Centreparcs Omdömen 

Centre Parks Kempervennen Health and Safety
Kempervennen Family Canoeing trip 12th August 2026
1. Bus pick up to go to the canoeing site. No Aircon, bus overcrowded with people standing, whilst driving down the N69.
2. On arrival at canoe pick up. Everyone had to drag out their own canoes.
3. There were no life vests given to anyone, adults or children.
4. The river was not very wide and very winding, also very shallow in some locations and deeper in other. There were too many canoes on the river, both Kayaks and Canadian Canoes. This led to many collisions between the Canoes. This was worse with the Canadian Canoes, as they were heavier. Had to keep telling the person in the middle seat to remove their hands, so they did not have serious injury to their fingers.
5. On the river we encountered a weir below a bridge. We were advised to lay down under the bridge as it is low. In fact, it was very low. I am 6’4’’ and laid down at the back of the canoe, The canoe went over the weir and the rear of the canoe raised. I managed to put my arm up to stop my head hitting the bollard at the bottom of the bridge,
6. When we arrived at the landing jetty, which was a series of wide and high steps, there were no staff in the blue tee-shirts from the canoe company to help people disembark from the canoes.
7. My wife who was in the canoe in front, climbed out of the canoe onto a higher level, where the concrete step was sloping back to the canoe. The slope, plus having had cramped legs, made her fall backwards into the canoe from a height level with the top of the canoe. There was no-one from the canoe to provide any assistance. My granddaughter was helping her up and rushed forward to help. Again, no person from the canoe company.
8. To add to the problem, we then had to walk 3 to 4 hundred metres to get on the bus, which was not crowded but still had no Aircon.
I went to Centre Parks reception and asked to speak to a manager. I explained that I had a detailed complaint about Health and Safety on the Canoe trip and that it would be better if I spoke to manager and not in front of the queue. The agent I was speaking to, went into the office behind reception and she came back and said the supervisor said she was too busy to deal with me. After I started my long explanation about the canoeing company's Health and safety. The receptionist then rang a manager, who told her to take the details. Which she did. I suspect the details ended up in a bin.

Canoeing was not the only activity that I witnessed poor Health and safety. In the Snow Center, there were only two instructors for about 20 students, most of which had not skied before. One instructor was helping the student get off the ski lift/escalator. That left one instructor to cope with the chaos of untrained skiers colliding with each other.

If anyone else witnessed the canoeing or skiing chaos, then I would ask them to also add a review.

Aquasana Vitalie Cafe Woburn
Not a good experience.
Buddha bowl was dull and mostly cardboard tasting julienned carrot and beetroot. Tasteless cucumber and tomato and weird tasting hummus served in an exhausted avocado shell. Yellowing broccoli. 6 limp, tasteless and cool potato wedges.
Pasta, not the shape on the menu served in a pool of salty liquid...with sparse feta grains and a small amount of pine nuts floating at the bottom.
Terrible desserts..a passion fruit and lime slice..stale and tasting of cheap sweets, and a very odd cheesecake.
All food appeared cheap and bought in I imagine. All prepared with no care or skill.
Definitely not what the price promises.

Been to the Woburn one, had an awesome time. Perfect for the kids. Staff was very nice. Lodge was very clean. Lady who did my spa treatment was absolutely amazing.

Make sure you dont accidentally leave anything behind as the cleaners will rob you

And avoid the indian at whinfell as its just co op microwave meals

Well i feel ebbarrased to admit it.. but as my bf person isnt talking to me.. i thought id see somethin shifty. This was AGAIN coz it looked different. But ..same old shit.. no clear report.. when i wanted to just see the full report/info.. it then made me go onto a separate site ..and it took 1-2 hrs to download ..with no result at the end !! Utter WASTE OF TIME ..and also it makes fake "cheating" type messages n blurred out naked pics up so that you worry n pay more.. (which i did) i will not do this again! Not worth it..made me worse than i was..

Went with the family, both lodges were not cleaned properly. Lodges are outdated after coming back for 10 years. The lodges and whole set up pretty much the same. The big change is the price. Every year they dramatically increase it. Putting minimal investment back into anything.

Therefore charging more money for a lower service. My opinion avoid, only interested in making as much money as they can out of you. Other places are much better value for your money.

It was eleveden we visited, unlikely to return unless something is done. It's obviously being run into the ground. Lets hope someone takes note and listens to honest feedback.

Guest services useless info, in fact told me completely the wrong info that inconvenienced me plus it hid an issue at the park. Ultimately don’t resolve issues and just spout Corporate drivel when you complain.

