Am a center parcs veteran having visited all 4 UK parks and have totalled over 15 visits ! Have recently returned from a Mid Week (Mon - Fri ) Break in Whinfell Forest - Oct 2006. Thought I would share my views & comments:

Overall - Whinfell is a very scenic park with good selection of activities. It is slightly different in appearance to other 3 center parcs ( due to it not being originally constructed by CParcs) but in essence is the same. EXCELLENT BREAK - would thoroughly recommend it but there were a few negatives which I will share below :

The Swimming Pool was a little disappointing I thought in comparison to other center parcs. It was all a little disjointed - for example you could not get to outside pool ( Which was gloriously warm ) unless you made a hop-footed dash to it across concrete - Cold ! whereas all other center parcs you can swim from inside to the outside bit !
They also do not have rapids but instead have the Canyon Ride - this was in essence very similar - outside ride but on a slippery ride type surface instead of concrete channel - the major NEGATIVE here is it is 1 rider at time - and hence due to this alone - lacks the fun and enjoyment you get from all whoosing down the rapids together. The indoor rapids were also a little short and many of the jets were not working whilst we were there

The Aqua Sana has recently been refurbished I believe and now has a COmplete WORLD of SPA like the other Center Parcs - blissful relaxation for 3 hours - very nice - but £32 per adult so not cheap - but all in all is definitely worth it - a center parcs must in my opinion. The only criticism is the hydrotherapy pool and the outdoor spa pool were quite chilly - the outdoor pool in the subtropical swimming paradise was warmer - and that is FREE !!

We stayed in an executive cumbrian lodge for 6 - 2 storey - very well presented and comfortable - much nicer looking that villas in the other center parcs. Did not have ensuites though but did have 1 jacuzzi bath

Ate out in Rock Legends, Lucianos and had chinese takeaway from YANG ( more on this in a minute ! ). Quality of food was very very good ! But service was a little slow in both italian and the american diner. 3 starters arrived at Italian - people had finished these before the remaining 3 starters arrived ! - we did not leave a tip needless to say

Yang Chinese takeaway - DO NOT RECOMMMEND this - very expensive for what you get and portions are very small - we spent £60 on takeaway items to share between 6 of us - there was not enough to go around ! very poor value for money - food was very tasty and high quality though

overall - excellent week despite all the comments above and we like to change the center parcs village we visit - all are slightly different and have their own character - would certainly return to whinfell - overall 8 out of 10

Strange question, but if you are staying on a CP site over the festive period, do they put a tree in your villa with lots of twinkly lights and sparkly decorations.......or do you take your own ?
Any answers gratefully appreciated.
Thanks

They did at Whinfell Forest a few years back. We were in the de luxe villa and I don't know if they all got a tree. To be honest it was a small tired looking artificial one with a few bits of tinsel. Not great.

Have you asked them??

......have i asked them ???? Yep, hence me posting a topic on here !!!!
Called reservations yesterday and the girl "was'nt sure".

Well I've never actually been for Christmas but I have been in the run up and last year we went to Sherwood Forest for New year.

There was a lovely real tree in the villa but it didn't have any decorations on it. Suprisingly for CP they weren't selling them in the Parc Market either so you would need to take your own!

Lots of people take lights & things to put in the windows too which make the entire village quite christmassy. Some people really go to town on it all!!

If you want to be absolutely certain, ring the village you're visiting direct rather than reservations. They're usually very helpful.

Thanks Jan for that.
I rang Longleat direct and spoke to a very helpful chap.
Basically, if you want a tree put in the villa you order a xmas pack prior to your arrival, and he was very honest and said but it's quite a basic tree with a few lights and decs...... he suggested we bring our own which a lot of people do.
Everything in the village is open (xmas day is just a normal day to them) and if you want to eat out, you DO have to book before you go and all your bookings can be done 14 days before you go.
So that's me sorted then !! The worst of this, is that this is for xmas 2007!!
Apparently CP gets booked very quickly because it's really great to be there over the festive season. I expect it's lovely swimming in the subtropical pool on xmas day?

