centerparcs - you've got to be joking - what's all the fuss about????

[lisalisa]

Just returned from a bloody freezing and nightmare break in centerparcs. Having been looking forward to it for ages i visualised cycling lazily through the sunlit ( albeit cold) forest with 5 rosy cheeked kids in tow en route to some activcity or other and returning refreshed and tired but happy in the evenings , How wrong can a person be????

Cue the first evening - there are no bloody road names nor precious little signs so how are you supposed to know where the heck you are going? We went round and round in circles from 8.00- 9.30pm at night until some poor bloke took pity on us and dumped us in the mobility bus and took us back to our villa. 3 out of 5 kids crying and they're aged 4,6,8,10 and 13. me about to start too.

next morning bright and cheery up we get for tea and - - no power. Cue a long wait for power to be restored so we can have a cuppa and get going. Set out and hailstorm starts. We are all however suitably dressed so should be ok. But no - lost again and this time kids are sopping wet, freezing and really naffed off. Back home for clean clothes. Set off again now sky is brighter. Leave bikes at pool complex. Had a nice day only ruined by the literally 100s of people in the changing rooms meaning we had to wait ages for changing cubicle and on our return the locker key did not work and we stood sopping wait awaiting a staff member who had to break the lock.....

Left complex to find there are at least 2 bike parks and we didn't note which one. Cue half hour wasted identifiying bikes and discovered that son aged 10 didn't lock his properly and it was gone. He goes off to cycle returns to explain and get another one. We all cycle slowly home - its raining again and we are half an hour from villa and kids gloves soaked through and they are miserable.

Arrive home and another power cut. No hot water and no heating. This is really miserable now as we are all cold and wet an dlooking forward to hot shower and hot drinks. Staff come reasonably quickly and sort it out.

There were some nice periods interspersed with this and some good activities but on the whole overpriced and not a patch on going to a farm for a break with a swimming pool and animals.

My main bugbears were the distances - we had to trek half hour to get to the centre - very offputting in the weather conditions - and the fact that nothing is signposted properly or enough so aimless wandering ruined a good protion of the break. On balance I would not go back.

Sorry lisa, but you went in the winter! The weather isn't going to be very good is it.

love the fact that there is a Centreparcs advert next to your post!

Most of that was the weather, which you can't control. It would have hailed and been freezing at a farm and the power may have cut too (ours has in this weather).

The rest of it was you not paying attention I'm afraid. The villas are numbered and in areas. Remember your villa number (it's on your key) and you can find it quite easily.

I'm sorry you had a bad holiday but having been lost once, you'd think you'd pay more attention to where you left your bikes.

You weren't paying attention to where you were, so that combined with the weather was your biggest problem.

I agree that the hot water problems were not good.

Yes weather can't be helped.

We remembered our villa number - of course we did - its just that centre parcs is not signposted Cedar 123 for example that way - in my opinion it should say for eg Cedar 100-190 left and oak 200 -300 right but it doesn't. The only signposts are for the village square and cetnral ares but not for the villa areas or numbers until you are in the acatual areas themselves when any idiot with eye sight can follow the numberings upwards or downwards. For e.g. when leaving village square there are no sign posts as to which way to go to our area. Aimlessly wandering in the cold is no good. Even the staff admitted that their number one cause for complaint is the lack of proper signage. In fact when we were leaving we noticed signs for the car park and exit that were inaccurate and led on a 3 mile walk round the lake to a desitnation that could be reached in 15 mins ( now we so wisely knew) by taking a footpatch shortcut.

It is also hard to take careful note of which bike park where there are 3 in spitting distance and the kids are all cold wet and scraeming to get inside......

In a farm holiday you are never more than about 5 mins from the facilities and with only a few cottages the staff are on hand much quicker to sort things out.

I personally feel that a farm holiday where activities are offered beats this experience hands down. i agree that it may be beter in summer though.

I think we simply weren't prepared for the vast distances involved in getting anywhere. Well - I call the distances vast when it takes half an hour to reach the central area.

Which one were you at?

Elvedon Forest.

We go to Elveden every year, due to go again in 5 weeks. Have never got lost and have stayed in villas all over. It's not that big, flat and easy when on a bike. There's a big map near the swimming pool too and you get one with your checking in stuff.

I love it.

I'm genuinely sorry you had a bad time. I think the fates just conspired against you. Honestly, when the sun's shining and the squirrels are playing, it's brill.

showofhands - you must be right. Otherwise 1000s like you wouldn't go. Also all my friends love it - many are going next week for half term.

I think its like anything else - once you know your way around its easy.

