We recently returned to Centerparcs for a mid-week break. We had previously visited late November and it was lovely to return in a different season. We had enjoyed our previous visit so much and were so impressed with how well they catered for young families and accommodated our son's food allergies that we just had to go back. I know this review is quite long but feel it has to be to tell you about the vast array of things Centerparcs in Whinfell Forest has to offer you.
PRE-REGISTRATION If you have internet access, which I assume if you're reading this you have, you can pre-register your group prior to arriving. This can be updated an altered until a few days before you're due to arrive. Details required are the names of each group member including age as well as your vehicle registration number, estimated time of arrival and details of all bikes you plan to take onto the site. This massively reduces the check-in time on arrival.
ARRIVAL We turned off the A66 at the sign to Centerparcs. It's quite a drive into the forest from here so don't think you've made the wrong turning and don't worry if you see a few farmers and tractors on the way either. You'll eventually get to the security gatehouse where you'll be asked if you've been before and if you've got all your registration details to hand. If you have, you will be directed to follow the road to the left. The first time I got to the arrivals point, I couldn't believe my eyes. A flat roofed, rectangular building with huge automatic doors for cars to drive in to - I'm not joking. It's a hoot! There are normally at least 4 lanes open and when it is your turn, you drive slowly up the ramp and into the building to the check-in person who is usually sat at a desk. Once you have turned off your engine, you give them the required details and they give you two credit-card style door keys, a map and information about activities suited to your group. You are then directed to go through to the car park if you have arrived before 3:30pm. You are available to enter the site from 10:30am although you are normally not allowed to enter your accommodation until 3pm unless you are staying in one of the VIP accommodations available; in that case it is 1pm although you have full access to all the facilities from as soon as you arrive. On the day you leave you are required to vacate by 10am although you can stay for the rest of the day and use the facilities.
WHO GOES Before going for the first time, I thought it'd be full of size 6 fitness freaks! I was soon enlightened that this was not the case. Both times we have gone mid-week (Monday to Friday) and during term time. There are lots of parents ranging from 20's to 40's with pre-school children and babies. We also found a lot of more mature people, especially with their grandchildren, people with mental and physical disabilities (there are some special lodges that have been kitted out for those who are physically disabled), and small groups of 'single' friends in their 20's and 30's.
ACCOMMODATION There are a variety of levels of accommodation available from basic to VIP. All the lodges
are situated throughout the forest in small clusters so you feel like there are only a few people about. Both times we have stayed here we've chosen 'Executive' accommodation. This includes a daily maid service that will come and do the breakfast dishes (put them in the dishwasher if you've not done already), clean the bathrooms and kitchen, empty bins and make beds. You also get towels provided, the décor is to a higher standard, all rooms are en-suite, there is a TV in all bedrooms as well as the main area. You also get a DVD player and dishwasher. This last holiday, our accommodation also included a washer/dryer which was really handy with going in the pool every day.
We had treated ourselves to a Lakeside Lodge this time which is quite central to most of the main area. Ours was an end semi but the way they are designed, you will hardly ever hear your neighbours. We had 3 steps up to the door of our accommodation that was clad in wood. You entered into a square hallway of a decent size, enough for a bike and pushchair without falling over. Off this to the left you had a W/C and a cupboard that housed the boiler, vacuum and iron. Straight ahead there were two rows of coat hooks, adult and toddler levels. To the right of this was the door into the main area. The main area was 'L' shaped with a huge pitched roof with wooden beams and the front, narrow area was the dinning area with a large dining table and highchair. Behind this was the kitchen which was enclosed in an 'L' shaped breakfast bar. To the side of the kitchen was the lounge area with two big sofas as well as two foot stools and two tables. This area had the patio windows that led down to our own BBQ grassed area with a patio set and then within about 3 metres was the lake. The main bedroom was situated to the right of the property with the entrance to it between the kitchen and dining area. This was a reasonable size with a king sized bed and a full sized wooden cot. The wardrobe space however was a bit small. You went out of this door back into the hall and next door was the 'en-suite' with a H U G E double whirlpool spa bath, separate shower cubicle, WC and sink. I have to say, this was a plus point for choosing this accommodation. The other bedroom had twin beds and even smaller storage area. It also had a big en-suite with a normal sized whirlpool bath with shower over, sink and WC.
