Taking a young family on holiday is a tricky business with a completely different set of requirements than when going away as a couple. Not least among these is the amount of baby paraphernalia that you need to take. When our youngest was about ten months we took her to New England and managed to get everything into a couple of suitcases and carry on luggage plus a pushchair but now we have two the amount of extra baggage seems to have more than just doubled and unless the destination is particularly child friendly the need for travel cots, gates etc makes the holiday load a bit much for airline travel. For this reason recent holidays have been UK based. The last couple of years have been spent in Cornwall at a friend's apartment but we thought that this year we would have a change. Having heard favourable reports from friends we thought we would give Center Parcs a go.
Center Parcs is a pretty big beast to try and review so although I will provide some background and booking options I will mainly be discussing our experiences and thoughts on dealing with the company and our time at the Longleat site.
Center Parcs ~ Center Parcs was founded in Holland 30 odd years ago and came to the UK in 1987 promising a new kind of holiday camp experience. There are now four sites in England in the Whinfell Forest (Lake District), Sherwood Forest, Elveden Forest (Suffolk) and our destination in Longleat Forest in Wiltshire. The more observant of you will have noticed that they favour forest settings and this is a main part of the attraction for people, but more of that later. Although each site has a central plaza unlike many holiday camps they are set out on a more decentralised design so you aren't drawn to the same place as every other guest all the time, but again I'll talk more about that later.
Booking ~ Booking a break at a Center Parcs site is both straightforward and yet frustrating at the same time. The website (centerparcs.co.uk) is well laid out and there is plenty of information on each location and the types of accommodation available. The accommodation ranges from one
to three bedrooms and include apartments, lodges and villas with each price step providing increased living space or facilities like dishwashers or a maid service. Location within the site isn't necessarily a factor in the price although some areas are the reserve of the more expensive villas and lodges. To make a booking you first select the site and then specify the number of people in the party and the dates of the stay, you are then presented with the available accommodation that will meet your minimum needs. Each listing has the price and specifics about that standard of room, select the one you want and move on through checkout. This is the first of the frustrations; Center Parcs is incredibly popular and the closer you get to your arrival date the more limited the choice so booking early is advisable, you should also be aware that they don't use any agencies so booking direct appears to be the only option.
Activities ~ One of the biggest attractions of visiting a Center Parcs is the range of activities on offer and there is a big range to choose from. These are mainly aimed at children, from toddlers to teenagers, and cover a wide range of interests. Many are physical activities and include sports, rock climbing and other outward bound types but there are also plenty of more educational choices including nature studies and art or story writing sessions. The web site alludes to these activities but does not go into detail. Only once you have booked are you sent a more fulsome brochure listing prices, times and so on. At this point you are encouraged to book any activities you want to participate in and this point cannot be stressed enough. Popular activities get booked up very early and if you wait until arrival you will probably find most are unavailable. Also in the brochure are details about bike hire and the restaurants on the site and again it is wise to book these early. On the site are several restaurants, two of which are of a relatively high standard and will require booking early.
Finally there is a baby sitting service available and, you've guessed it, this gets booked quickly - particularly at weekends. So if you are planning a special parents-only night out at one of the better restaurants you need to book both before you arrive.
Payment is taken for any reservations at the time of booking (the two bookable restaurants will request a £20 deposit) but all can be cancelled almost up to the day.
Our Experience
Arrival ~ Despite hearing only favourable reports from friends I approached a Center Parcs holiday with some trepidation. My only previous experience of holiday camps has been bank holiday weekend drink fuelled beano's but even through those hazy remembrances I found them tacky, unpleasant places with second rate entertainment, accommodation and catering underpinned by a desperate 'have fun or else' sentiment. Although I was confident that this would be a different experience I was still afraid that it would be a claustrophobic, enforced environment where personal choice was limited.
First impressions were not great. On arrival we were given our keys and paperwork at the drive through security lodge and pointed in the direction of the car parks where we would leave our car for the next couple of hours. As Center Parcs virgins we were drawn towards the main plaza which forms the central point of the camp along with many others arriving at the same time. Here we found a supermarket and shops selling toys and sweets, it was all rather sterile and I came to the conclusion that I'd gone on holiday to Bluewater.
More experienced heads would have moved on to other areas of the camp or indeed already started on their activity schedule, having booked in advance, and if and when we return that is what we would do.
Lodging ~ At 3:00 the car park barrier is raised and you can drive to your lodgings and unpack. There was quite a queue at this time and my earlier disquiet was not eased but once into the park the traffic disperses and you begin to get a feel for the place and understand its attraction. The forest setting is not a token gesture as the whole camp is set in quite dense woodland which is at once calming and inviting.
Our lodging was a Comfort Plusvilla, roughly mid range in the overall scheme of things. Externally it looked quite dated, like all those around, but there is a programme to replace and upgrade and more modern lodges are available. Internally there were two bedrooms, a twin and a double, a kitchen, lounge and dining room. The layout is generous with plenty of space everywhere, everything is very clean and there is no noticeable wear and tear - all in all very pleasantholiday accommodation. To the rear is a patio with a brick built barbecue.