So the tree in our villa must have been bought by the previous occupants - very kind of them don't you think?

We're going to centre parcs in April with our 3 year old twins. We're going to the Sherwood park, very very nice we have been a few times already, and to the one in the lake district. We were just wondering some prices of some things so that we know how much to budget etc. :
Animal Allsorts
Baby Dolphins (swimming type lessons) - think this is free
kids disco - think this is also free
Music lesson
teddybears picnic
painting
bike hire - full week and just weekend, we are hoping to go for a weekend in Febuary, although not booked yet.

Thanks!!

I have the brochure here,for the Longleat one as we are off for a midweek break on mon 22nd jan
I should think all the prices are the same ?

here are the prices :

Bike Hire : adult bike 1 week = £25 / midweek = £18 / weekend = £17
Baby dolphins - FREE

Teddy bears picnic - 1 hour = £7.50 2- 5 yrs

Kids disco - 6.30 - 8pm = FREE

Kids painting session - 45 mins = £4.00 2 - 5 yrs

Kids music - 30 mins = £4.50 2-4 yrs

i couldnt find "animal allsorts" in the Longleat brochure,sorry

HTH

Rach

I am looking at booking a weekend away to the Longleat Centre Parcs. A couple of people in the party are slightly inactive due to damaged knees etc and are concerned about how hilly the complex is.
Can someone give me an idea on how big the hillls are, as dont want to spoil their holidays by it?

Also we are looking at a 3 bedroom executive villa, where is the best place to stay closest to the facilities?

Thanks very much

challdell we are just back from Longleat Forest.
It is quite hilly in places , and dont my thighs know it lol ( we hired bikes

But there are land trains every 15 mins or so with stops all over the Parc if they didnt wish to walk .

They dont run on a fri / mon thoug has this is arrival / departure day

:P)

Help anyone please!

What happens at checkin at Center Parcs?
We have booked for 4 adults and 2 children but due to family circumstances we may have to take another child. We've booked a 3 bed comfort villa and are happy to take a ready bed for the extra child. We don't want to ring Center Parcs as hubby is worried they will cancel our booking and make us pay extra for a larger villa???
Can we sneak him in or is there a nominal charge for an extra using the Swimming facilities?? WILL THEY KNOW??

I think if you ring and ask they will expect you to rent a bigger villa. They seem quite strict about this. You cant really blame them. If they weren't, everyone would take extra people. You might have a problem if they dont have a bigger villa to offer you.
When you drive into CP you have to drive up to and stop at a check-in. You might or might not get found out at this point. If you get away with it, I doubt if anyone would notice once you were in.

I'm certain no-one would notice once you were in BUT, in my experience, they always check the occupants of the car -eg. saying 2 adults & 2 children and looking in the car.

I've often wondered about this myself and it would be risky - what would happen if you were refused entry?

You run the risk that there isn't any bigger villas available and it probably contravenes their insurance to exceed the stated maximum occupancy.

Is it worth the risk?

Will be going with a group of friends to Whinfell for a weekend next month. Hoping someone can help me with the following questions.

We're staying in a Comfort Plus lodge in Meadow View. Can anyone tell me whether
1. The lodge has a over bath shower in the upstairs bathroom
2. There will be a CD player in the lounge

Also, is there still a ladies only session in the Aqua Sana on a Sunday morning?

Any answers appreciated!

I love Center Parcs, especially in the winter... there's nothing quite beats swimming in the warm open-air pool while it's freezing outside! Sherwood is my favourite but we're thinking about Longleat this year, since we've never been there before. next december's still a long way off though...

I had already posted this in the General holiday forum but thought I'd also highlight here the Barclaycard promotion code PPBC07 for Barclaycard holders that gives discounts of between 5 - 30% for midweek and weekend stays at Center Parcs for certain qualifying dates. Whinfell forest has the biggest discounts. Click on the link below for details.

http://www.centerparcs.co.uk/prices_booking/specialoffers/barclaycard_offer.jsp