would you spend a wk at a european center parcs and if so, which one ?

[loubylou66]

Thinking about visiting one of the CPs in holland, germany or belgium, probably the last wk in August. We have 2 active boys aged 7 and 3 yrs so there needs to be plenty to occupy them ! Also we would like to do a bit of sightseeing in the local area.. Any recommendations ? Thanks, Lou

We've not been to Center Parcs before, but have stayed at several Kinderhotels in the South of Germany and Austria and had a fab time! Lots of activities, great childcare, lovely pools/spas and excellent food. Good value for money too (considering almost everything is included). Not sure about the sightseeing - perhaps Schloss Neuschwanstein and/or Salzburg?

What about Duinrell? It's fab!

Not CP tho but fantastic!

We've been to 2 in Holland- De Eemhof and Het Heijerbos. Eemhof is close enough to Amsterdam to go for the day and also places like Efteling, beaches, Delft, the Open Air Museum.

Heijerbos is almost on the border with Germany and you can get to Cologne, and Movie Park Germany, which we enjoyed.

Last week in August is a good time to go because the Dutch kids are back at school so it's quieter.

Yes but we've done two in France. Lac d'Ailette and the other one in the Loire valley 2hrs due south of Paris, can't remember what it was called. Both were excellent, the former is in the Champagne region, the latter in the Loire so lots to see. However like all CP's there's plenty to do on site for a week.

We went a few years ago to eemhof. Had a fab time. ds was 7 at the time. we flew to amesterdam and got the train. twas easy and a very cheap holiday, especially compared to CP here.

We didn't pay much for a VIP lodge, which included 25 euros to spend in the shop and bread delivered to our villa everyday.

One thing though, the vip lodge didn't have an oven, but we got by without it.

We've been to De Kempervennan and Het hejderbos. Both similar activity wise.
Our boys loved them, the coaches were multi lingual so all the activities were possible. They loved body boarding down the rapids.
Kids eat free in the restaurants so if they are still at the age for eating from the childrens menu this can save quite a lot.
Loved Holland and went overnight on the ferry.

Been to De Vossermerren Dutch / Belgian border twice and also the one in the Loire Valley. Both great and much better value than the UK. We slightly preferred De Vossermerren as the drive doesn't seem so long from Calais but there's probably more to do generally in the Loire Valley. I thought the pools were great at both. It is quite restrictive not having an oven for a whole week though. 5 days is OK too.

We went to Les Hauts Bruyere in France. It was much cheaper than the UK and the activities were cheaper (and less busy) too. We had a VIP villa which had an enormous whirlpool bath and a sauna cabin thingy.

I have spent 5 years holidaying in centerparcs in the last week of august and Duinrell. We usually do 10 days but most of the time only leave the park once or twice.
We have been to
Het Heijebos
De Eemhoff
Het Meerdal (twice but it is a quieter park)De De Huttenheugte
one year we did 5 days at the Belgium one De Erperheide then drove up to Duirell for 7 days. It's really good value at that time of year.
Erperheide has a huge ball park which is fun for the age of your dcs and they would probably like the jungle dome at Het Heijebos. But to be honest most of the parks have plenty to do at very reasonable prices.

We went to Het Heijerbos for 5 days or a week during an October half-term. We have never been to an English one, so nothing to compare it with, but we did enjoy it. The pool was fantastic and warm (the weather was extremely cold!) There were loads of additional acitivities, including a jungle adventure place (also indoors) bowling, etc. So we didn't get bored! We rode our bikes alot and it was safe enough for the DC to go on their own (probably 6 and 8 at the time)

There are lots of places to eat at, which were fine and we managed to make meals in the villa too! The villa was quite roomy, though I remember the double bed having some strange arrangement with separate quilts.

I would recommend it as a much cheaper alternative to the ones in the UK!

We had a fab time at the one in the champagne region of france last year and we are going to the one in the loire this year it was great. The resturants are much better than here as well the whole eating out experience and the quality of the resturant food was fantastic. We had a great time x

I hated Erperheide. Totally charmless.

We had a totally fantastic time at a Landal park though - which is like a lo-fi Dutch equivalent.

Yes - we did a week at Landal Sonnenberg last Easter. Had a VIP cottage for about 450 euros with sauna and sunbed + washer/drier/dishwasher. I thought the accommodation was nicer that CPs. Indoor pool and enormous indoor play area.

Lots to do in the area too (Trier, Moselle Valley, boat trips, wine tasting etc) and there is a big outdoor pool complex just down the hill. The scenery was gorgeous.

We've also spent a nice weekend at Eperheide. Sunparks are also worth a look. We've stayed at De Haan (lovely town) and Nieuwport before for the weekend.