It is while standing on the patio that one of the great attractions of the site becomes apparent, all around is dense woodland and not 10 yards away is one of four large ponds surrounded by rushes. Circuiting the ponds are clearly defined footpaths, defined as in well trodden rather than particularly artificial they weave in and out of the trees and the contours of the ponds and a walk around these gives the impression of being in a surprisingly remote location. There is also a surprising amount of wildlife around, at any time of day you will find numbers of ducks, squirrels and rabbits gambolling about and at dawn and dusk pairs of bambi-esque deer will make their gentle way past you. For the keen eyed there are also kestrels and hawks to be seen flitting around and the sound of owls could be heard on numerous occasions.
Getting Around~ With cars banned from the site, with the exception of handover days, travelling about is a pleasant, safe and child-friendly experience. The site is quite large and although walking is an option it could be time consuming. There is a bus service but as this appeared to run on a single route around the entire site getting to your destination and back again could be a long winded and circuitous affair. By far the most practical and popular way of getting around is by bike. You can bring your own or hire pretty nice ones, two adult bikes and a trailer came to about £80 for the week. Helmets can also be hired and they will give you bike locks if needed (which they will be). It's not that I thought that crime was a problem but with 95% of the bikes looking exactly the same it means that no one is sloping off with your one if it's nearer the exit than theirs. Although the absence of cars makes this a great place for small kids to cycle about in safety the site is quite hilly so you should make arrangements for seats or trailers for carrying them around.
The first couple of days were quite unnerving. With so many people cycling around the place it felt like something out of The Prisoner or the final scenes in ET but for the most part I found it refreshing and invigorating and it genuinely enhanced my enjoyment of the holiday. However, one of the drawbacks of cycling is that eventually you are going to have to go uphill, and in places this site has some very steep hills indeed. The problem is that until you become familiar with the layout the road signs are rather confusing as some are meant for cars, some for cyclists and some for pedestrians. Each group has different levels of access to the roads and paths but the signs aren't clearly differentiated. It is therefore all too easy to get lost and inevitably find yourself at the bottom of some steep hill. Better signs and maps would be a huge benefit to new comers and would help avoid lots of unnecessary effort. Another problem is that pedestrians and cyclists for the most part share the same paths. On the tarmac roads this is fine because they are wide enough for everyone but on the ramps and boardwalks the going narrows significantly and mountain bikes thundering past can be quite intimidating for the pedestrians, especially when there are toddlers wandering around. On the other side of the coin, dragging your own bike up a steep ramp with a trailer full of kids on the back is hard enough without having to stop every few yards to squeeze past a buggy or three abreast walkers.
Accessibility ~ Center Parcs, being the caring modern company they want to be seen as, seem to have done all the right things as far as accessibility is concerned. Although we didn't get the pushchair out at any point many people did and I didn't see anywhere that didn't have ramped access and wide, often automatic, doors. I can't speak from first hand experience but despite the physical activity ethos of the site the sheer number of mentally and physically disabled visitors would seem to indicate that it is both welcoming and accommodating whatever the needs.
Activities ~ Activities at Center Parcs are divided into those you pay for and those that are free. The list of bookable, paid for activities is long and varied and anyone with kids up to the age of 16 should find plenty of choice. The list of free activities is rather shorter and is pretty much limited to the pool and the numerous adventure playgrounds. Although primarily aimed at kids there are plenty of sporting choices for grown ups at the sports centre with tennis and badminton courts, golf simulators and gym classes. There is also a well set up beauty spa offering a good range of treatments.
We pre booked two activities for our three year old daughter, a walking with owls lesson and a story writing session. The owl's activity was very hands on and very good. The instructor was knowledgeable and worked well with the children and they had plenty of opportunity to get up close to the owls in the hour long session. She got to don the falconer's gloves and have a variety of owls flying onto her hand. Harry Potter fans would be particularly impressed as the star of the show was a big snowy owl that was very happy to sit on hands for pictures and so on. The story writing activity was equally entertaining and my wife (a primary school teacher) was very impressed with the quality of the leader as she took the young children through the characters and plot of their story.
Less impressive was the pool, one of those fun water sports places full of wave machines and slides it might be paradise for some children but I found it hellish to be honest. Noisy and overcrowded with poor facilities for changing it was the only disappointment during the week.
Facilities ~ On the site is a surprisingly well stocked supermarket with a good selection of fresh food and most of the essentials you might have forgotten. Also available is a launderette and a medical practice. Although staff are barely visible around the site there is a guest help desk who should be answer any problems you might have, they were certainly helpful on the couple of occasions I contacted them.
Round and About ~ Getting to the site is straightforward; it is about 20 minutes from both the A303 and M4 making it easily accessible from London and the Midlands. For those wanting to venture outside the confines Longleat Safari Park is literally on the doorstep. The New Forest and Bath are about 30 minutes away and Stonehenge a little further.
Overall opinion ~ The site is very intelligently set up; although the plaza is the nominal centre there are other major focal points around so visitors are not all congregating in the same place. This means that although there are constant crowds they never become overwhelming.
For families with children this is a splendid place to visit, for those who do not have children or those with an aversion to other people's children it just might be hell on earth but either way you have been warned.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: Good accommodation, beautiful, tranquil surroundings, good range of facilities, land train Disadvantages: Cost, hilly, seemed very crowded even off-peak
Advantages: Good accommodation, beautiful, tranquil surroundings, good range of facilities, land train Disadvantages: Cost, hilly, seemed very crowded even off-peak
Nov 9th, 2007
exceptional by (23%):
very helpful by (77%):