Oh dear how times have changed with Center Parcs attitude. For over 22 years Center Parcs was our holiday every year without fail. However stopped going a few years ago as they weren't really disabled friendly to my dad. My dad has recently passed and my mum and I wanted to go back. I am now disabled myself and although did not need a disabled access villa did need a blue badge space near the villa.
So I contacted customer services via their Web chat and spoke to Emma.
Who told me that I would have to park on the main car park which as everyone knows is a long walk for anyone who is able bodied never mind someone who struggles to walk.
When I explained this she said there is disabled parking again on the main car park and if I wanted to park by the villa it would be at the discretion of sherwood and is a case by case basis.
So forget it Center parcs your disabled policy is shocking even worse than 8 years ago.
I can understand why 50% of the reviews are 1 star

My mother-inlaw has just had a bad experience with the main booking.
She is due to have visit next year and had a email saying a further deposit needs to be paid the same day she got the email.
Thats very bad that centre parcs does not send out reminder emails prior to date. If a family had this and could not make that deposit that date the holiday would have been cancelled

Longleat.
4 Adults and 2 grandchildren.
We booked 4 electric bikes and a child carrier. At point of booking we were not told the child carrier could not attach to the electric bike.
Beware of this when booking!
We had to settle for manual bikes and being disabled this was not satisfactory.
Whilst some disabled parking does exist the number of places are by no mean sufficient. We did not manage to park in a disabled space.
A confirmed restaurant booking for my birthday treat mysteriously disappeared from our itinerary. We asked guest services to assist but were told the restaurant was fully booked and we couldn't be accommodated.
The 3 bed woodland lodge was very tired. The oven didn't fully light. I would be suspicious of the safety of the oven. Clearly the gas burners appear to be partially blocked.
The fridge was ancient and hardly kept a bottle of milk cold.
When the fridge door was opened the oven opened and vice versa.
For a 3 bed lodge (6 persons) the fridge size is woefully inadequate even for a weekend break.
Obviously supplies could be purchased from the Parc Mark but prices are steep.
Our lodge was not very clean. The bath was dirty when we arrived, the floors had not been swept properly as pine needles were still in evidence in the hall and lounge.
The Pirate Ship section was closed (nothing on the website alerted us to this). After one day one of the slides in the Discovery (kids) area was closed off.
Overall I would say that the Longleat site is very tired and in need of a major upgrade.

We booked a stay from Monday to Friday, but the experience was so incredibly disappointing that we packed up and left early on Thursday because it wasn't enjoyable at all. We have been to Woburn Center Parcs several times before, and it was always clean with a fantastic, positive environment where my kids never wanted to leave. Elveden, however, was an absolute nightmare. The lodge was filthy and covered in spiderwebs. The kettle was completely choked with limescale, the coffee machine didn't work at all, and the dishwasher was broken. Its compartment door wouldn’t even close, and the inside of the machine was disgusting, filled with leftover food waste from previous guests.

The rest of the park was just as neglected. The Subtropical Swimming Paradise was in shocking condition with most areas closed and the wave machine completely out of order. The pool water looked dirty, and the maintenance was practically zero. Outside, the streams and waterways were stagnant and smelly, and the surrounding nature looked dying with dried-out leaves and trees from a total lack of care. To top it off, I booked several activities for my children, but they didn't enjoy a single one of them. Even the on-site supermarket was useless, as the shelves were constantly empty with no fresh fruit or vegetables available. We paid a lot of money for a relaxing family break, but management has completely let this place go. Do yourself a favour and book Woburn instead. Elveden is a total waste of money.

Grossly overpriced and doesn’t meet expectations pool wise. Service average. Make sure you take your own supplies as everything is extortionate. NO CASH either!!! Made a point of enjoying it but won’t do again for the money..

Just back from a weekend in Woburn Forest.
Would like to give a special mention to Jenny in the activity den, she went above and beyond to give my granddaughter the very best experience. Thanks Jenny.
Lodges could do with air conditioning they were unbelievably hot.
Everywhere was clean and all staff are very friendly.

The accommodation is tired and could do with some TLC. We paid for 2 executive lodges to accommodate all of our family plus a dog, when we got there the accommodation was not that great, the patio door wouldn’t close properly unless you jiggled it, black mould in the bathrooms, shower heads blocked and dirty, bedroom floor wet the night after you slept so the bedding got damp, the gas oven kept going out so you had to keep an eye on it and that’s it for the accommodation. My daughter had 2 young children in the car returning from seeing friends close to where we were and both were asleep in the car, the security guard told her that she had to park the car in car park and walk the children to where we were staying which was quite a way from the car Shea’s not allowed in to drop off the children which on the hottest day of the year was unbelievable, my daughter did try to explain and asked nicely but the jobsworth security guard said NO. The car park was quite a walk and one of the drivers had mobility problems and having to wait for transport to the car park sometimes over an hour and a half later when needed is just too long.

We stayed at Longleat for the second time and were really looking forward to our visit. Having been before, we knew the layout and had a good plan for making the most of our stay, so we even paid for early check-in.