We found the accommodation to be more than comfortable and very clean. The kitchen was very well equipped and we felt it was easy to choose to stay in and eat if we wanted to rather than visit the restaurants. Beds and sofas were really comfortable and the bath was fantastic. Our son particularly enjoyed standing by the patio window watching the rabbits on the grass and all the ducks and boats in the water.
THE BIG OUTDOORS There is some element of every British holiday where you have to be prepared for wet weather although it is more so for this holiday. If you want to go somewhere and just stay in if it's raining, then Centerparcs isn't the place for you: you can get cheaper accommodation elsewhere. The day we arrived it was raining quite a bit but we just put on our waterproofs and off we went. The main village centre is the big dome you often see on the TV adverts, once in here there are lots of things to do without you going out to get wet again although it may be a 5-10 minute walk in the rain to get there. Our son was delighted to go and splash in puddles and watch all the wildlife. For us, this is the main reason for the holiday. Cars are only allowed on the site to unload and load at the end of your break, other than that it is a really safe place to take the children off their reins. You do get a few service vehicles but they go really slow. The main danger is being run over by cyclists! There are lots of tarmac paths, some are shared with cyclists, others aren't. If you feel a bit more adventurous, you can wander through the forest and there are different trail maps you can buy for £1 to guide you through and make it more interesting such as the 'Senses Trail'. There is wildlife wherever you go. It is one of the few places you can see red squirrels. We also saw many different varieties of birds as well as lots of pheasants, ducks and rabbits. You are not required to be very fit to get around, you can just stroll at your own pace. Although it is not flat, there are no steep hills either so unless you want to go running or cycling, you're not likely to do yourself any injury.
BOOKING ACTIVITIES For our first visit, as it was the start of the Christmas season, we pre-booked the activities we wished to do before we went. You can to this two weeks before your holiday. You do often have to wait in a long queue on the telephone but it is worth it. This time we were rather blasé and regretted it. We wanted to take our son on a carriage ride and by our second day, they offered on the following day which was forecast to be very wet. After going and checking with my husband and returning to the booking point, the place had gone. I also went to book for a facial on the Tuesday and the only appointment they had left was for Thursday at 12pm. So the message from this is, PREBOOK!
EATING OUT Whatever your taste, you're bound to find somewhere that will cater for your tastebuds. The prices aren't too bad, no worse than eating at such places as a Brewsters or Pizza Hut. They try and use lots of locally produced foods in the restaurants and symbols on the menus indicate which ones. The one place we can't comment on is Rajinda Pradesh which is a contemporary Indian restaurant and they provide a takeaway service too.
There is a children's menu wherever you eat and you can also ask for a half portion of what is on the adults menu. The under 7's have a reduced sugar and salt selection and there are also organic options too. With our son having serious allergies, we informed the waiter as we sat down and they would usually go and check with the chef or restaurant manager and then advise us
Pictures of Oasis Holiday Village, Lake District
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on what he could have. Most places were able to offer a few choices with only one offering a single choice.LUCIANO'S is a big Italian restaurant. If you have a child who need an early tea, I would recommend you go and queue up for the 5pm opening as it can get very busy. They also offer a takeaway service. Prices to eat in of a large pizza is £7.95. Our experience of YANG which is a Chinese with Thai restaurant is purely as a takeaway. We were very impressed although it cost £21 for starters and main meals for two although our main meal selection was off the 'specials' list. CHEZ PIERRE is a French café bar. They have great children's areas, one for toddlers with a kitchen and soft cubes and another for 4+. It's great for just coffee and a pastry. We've also had lunch here and a large rustic baguette with a fancy filling was £4.95. LAKESIDE INN was next to our accommodation which we weren't impressed with when we found out but it was very civilised and the most noise came from babies! They do all the pub favourites with Scampi and Chips coming in at £6.95. We did find the beer rather expensive here. ROCK LEGENDS is a bit of a 'Hard Rock Café' place. Every now and then the waiters stop and do a dance to music. It does fantastic burgers as well as ribs and wings, etc. A tasty burger with all the trimmings cost £8.45. SPORTS CAFÉ did a variety of light meals including a full breakfast for £6.45. It was a good place for a cuppa and donut (you must think all we did was eat!). Finally CAFÉ REFRESH was a healthy McDonalds which also did juices and sandwiches.
