Center Parcs was one those holidays that I’d heard lots about, but hadn’t actually been on. Because we’d had lots of Eurocamp holidays, Center Parcs had always looked like a similar holiday, but without as much sun and often a bit more expensive. Also, I prefer my holidays to be… not ‘off the beaten track’, but somewhere not everyone goes to and Center Parcs is one for mass market appeal. But, I’d always heard lots of good things, and know a lot of people revisit again and again, and I know it is the perfect holiday for children.
My friend warned me to book up all the activities before we went, so I did book a few things but didn’t want to set a complete itinerary, for the whole weekend, and also you could end up spending a lot of money! There’s so much to choose from, but in the end we settled on the Elveden Mini Farm, which was a 30 minute activity which was a guided tour of the animals in a small group and the mini jet skis, as they looked too cool to miss! Jet skis for 3 year olds!
We went for a long weekend in May, and I was surprised to read that Center Parcs operates at nearly full capacity nearly all year round.
The setting is beautiful, we saw lots of muntjack deers in the woodland as we approached the park.
We arrived before the rest of the family, so we had lunch at Bella Italia. All the restaurants in Centre Parcs have a mini soft play, which helps make mealtimes run a bit more smoothly.
The Executive Lodge
The executive lodge accommodation was lovely, and it was nice to be able to let the kids run around outside in the woods on our doorstep. The ducks came right up to the patio too, to be fed, we had a sauna too!
Sub tropical swimming paradise
On the Saturday morning we went down to the huge subtropical pool complex. The changing rooms were so busy and noisy, it was like Piccadilly circus! My daughter Chloe (3) was quite intimidated already, so when we walked into the pool, and she saw all the people, there was hardly a free bit of pool, she refused to get in. I walked around with her, and showed her the pirate ship, but nope, she refused to have anything to do with the pool! So we got dressed and left, after I’d forked out on a new pair of goggles for her as we’d forgotten hers. My nephew Leo (also 3) loved the pool complex though, and I’m sure my daughter would enjoy it this year, now that she’s a bit older. We did return the next day, for the jetski session, and the pool was closed to everyone else. Chloe loved this activity!
We were only there for a weekend so didn’t bother hiring bikes, although Chloe and Leo took their scooters. We did spend quite a bit of time walking/scooting to the central amenities. But it was a nice walk.
There is a lake with a sandy beach, and on Sunday the sun came out and the children enjoyed running to and from the water. There’s also huge adventure playgrounds to explore.
My final verdict? We came away saying we would definitely like to go back. There was so much to entertain the children, all in a really beautiful location. But admittedly we haven’t yet, and now my daughter is starting school, I’m not sure if we’d want to pay the prices for Center parcs during the holidays, when we could go abroad.
Nature & Nurture 