We stayed in a woodland lodge which was lovely - very comfy beds and big log fire we could make. Decent accomodation. Just a shame about power cuts to our villa. And kettle packed up . Oh and telly broke too. See I have a lot of complaints. Mabye just had a duff time. But prices are so high outside of deep winter that I wouldn't be able to afford it other than in bad weather.

Have a nice time - I am sure the weather will be better when you go.

if you go again book in advance. Get a discount code from the promo section on here. (we are going in 2 weeks to longleat and have paid £60 per adult for the week!!!) When you book pay the extra money to be located close to the plazza.

With bikes we always put something (removable) on ours so they were easily identified. I.e a bright pink carrier bag tied around the handle bars. Everyone hires bikes so they are all look the same.
We also always used to put our cozzies on at the villa and our clothes on on top then if you find it hard to get a changing room you can just do it in the communal area and stuff your things in a locker.

Sorry you had a crap time. Write them a complaint letter especially concerning the power cuts.... milk it for all its worth. you never know they might send you some vouchers.

I dont think you should write off ever going there again though. we love it!!!

It's a lovely place, just not in the winter. I got a job there cleaning the lodges, I lasted a whole month - the cleaning was a doddle, much easier than my house! But I had to cycle half a mile from the cycle shed to the cleaners shed, then another mile to my villa. On my third week it chucked it down with rain, on the fourth week it was hail, I rang up and told them to stuff it!

Cleaning in wet clothes with freezing cold hands and looking forward to a 20 minute bike ride at the end is not my idea of a Nice Job.

My BIL worked there a few years ago (Elveden) as a lifeguard and on reception. He LOVED it, got a great discount for friends and family and spent all his off time swimming, cycling, using the gym etc. He did it to earn enough money for the next leg of his bum around the world tour.

lisa, I think you had a rough deal. I admit that the really basic accommodation (where we stay as it's so cheap off peak with discounts- £200 for a 6 bed villa for the week) is tired and wearing (that yellow paint is quite hideous). And I think if you pay to choose your villa location, pay for activities, pay to eat out, pay to shop in the supermarket etc, it's very pricey.

I have very, very low expectations and my parents pay to take us anyway so I'm just grateful to have an annual holiday. We know what we're getting and know our way round so we take lovely food to cook and eat in the villa, do only free stuff and spend hours and hours of every day racing down the rapids. I'm easily pleased. And dd is just happy that she can watch squirrels over breakfast. She's getting her cheap date genes from her mother.

You need to use the map and not the road signs.
This is because the signs are for cars and most of the time the place is traffic free. When you are going around on bikes you don't have to follow the one way system. Makes all the journeys much shorter.

The farm is fine for tinys but as they get older children need a bit more than fluffy lambs to entertain them. Having said that my two boys have been known to spend an entire day going up and down the rapids.

I have some sympathy for this poor lady.We did have some lovely breaks but the last one was the final straw.We paid extra for villa near the waters edge and the debris was horrible,floating on top.Also there was loads of squashed toads underfoot when walking along the paths.Queues for this that and the other -due to school holidays.Bike tyres had been let down.There seemed to be quite a few resentful teenage boys milling around bored and unsupervised.Also having a chid with us who has severe epilepsy and been unable to use a mobile phone in the villa was worrying if there was an emergency.People do get very upset if you critisize Center Parcs as it is so popular and they get very defensive.However I prefer to use the sun vouchers for the £9.50 holidays,cheaper and lower expectations.

we have been lots of times and love it - we did however go one time and doors fell of cupboards, power cuts and other such factors in pool area of genreal mingingness and crappy service in some restaurant - we wrote a jolly good letter and got a free upgrade from comfort to soem deluxe jobby next time we went which had sauna and hot tub etc and a beer hamper and a big food hameper which was in our villa for arrival then the van turned up and said they were delivering us a free hamper and beer hamper - we had a fab week

Inthesticks,yes I imagine your little boys would love it.The aqa is very good.But the aqa spa was so expensive when I went and the staff indifferent.It is expensive when you go in school holidays and then having to factor in the extras.We did have some great holidays,but my expectations were very high and I was disappointed.

best time to go is May - weather nice then and stays light
xmas is also a nice time to go

you need to go REALLY near

id say your kidsa re too young
oyu needt o be a lto nearer the pool and go when its not freezing

Argh. We've booked to go to Elveden Forest in September - we're in the cheapest accomodation but when I chose it on the map it looked to be the closest to the plaza. Is that not the case then?

dunno re elevdon

We are going on 1st March to the one you have just been toI am afeared now as this is truly our 1st hol and we have been really looking forward to it as we are knackered.]

it's all close if you can map-read