There once was a place called Ciao, where life was so funny and how, but there soon will be none, 'c...
There once was a place called Ciao, where life was so funny and how, but there soon will be none, 'cos the Deanster is gone, well that's what Ciao thinks .... for now :o)
Member since:02.10.2001
Reviews:145
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Last summer I enjoyed a weekend break at CenterParcs in ElvedenForest. This was a birthday suprise for my friend and I, (we share the same birthday), and our husbands' booked it as a present (the kids stayed at home!)
CenterParcs is somewhere I have often thought about but never booked because of the price, it is quite expensive (it cost the boys £500.00), and I'm one of those people who would rather go abroad for the same money. Having said that it was SO worth the money and we are thinking about going again this year.
~~~ACCOMODATION~~~ We were booked into a 2 Bedroomed Executive Villa, as it was our birthday, this comprised of 2 bedrooms, both with en-suite bathrooms (one with a jacuzzi), a lounge/diner (with log fire), kitchen and patio overlooking a lake. These Villas are also nearer to the main site.
My friend and I spent the first 3 hours of our holiday bubbling away in the jacuzzi and managed to get through 3 bottles of Baileys!
The actual Villa was lovely, the beds comfortable, the jacuzzi relaxing, (probably the Baileys), and the view wonderful. If I was to return with the children I would book one of the lower grade rooms, as they are just
as nice, but without the extras (which you are paying for anyway).
There are also several of the lower grade rooms available close to the main site for disabled people, as there are no cars allowed on the site, which brings me to the next part...
~~~GETTING AROUND~~~ I hate exercise, and upon arrival, realising where we were, I was extremely dismayed at the fact I had to spend my birthday weekend on a bike.
Not only had I not been on one since I was 12, it only takes a little while to get 'saddle sore' and I had visions of having permanantly red cheeks from biking uphill.
This was not the case, as the whole site seemed to be so level that biking around was not effort at all, in fact I enjoyed it and went on several bike rides for no reason at all, so a big thumbs up there.
One thing though, all the bikes are identical, so you need to mark your bike in some way or you'll never find it. We, being the childish 32yr olds we are, decided to buy a Winnie the Pooh and Tigger horn for our bikes, making them instantly identifyable, also creating a lot of jealousy amounts the the younger 'CenterParcers'!
For the children they have smaller bikes, and for babies and toddlers you can either hire a bike with a seat on the back or one with a kind of 'kiddie trailer' that is pulled along behind it. You can actually seat 2 toddlers in one of these, handy if you have twins like me.
You can of course choose to walk, and although everything is quite far away it's not too far that you couldn't walk. This was our preference in the evenings as we didn't trust ourselves to 'bike drunk' at the end of the evening.
~~~WHAT'S ON OFFER~~~ There are a lot of sporting activities on offer from Canoeing to surfbikes, Rope climbing, Archery, Horse riding, etc. You name it they've got it. I can only review the ones we did:
Horse Riding: This was one of the first things I booked as it is one of my hobbies and for the first time in years I actually got to go! This is not on site but you are picked up and dropped off at the stables, so there is no effort involved. It cost £14.00 per person for 1hr 20 mins. which includes travelling time of about 15 mins each way. There are 3 different levels, beginner, intermediate and advanced. Husband decided we do the beginner course, (not my scene), as he cannot do a 'rising trot' which you need for the other courses.
It was very nice though and made a change for me from galloping around, although if you are into horseriding regularly then it may bore you slightly, as the horses are totally trained to 'follow leader'.
G-Swing: This is basically a contraption 10 metres high which you are strapped to and 'fall' off, creating a free fall sensation similar to sky diving, but without the plane! Once the rope 'catches' you and you stop swinging you then Abseil down to the ground.
We all had a go at this, I've done the same sort of thing before so it was 'old hat' to me, but a great experience for anyone. This cost £5 per person, and took about an hour, (2 minutes to jump off and 58 minutes of instructions!)
Canoeing: Hubby and I took out a 2 man canoe, in which we got thoroughly soaked bottoms! This cost £3.50 for half and hour but we were knackered after 20 minutes!
10 Pin bowling: You all know how to do this, it cost £11.00 for a lane for 45 mins. The only problem with paying by the minute is it cuts you off half way through the game, but we had a laugh, hubby came last, haha!
Splashzone: I didn't go swimming, but my friends did, they rated it a 10/10. This area has swimming pools, rapids, water slides and jacuzzis all under cover and heated. There is also a 'solarium' where yo can top up your tan. This is all free of charge.
~~~WHAT IF I'M LAZY?~~~ There are many 'pampering' experiences you can have, facials, pedicure/manicure, massage, sauna, sunbeds etc. I decided against these as it was something I could do anywhere, and didn't really have time. There are also 'packages' you can have delivered to your room, for breakfast, such as Belgian Choccies, Champage, Smoked Salmon or Croissants. (The Croissants were delicious).
~~~AND IN THE EVENING?~~~ There were many restaurants to choose from, all of them themed, The Pancake House, Italian, French, American Diner Style etc.
We found the French not only the cheapest at around £6.00 per head, but also the best food. The worst was the American Diner at Around £11.00 per head, long waits for the food, but the food was nice when it got there. All of the restaurants except the French were non-smoking.
There were also a couple of bars on site, both of them were reasonable unless you wanted a cocktail, £4.50 and not very nice.
~~~SHOPPING~~~ There were only 4 shops to choose from. A Sports shop, a toy shop, a supermarket and a souvenier shop.
The first 3 speak for themselves, the souvenier shop was more like an up-market 'Body Shop', lots of candles, bath smellies, soaps etc. There were also some kitchen bits and bobs and some food items such as home made fudge and jars of sweets. Not a lot to choose from to take home, but we managed to find a few things.
Overall CenterParcs was a wonderful break, although I did come home a bit knackered from all the exercise, but I would definately recommend it to anyone.
The price I have quoted is for a weekend in the Executive Villa in July, for a normal Villa in April it will cost you around £300 for a weekend, prices are per Villa not per person.
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Sounds great Mel, I wouldnt mind a nice weekend there:)......Jules
Cinnamonsam 24.03.2002 14:31
We went to Sherwood Forest last April and really enjoyed it. We did go with a three year old though which kinda changed the holiday slightly in terms of what we could do but would certainly go again. We got a late deal but would probably upgrade to something a bit more special if we went again as the basic villa is quite basic compared to yours.
Cheers, Linda.
deano_76 24.03.2002 13:07
TUT! I wanted to hear about the birds in the Jacuzzi...
DEANO!
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Advantages: Great family holiday, perfect for kids, lovely natural setting, plenty to do Disadvantages: Lodges can be shabby, you will wear yourself out with all the activity!
fallen121 20.03.2006 (20.03.2006)
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Review of Center Parcs
Oct 17th, 2001
(Mar 22nd, 2002)
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