recently revamped. We didn’t pay for any additional activities as they were mainly for 3+ but still had fun.

The only negatives were the food options were terrible, but we just cooked for a few nights.

It’s less fancy than the UK and probably a little tired, but for the price it was great value.

@Sinkingfeeling952 Ahh thank you so much for the info! I keep going round in circles, so it's really great to hear this.

Did you drive?? I'm not sure whether we should do the longer ferry to the hook of Holland or the longer drive from Calais!

We went to Het Meerdal in May. Agree with what the previous poster has said in terms of a review. It was our first time in CP either UK or Europe so nothing to compare it to, sorry! But it felt good value, clean etc and I actually really enjoyed the pool, despite the fact that taking the kids swimming usually ranks right at the bottom of chosen activities for me…!

We drove from Calais and it was a bit of a pain, tbh. The route goes through Belgium, which is quite densely populated and therefore the traffic can be pretty bad. You have to choose between going via Antwerp and Brussels and both can get hugely snarled up. Ferry to Hook of Holland made no sense for us geographically but if you’re near-ish an east coast ferry port I would be tempted to look at that option.

It’s not on your list but I am just back from De Kempervennen with 9yo DD. We had a great time (she loves the rapids and slides) and I would recommend. Drove from SE England via Dunkirk - all fine in terms of roads.

Join the fb group Center Parcs Europe Just For Brits it’s everything you ever wanted to know about any of the parcs.

@Sandsnake - thank you so much, we're about 3 hours from the east coast port and 3.5 hours from Dover, so we're not particularly close to either haha!

@Ilearnitfromabook - thank you, I'll take another look!

@Littleforestcat thanks, I've found that group now!

Hi there, we went to De Kempervennen and De Vossermenen (spelling probably wrong). They are 20 mins apart by car although one in Belgium and one in Holland and you could use your ticket to try the facilities at the other so a change of pool. Much better value than the UK, we went as a group for 3 years to these 2 and then to France one year which I wouldn't recommend

I've been to De Vossemeren and Kempervannen with DC ages 2-13. Kempervannen was bigger, with an indoor ski slope and a better toddler pool. De Vossemeren has better rapids and the amazing (and unique AFAIK) Discovery Bay. Plenty for younger DC and the older ones as well. We've been back to De Vossemeren 5 times, not been back to Kempervannen.

We usually take the Harwich-Hook of Holland ferry. We've also done the Calais crossing a couple of times but I found it a very long drive so it's not my favourite. We usually drive to the ferry port via Efteling on the last day, which I highly recommend.

@Nonyummymummy interesting you don't recommend one in France. I was hoping to visit one to help with the DCs' French. Which one did you go to?

I've been to Erperheide and Het Meerdal from your list and I've also been to 3 or 4 others in france, belgium and tbe netherlands.
With a 2 year old I would go to Erperheide. Shorter drive time, smaller site, best kids area of the pool with safe but pretty good kids slides and amazing huge soft play.

De Haan is an easy drive from Calais, and close to nice beaches. Port Zealand isn't far from hook of Holland, again near beaches (but very windy from memory!)

I found her meerdal a bit too wooded, a bit of a damp enclosed feel for a summer holiday.

A vote against the Huttenheugte here, we found the houses small and too near to other houses (but maybe all cp are, I am comparing to other brands of holiday parks). Also the lake smelled terrible due to algae although it was the year of heat and drought (2022) so that was probably unusual.

Erperheide is fantastic for that age. There's a baby pool with small slides plus a larger toddler pool with bigger slides and sand pit. There's also the water play house though ours found that a bit scary (noisy, flashing lights, big buckets tipping up unexpectedly). It has a farm, soft play, pony rides, outdoor play areas. It's a smaller site so no need for bikes as you're never far from the market dome. We've not been to Het Meerdal but I believe it's quite similar and we are thinking about going there next, so I think you would enjoy either.

We also went to De Haan. It's quite a different feel as it's not in the woods and the accommodation is little houses surrounded by hedges. But the soft play is huge, it's near the beach with sand dunes and you can do a day trip to Bruges. The pool isn't so good, only a basic baby pool with one slide. Our just turn three year old liked coming down the big water slides on my lap. It was fine for a short Mon-Fri break but wouldn't stay longer. Main draw is it's only 1.5hrs from Calais.

Not been, but Lac d'Ailette often gets suggested as closest and most suitable for young children in France.

I wouldn't go to DV or DK, they are much bigger sites more aimed at older children. Save those for when yours is a bit older and stick to the smaller sites for now.

If you're not set on Center Parcs, you could also consider some of the Landal sites or somewhere like Beekse Bergen. Little Clogs Holidays is a good website that suggests the best ones for young children.

Thank you everyone!

I think from this and then the Facebook group it's narrowed down to Het Meerdal or Erperheide, both sound great for our swimming loving, very active 2 year old.

Will spend the day having another look at both!

It may come down to Erperheide being €120 cheaper than Het Meerdal for the week we are looking at 😊

I know it's not on your list but Het Hejderbos is a carbon copy of Sherwood.
We've also done De Kempervennan.
Our preferred route is Hull to Rotterdam but we once did Harwich. Harwich was very difficult to get to from the North.

Can I ask where you live op? We've used the overnight crossing from Newcastle to Ijmuiden for CP in the Netherlands before. It adds to the cost but also the adventure!

Just to add, check the prices on each of the CP sites as they vary. Change the .EU part of the web address to .nl, .fr, .be, .de then use google translate. They do have slightly different inclusions, one website might have free sheets included while another has free cottage selection, but the difference in price can be a few hundred euros so worth a look.

@Wery - we noticed that when we were looking at the rapids, I thought they'd stolen sherwood's video haha. Definitely on the list for when little one is that bit older!

@choirmumoftwo we're in the midlands - couldn't be further from the sea if we tried haha!

Thanks @User2123 will make sure to look!

Eperheide was our favourite when dd was small. De Kempervennen is fab but as mentioned is better for older kids. There's also De Haan....

Hey, just wondering which one you went for? We are looking at June this year and cannot decide which one to book. We have a 4 & 6 year old x

Hey @Missb1981 - we went to Erperheide and had an absolutely fantastic time!

Our 2.5 year old was allowed on all the slides (with us and a life jacket, including rapids!).

The soft play was amazing and there was a toddler pool and a water playhouse as well as the main pool and the couple of other slides.

Honestly couldn't fault it, I think you'd love it with a 4 and 6 year old. 😊

That’s amazing thank you so much for replying! It has made our decision for us 🤍🤍

Another vote here for De Kempervennen. We had a great time, good value too