SHOPS Still on food, their own supermarket PARC MARKET stocked pretty much everything. We made the mistake on our first visit of taking loads of food with us but there is no need. Most items are reasonably priced and they have a price promise with the local Morrisons to stock 20 basic items such as tea bags, biscuits, etc at the same price as Morrisons do. They have a hot counter selling pastries, donuts and pies and use the local bakery for some delicious breads.
There are also REFRESH which stocks basic groceries, newspapers and snacks. SPORTIQUE sell sportswear, many designer wear at competitive prices (we always get ourselves a holiday treat from here). NATURAL ELEMENTS sell beautiful gifts. TREATS sell lots of pick and mix, fudge and other candies. FUNTASTIC is a toy shop. We've always found the shops to be very competitively priced and have seen toys here at the same price in regular toy shops.
AQUA SANA This area provides a huge variety of health and beauty facilities and therapies for both men and women. Some are men or women specific and others include treatments for couples such as a learn to massage session for £70 per couple for 1 hour. The spa area costs £32 for 3 hours and it allows you to use a variety of areas such as the Greek Herbal Bath, Hydrotherapy Pool, Ice Fountain, Japanese Zen Garden, Multi Sensory Showers and Tyrolean Sauna to name just a few. They also do facials and body treatments using the big name products by Carita, Decleor and Elemis. I had a Decleor facial for £45 for 55 minutes which was wonderful. The therapist was very professional and I had the best ever skin consultation. You can also choose to get your hair or nails done here.
SPORTS FACILITIES This is the area I have least experience. There is a SportsPlaza which contains courts for badminton, ricochet and tennis and also has fitness and aerobics studios and a golf simulator, climbing wall simulator and scalextric. You can also do anything from quad biking, laser clay shooting, pony trekking, abseiling and ten pin bowling. Pretty much most of these do have a charge to use.
The Subtropical Swimming Paradise is amazing and free. The pool is split into lots of zones and there is an area outside as well. There are many slides for all abilities from toddlers to more dramatic ones and a wave machine every 30 minutes. Within this area there are seating areas and a café although most people reserve the seats with a towel so you can struggle to get somewhere to sit sometimes. There are also playpens available to put babies into. They have a babies only session every morning in the shallow area with toys and provide swimming lessons for older children and adults.
OTHER FACILITIES What more is there? Well there is the time out club where you can leave your children to have fun whilst going to pamper yourselves. We've no experience of using this facility but the children coming out always seem to be very happy. There are also a range of other children's activities such as messy play for toddlers and music session.
HOLIDAY PRICE We paid £381 for our 5 day/4 night break in the lakeside lodge. The usual price for the same accommodation, the same week was £508 but we booked soon after returning home last time and got a reduction of £127.
OVERALL Some people say a holiday here is really expensive. Well, yes and no. If you go out of season it is much cheaper. Certainly during the school holidays the accommodation price increases greatly. Also you can avoid paying full price anytime. If going for the first time, inquire for a brochure and once on the mailing list you will be offered up to 30% discount for your first visit. If you intend to revisit, book again whilst there or within a month of returning to get up to another 25% discount, you can book a long time in advance. Failing that, if you have the patience, wait until nearer your holiday and look on the website, they offer last minute deals on a variety of accommodation. Remember too that going midweek gives you an extra night for the same price as a Friday to Monday holiday and it is sometimes even cheaper.
If you take older children, I would encourage you to give each child a set amount of money so that they can choose and plan ahead with what activities they really want to do. They won't be disappointed then that you're not paying out for them to do absolutely everything!
We have been twice now and although haven't booked again, we know we will return to either Whinfell Forest or another Centerparcs. To some respect you are restricted as you really don't need to go out of the centre so you can feel a bit obliged to pay for things whilst there. On the other hand you need to realise this before you go and there are plenty of free activities and lots of fun to have that doesn't cost the earth.
FURTHER INFO www.centerparcs.co.uk Whinfell Forest, Penrith, Cumbria, CA10 2DW. Reservations 08705 200 300
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Jun 2nd, 2006
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