I've been going to the Centre Parcs in Cumbria since it was the independently owned 'Oasis Forest Village'. I even got engaged there in 2003 - so it is a family favourite and obviously, a very special place to my husband and I.

This year we went for our first family holiday with just us and our baby daughter for a 4 night break.

Accommodation was lovely and, without asking for it, they had provided us with a high chair and travel cot - despite the fact that Executive apartments don't come with them as standard. We found this to be very nice and thoughtful.

We had a week of activities (mostly for the baby) booked, but on the Tuesday decided to brave the pool. It turned out that what appeared to be every other family on the site had had the same idea. After our time in the pretty crowded pool, we went to get changed only to find families wandering round like refugees draped in towels looking for somewhere to change. It ended up with us having to use a disabled cubicle, which took us 15 minutes or so to queue for, to change our by then shivering baby.

The pool on the second and last occasion we went was a bit better in terms of crowding and the waiting for a cubicle was slightly shorter. If you don't have children, go as late as possible to the pool.

The activities were wonderful and 'owl babies' was lovely and my baby thoroughly enjoyed it. We also enjoyed the 'Make a Memory' too.

We went to Bella Italia and had a lovely meal and the staff there were very nice indeed.

We tried not to eat out very much because the prices were astronomical and the food wasn't that great or worth it. The price of drinks was absolutely absurd too. As someone wrote in a review I read a few months ago about this place - they have a captive audience and don't they know it.

The takeaway food was a bit yak too, so I won't be getting that again next time we visit.

We booked the spa online, and here is where Centre Parcs let themselves down. We had booked the spa online, and then the Time Out club for our daughter. There is no offer online for the Spa or the Time Out club HOWEVER it is there in the brochure and on the notice boards round the village. As we didn't see the offer, we paid

We booked a new style woodland lodge. With a contempatory theme throughout, the lodge is simpley laid out with a toilet at the front door, and reasonable sized hall way for storing buggies or bikes. Walking into the lodge from the hall way we had a simple dining room with a table and 4 chairs. There was a proper cot in the dining area which took away a bit of space as we didn't need it.

One bedroom with twin beds with simple decor, was there with a bathroom nextdoor with a shower which could be complicated to work as it was a bath tap too. The bathroom was a good size though. Towels were provided but weren't changed during our stay due to no maid service.

The kitchen was well stocked with gas hob and oven and a microwave and dishwasher too. The applicances were built in meaning you had to search the first few times.

The living area had a nice sized corner sofa with a little unit in the middle and a leather chair at the end. Plenty seats for just 4 people. A flat screen TV was inbedded with a DVD player and a fire which logs could be bought in the supermarket.

The double bedroom was small but was reasonable with a LCD TV up high.

The patio doors in the living area led to a patio with nice metal furniture and a stone build BBQ on which Disposable BBQ's can be used.

The lodge was very tidy when we arrived and we did have to hoover and ensure the lodge was tidied before you left with bed linen being left in the hall for easy pick up before the change over.

The bonus we found to the lodge was the chalk board in the dining room. It kept the children amused for quite some time. Plenty wild life surrounded us and the main wheelie bins were close by but the bin under the sink was a bit confusing the first day we were there and felt the recycling was badly worked out.