Hi everyone! Im Berni and im 28 from weston-super-mare!!! I love going out, watching films and meeti...
Hi everyone! Im Berni and im 28 from weston-super-mare!!! I love going out, watching films and meeting new people and spending time with my family. Hope you enjoy reading my reviews and stuff and i value your opinions.
Member since:04.12.2004
Reviews:37
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Whilst having a chat to a good friend of mine the subject of going on holiday arised and she suggested center parcs as she is a regular there every year. I wasn't too sure but thought i'd give it a go. The one we booked was Longleatvillage as this is the closest one to where we live. I am writing this while it is still fresh in my memory as we only got back 3 days ago. Still wish we were there now!!!
Firstly i'll tell you lots of info about Longleat village.
Longleat Forest
Everything combines to make Longleat a simply stunning Village. The landscape is fantastic. Hundred-year-old Giant Redwoods tower above forest glades of every shade of green. An elevated boardwalk zig-zags through banks of azaleas to link the hilltop and the valley below. Scenic cycle paths give breathtaking views across the slopes and down to the lake - an outstanding setting for watersports.
You can divide your time between three distinct centres of activity at Longleat. Down in the valley, there's the impressive Jardin des Sports, with the Aqua Sana tucked away in its own secluded valley. Up through the trees, you'll come upon the classically French Village Square with Grand Café and La Sapinière, the exciting adventure playground and alpine-style Pancake House perched above the treetops. And nearby, there's the mediterranean-themed Plaza with lively terraces for dining and relaxing.
This is a beautiful environment to be in, whether you choose a villa or one of the luxurious
Redwood and Pinewoodapartments. The apartments have a spectacular outlook on the forest from their timbered balconies. Aqua Sana is a real highlight. Here, in Roman-style splendour, you can indulge in everything from a real Turkish Hammam to a Japanese Salt Steam Bath. Spend a pampering full or half day in here as part of Spa packages that include breakfast or a light lunch in the Conservatory café.
Outdoors, make the most of walking and cycling in Longleat's beautiful terrain. And make use of the convenient Land Train when you want to explore and feel a bit lazy.
There have recently been new features added to the village, these are: Plaza Coffee Shop Hair & Nail Studio Luciano's Restaurant Archery & Laser Clay Centre Hugo's Fish Restaurant
Accomodation There are many different types of places to stay at Longleat village.
Comfort villas. A home from home in the beautiful forest setting. Every villa is comfortably furnished with all the basics for an easy and enjoyable stay. Comfort villas have fully equipped kitchens with gas hob and oven, fridge, toaster and kettle. Living rooms have multi-channel terrestrial and satellite TV, a cosy hearth for open fires and sliding doors lead to your private patio. Your beds are made up with duvets and bed linen. For families with babies and young children, full-size wooden cots and high chairs are available in the majority of villas. This would be the cheapest option if you just want the basics.
Executive appartments. Longleat's Redwood and Pinewood Executive apartments with their spacious layout and convenient location are a very attractive alternative when you're looking for something for just the two of you. You get all the basics of the comfort villas plus extras including en suite bedroom, microwave, cdplayer,dvd player and other things.
Executive villas. This is where i stayed. This is situated about 5 mins walk away fron the main Plaza.Executive villas have a high degree of comfort and convenience, with superior furniture and a host of additional features. Our villa was perfect. We booked a 4 bed villa as there were 3 couples plus our 2 children. I cant wait to tell you about it. We were situated in the part called Maple. Our villa was 919. They look like chalets from the outside as they are all wooden paneled. When we went inside we were astounded by how nice it was. There was a large,spacious open plan kitchen/ diner and lounge. The kitchen had all the mod cons including dishwasher,microwave,2 fridge freezers and all the essentials. The lounge/diner had 3 3 seater settees, tv with digital tv and dvd player,cd player,telephone etc. We also had ironing facillities and hoover. As i have a 15 month old child we also had 2 stairgates,a high chair and a travel cot included which was nice because you normally have to pay extra for these. Upstairs were 4 nice sized bedrooms all with en-suites. Two were double bedrooms one had a shower one had a bath and the other 2 were twin also one with shower one with bath.One of the twin rooms had a cot for us too. All bedrooms had digital tv,hairdryers and alarm clocks. Downstairs there were patio doors which lead out to a reasonably sized secluded patio area with table and chairs but there were no fences at the end it justled out into the forest which was a spectacular view. To the right of the patio we als had our own private sauna!!!!! Yes thats right a sauna. Fantastic i would say for the price that we paid but i will get to prices in a little while.
If you fancied spending a bit more money for even more luxury then there are also executive villas that include a hot tub!! It worked out to be about £500 more if we had of booked that instead of the one we did. Which i think between 3 is well worth it and we will probably do that next year when we go again.