Unfortunately, the experience got off to a disappointing start. When we arrived, the room was not clean and had a noticeable smell. I ended up going to a local supermarket to buy cleaning products so I could clean the accommodation myself, including vacuuming. I also reported the cleanliness issues, along with an ant infestation that appeared to be coming from a nest nearby.

To make matters worse, we had booked during a heatwave. We had forgotten that the accommodation does not have air conditioning, but what surprised us even more was the lack of fans. There were no fans in the room or around the restaurants and shops. The heat was uncomfortable for guests, and I genuinely felt sorry for the staff who had to work in those conditions, as well as for families with young children.

Sadly, the park itself also seemed less well maintained than on our previous visit. There was quite a bit of litter around, prickly bushes were overgrown, and overall the site felt neglected and unloved in places.

This was particularly disappointing because we absolutely loved our first stay and had been excited to return. While there are still many positives about Longleat, this visit did not live up to the standards we experienced previously

We’d been looking forward to our visit as so many people had advised Centreparcs is better in Europe than the UK.
We booked to stay for a week at Les Bois - France.

Maybe I had high expectations but I was definitely not expecting what we’ve got.

The accommodation is poor to say the least and we booked a VIP cottage. Needless to say the photos online are not a true reflection of the interior.
It’s falling apart (see photos), the fridge door doesn’t close properly and there’s no oven so our supermarket trip was somewhat pointless.
The sinks don’t drain properly and the jets don’t work on the whirlpool bath.

It’s definitely not clean. There are dark hairs everywhere (we’re blonde or bald 🤣) and the floor is filthy.

All outdoor activities have been cancelled due to the heat - I appreciate that’s not their fault but even so…it’s an activity based holiday.

Their are babies and toddlers going down the slides aged 8 and above, and yet I wasn’t allowed to sit on the chairs by the outdoor pool wearing shorts and T-shirt 🤷🏼‍♀️

I would not recommend this site. Others may be much better but coming here has put me off wanting to go and try another.

The best part was hiring the electric buggy - we had more fun in this than we did anything else!

I wish I’d read the reviews before choosing this site.

No doubt I’ll get a response that says this is the European site, not UK however having visited several UK sites our experience here was no better.

It’s a shame as we’ve visited CP a lot over the years, but this will be our last.
The sites aren’t maintained well enough to justify the price.

Lodge wasn't anywhere near the same as the one advertised on their website - I regret taking the pictures at face value. However, the biggest upset and disappointment was the lodge itself that smelled of wet dog throughout. We called guest services and were told that we had been prioritised by the house keeping staff and that they would come round and check the lodge. 1.5 hours later we still hadn't had a visit so we made our way to guest services...they called housekeeping and apparently they will be with us at some point this evening.
We also ordered krispy Kreme doughnuts to our lodge for our arrival but they never arrived. We mentioned it to guest services and they told us to speak to the peoppe in the shop. Management was apologetic and offered to send some out tomorrow. Unfortunately, it's a little too late - and the moment is lost.
The staff are off hand and lots of shops are closed. The pool is only open until 8pm and we wasn't aware of this change - not great if you have teenagers. I wouldn't come back again. Longleat is a massive let down and a very unpleasant experience.

Nous venons de rentrer d'une semaine au Lac d'Ailette avec nos deux jeunes enfants (2 et 4 ans) et nous en gardons un souvenir très mitigé. Le domaine en lui-même est vraiment superbe, l'environnement, les chalets et l'Aqua Mundo ont été un vrai bonheur, et les enfants ont adoré. Ce qui rend ce que je vais décrire d'autant plus décevant.
En quatre jours, cinq activités réservées et payées ont été annulées ou mal délivrées : Parc Aventure Ouistiti, les pédalos, les promenades à poney, l'académie de football, et le bowling qui s'est tenu mais dans des conditions décevantes, avec un personnel insuffisant et aucune assistance lorsque nous en avons eu besoin. Dans chacun de ces cas, nous n'avons reçu aucune communication proactive. Ni message, ni appel, rien. À chaque fois, nous sommes arrivés avec des enfants impatients pour ne trouver personne sur place et à chaque fois, c'est moi qui ai dû me rendre à la réception pour comprendre ce qui s'était passé. Le temps perdu, les trajets à vélo à travers le parc avec les enfants, et les déceptions répétées ont été épuisants et vraiment pénibles. Pour aggraver les choses, un membre de l'équipe de réception m'avait formellement assuré que certaines activites le lendemain auraient bien lieu et le lendemain matin, cette session était elle aussi annulée, sans le moindre mot.
Ce qui a rendu tout cela encore plus difficile, c'est l'expérience à la réception elle-même. À chaque annulation, j'ai dû faire la queue (parfois tres longtemps!) simplement pour obtenir une information de base. Obtenir le remboursement des activités annulées n'a pas non plus été simple : j'ai dû insister fermement pour recevoir des remboursements réels plutôt que des avoirs.
Nous avons également constaté que l'aire de jeux couverte était mal entretenue ce qui représente un risque pour les jeunes enfants.
Ce qui m'amène à la gestion de ma réclamation. Lorsque j'ai demandé une compensation pour les perturbations, le temps perdu et la déception répétée de nos enfants, le service relations clients a refusé à deux reprises, proposant finalement un avoir comme « proposition finale », sans répondre aux arguments soulevés. Mais la vraie question est la suivante : pourquoi voudrions-nous un avoir pour revenir dans un endroit qui nous a traités de cette façon ? Ce qui nous donnerait envie de revenir, c'est une reconnaissance que ce qui s'est passé était inacceptable, et une réponse à la hauteur. Nous n'avons eu ni l'un ni l'autre.
Le domaine mérite une bien meilleure gestion. Nous avons aimé y être, nous n'avons simplement pas pu en profiter pleinement.