Right, now for what you can do at longleat village.
The plaza. This is the main area where there are plenty of shops,bars and restaurants.There is also a small supermarket. My advice to smokers is buy you ciggarettes before you get there as they only sell fags in machines and there are extremely expensive. £5.80 for 20 is a bit harsh as i found out. They are quite expensive so i advise you to do what we did and do a shop at the local Asda for food and conviences as it would be much cheaper. We ate out 3 times during the 5 day stay and cooked our own meals the rest of the time. Also situated in the Plaza is the ten pin bowling which is good fun and the sub tropical swimming pool. This is free and is open until 10pm. Its fantastic!!! You have a huge indoor swimming pool with slides, a wave machine, jacussi and lots of areas for young children. Then outside you have the outdoor HEATED swimming pool with a jacussi,water rapids etc. This is wonderful as you do not get cold at all. You can see the steam rising off the water and you look onto the forest. One not to be missed and it was a highlight to our holiday.
The Jardin de Sport. Tis is where you can do all you r lesuire activities including badminton,tennis,snooker,pool,trampolining,rollerblading and areobics. I did a line dancing class which was great fun cos we kept getting it wrong! It only cost £4.50 for an hour. I did play badminton as well which was about a fiver for the hour plus you have to hire the rackets and buy the shuttlecocks.If you can take your own then i advise you to do so. There are also a couple of restaurants here including a curry house which does takeaway or villa delivery.
There is plenty of stuff for children as well. The brand new Clubhouse comprises play areas for different age groups, the clubs are for children aged 3 months to 7 years. Each session lasts for either two or three hours so you can have enough time to relax at the Spa Area or Aqua Sana, or sample a new activity or sport.
The Time Out Clubhouse is registered with Ofsted and all activities are supervised by their skilled Time Out Club Nursery Nurses - your children won't just be well cared for - they'll also be having lots of fun!
Bumblebees The purpose-built Crèche for children from 3 months to 2 years, has a sleeping area, a well equipped soft play area and there's a fresh new activity every day.
Crickets and Dragonflies Crickets and Dragonflies have hours of fun and get up to all sorts. They have a wide range of sessions to choose from. Stir up a sensation in the kitchen by making a box full of tasty treats. Learn all about the forest on Robbie the Ranger's Woodland Ramble. In Christa's Colourful Creations decorate a T Shirt or transform a bag. Plus many more. Crickets are 3-4 years (up to 5th birthday) Dragonflies are 5-7 years (up to 8th Birthday) There are also outdoor adventure playgrounds scattered all over the village so while you are walking to get where you want to go they can play on the way! If walking everywhere doesnt take your fancy you can either hire or take your own bikes to get around as you cant drive anywhere. Once you get to Longleat village you have to park your car in a huge outdoor carpark and leave it there until you return home. There is also a land train which goes to different areas of the villlage.
Wildlife. I cant believe how much wildlife we saw whilst we were there. We had deer right outside our villa in the woods which was cool because i had never actually seen a wild deer before. There were loads of rabbits,robins and other birds too.
So lets get down to the price it cost me to go there as im sure thats what you have been waiting for all this time. For our 4 bed executive villa it cost £480 for 5 days thats £160 each for the 3 couples. Our son went free as he is under 2. Be warned, it is cheaper to go out of season than on school holiday time as we discovered it would have cost us £1000 if we had gone the following week which is half term. I would say that that is a fantastic price for what we got and it was so relaxing . There were no stresses and we had so much to do. We were never bored and our kids were never bored which meant no moaning and whinging. The only negative thing i would say is that the maids are a bit rude if you dont want your villa cleaned but that doesnt really make it a bad holiday. Considering i was a bit wary to start of with, i thoroughly enjoyed myself and we are planning to go back there next year.
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Fabulous review, it answered so many of my questions.
kirstyEB 26.11.2006 22:19
I couldn't decide which center parcs village to go to on holiday next year but afetr reading this thorough & informative review I've decided to visit longleat & I also know which type of villa to stay in. Thank you so much for writing such a great review - it's really helped me out which i guess is the main purpose of Ciao!!!!
mongo_bongocat 16.06.2006 16:23
Good review. The price has always put me off a bit.
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Advantages: Huge range of activities, good for families, excellent facilities for small children. Disadvantages: Mediocre service especially in pool bar, mediocre level of cleanliness.
timmyotoole 19.05.2001 (19.05.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Center Parcs
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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Ciao members have rated this review on average: exceptional
Review of Center Parcs
Feb 13th, 2006
exceptional by (8%):
very helpful by (92%):