teenagers doing wheelies .also riding through the town centre no bikes allowed through no one to stop them went to customer service and the lady said i cant do a think iam disabled and one of them said i will do what i like so get your wheel chair out of it or i will run in to you disrespect for a disabled veteran person is this how it has become in your packs i have bin coming here for 15 years i wii not be rebooking now at elveden forest

We Stayed at Long Leat and were not warned about the steepness of the site and the relative positions of the lodges

I have just returned from my stay at Long Leat Centre Park where a booked a Middle Area lodge 919.

I have booked and stayed in the Nottingham and Thetford Forest sites and there a central property meant that the walk and access to the dome and the shops etc was easier. The sites are both fairly flat so topology was not an issue. However that is not the case for Long Leat. The central lodge was in the worst place for a couple in their seventies and a couple with 2 small children.
My son went on line shortly after my booking and got bikes for us all. I need a trike these days and my son needed to have a trailer to carry the children, nobody took note that to use a bike from the lodge in which we were placed was very hard work. The Maple way.

I spoke to someone at the guest services to make a complaint about the lack of information given about the steep hills using a bike from that property. The is no indication on your site map to show the steepness of the site. She told us all the roads that are marked no cycling from that property are closed because they are all too steep. This illustrates the organisation is well aware of how difficult it is to access the lodges in that road. A property in another area would not have the difficulties. My husband and I returned our bikes and was refunded some of the cost. My son and his wife kept their bikes because they decided to park their bikes near the village at the top of the hill, but this was a waste of time, because by the time you have climbed the hill the distance to the plaza wasn’t worth the walk back to the village. They didn’t use the bikes they used the childrens buggy up the maple way as the most reasonable way to exit the lodge area.

The lodge was good and other aspects were good but I am afraid the £3800 I paid for that lodge was very poor value. It’s position made me feel reticent to leave the lodge. Twice we tried to catch the train, but by the time it gets to the Target stop it is always full. One day we wanted to take the children on a train ride around the centre, we had to walk to the top of the hill as we couldn’t get on, so we had walked down to the stop , then had to walk the length of the road that was too steep to ride on to get to the Village stop at the top. It was like a farce.

I think I was miss sold this central lodge and the lack of information of the topology and routes for cycling is almost deceptive. The lack of any information on any map to show the different levels of the site is poor. The poor service on the train just adds to the isolation of the lodges.

You had two opportunities to warn us of the problem, at booking and at the time of booking the cycles. I want to claim back the full cost of the bikes we rented, so that we can have some compensation for the disappointment of the location.

Yours Faithfully

Glenda Dixon
Booking No 5468640

Hi Glenda 
 
Thank you for your email following your recent stay at Longleat Forest. 
 
I'm very sorry that you feel we have miss-sold your break and lodge on this occasion, all our villages have something unique about them, Longleat is located in rolling hills and valleys, while this has some of the most beautiful scenery across our villages, it does come with some more challenging walks to get around the village.
 
This is why we offer the Land Train at Longleat Forest to help guests get around a little easier. The map also indicates steep hills around the village; these are highlighted with a red triangle with an exclamation mark. The key at the bottom of the map tells you what all the symbols mean, we feel this is the best way to help guests select the lodge most suitable for their needs. 
 
I understand from our system and your email that you were refunded two of your cycles during your stay as you felt unable to use these due to the terrain. As I'm sure you will appreciate some of our guests like the challenge of the inclines and enjoy cycling around the villages and we can't assume that guests will be unable to manage this. 
 
There are no grounds in which to offer any additional refunds for the cycles on this occasion and apologise for any upset this may cause. 
 

Kind regards
 
Rebecca Mee
Guest Services Executive