Centerparcs En-gb Omdömen 41

Lovely site , lodges , Service and people.
However not only expensive to stay especially during school holidays but very expensive on many services.

Poor quality beers and wines but at very expensive prices. Food good but yet again very expensive.

Some activities such field archery at a cost of £31 are not worth the money.
So-called swimming area is only geared up for the kids and young people with very little facilities for actual swimming.

Hire of bike cost over £15 per day and in my opinion should be included in the price of the accommodation.

No one picks up phone in Eleveden forwat

Omg I ordered a gift card for my stay this Monday, after 6 phones calls and being told to contact there company who deals with the gift card EML that the card has not been processed , no one was willing to help and been lied to over and over again , don’t ever buy a gift card from them I have now got to wait 3/5 days for a refund !!!!! What a joke

We have been going for over tens years, although has gradually gone down hill. Lodges getting rundown, stopped doing fireworks, but still charged same money. Restaurants/shops very overpriced. Just gone to book for next year and it's £350 more expensive. That's £1750 for basic villa for weekend (3 nights). Made a complaint 3 weeks ago, nothing! Time to find an alternative break. It was expensive anyway, but now ridiculous. The fact they don't answer any of these negative reviews says it all.

I have just recently stayed at centre parcs Woburn Forest , first time ever used CP,and I have to say the family enjoyed most of it.
It was cleanish and accessible and a lovely atmosphere with almost everybody being friendly.(except a grumpy old man in a maintenance van)
The thing I can say is that it is rather expensive doing the activities but swimming is free and the facilities there are fab so make sure you take your swimming outfits and do your own food shopping and take it with you in the car if you have space -big mistake ordering their food, we paid £70 for 3 meal and 2 rice, 4 pappadums,2 Nan, delivery is £4
We ordered lamb but I’m sure it was quorn not meat, only 2 pieces of “meat”
In each meal and wasn’t nice at all and binned most of it.car park on site is big and complex with poor area markers as some area markers only erected one end and some covered by foliage.
We had a lot of walking as we had dogs with us, dogs can’t go on many places, and the location is far from amenities,the tiny garden is not fenced of so neighbours dog kept visiting us as well as a few deer.

Absolutely disgusting attitude and behaviour. No empathy shown.

Despite paying for the Flex Your Stay insurance Centerparcs still wanted to charge £699 for changing my booking by a week, despite having loads of availability.

Full story - my wife has been waiting for a hospital appointment to see a consultant for the past 10 months. Typically, the appointment date came through for when we would be away. Called Centerparcs, because it was after the 27 days limit according to their T&C's I have to pay £699. As it happens the week after was slightly cheaper so I'd have to wait for that refund to come through, we are talking about £27 in relation to that.

Point is, these people had no empathy or are capable about making a human decision about doing what's right or actually helping people due to genuine circumstances. All the person could say was "it's all in our T&C's and if I wanted to complain I'd have to write in".

To top the issue, they cancelled a water sports activity that we booked and paid for as they had not maintained the condition of their lake and were concerned about the water quality!!!!!!!! - guess what, it's up to me to claim the refund, they don't process it automatically!

Dreadful behaviour, attitude - obviously its just all about income.

I would not recommend Centerparcs as a holiday/break.

Hope this helps.

The activities are astonishingly expensive to the extent that we’ve not actually booked any at all. Some are £50 plus per person! The nightlife used to be good. There was even a little disco once upon a time. Now it’s like a morgue on the turn of 11 as everything shuts down. Went to the “leisure alley” at 10.15 and they clearly couldn’t be bothered and couldn’t wait to close. I asked for a pool table and was told there weren’t any. I pointed out one was free and they reluctantly let us use it. Seriously? Then tried to get a drink at 10.53 to be told the bar was shut (despite the staff just hanging around talking). I asked what time the bar normally closes and was told “it depends”. So apparently when they feel like it …. What sort of way is that to run a leisure business and treat people paying thousands for their holiday. They’ll be bust in 5 years at this rate which is a real shame given how good it used to be. I won’t be back that’s for sure.

If I could have given no stars I would have.
We stayed at Elveden in an Exlusive lodge with sauna, steam, hot tub and games room. £2,699for the accommodation for 3 nights plus activities on top and when we got there the lodge was filthy.
Stains on tables from glasses, sink had unbelievable grime, telephone looked like it had never been cleaned, bedding was dirty, hot tub jets not working, heating had a fault, no log fire, shower screen etc and it goes on. The lodge was just dirty and disgusting. Even when they can and did a re clean it was still dirty. They missed many of the issues raised.
Photos of all of this are on my Trip Advisor review!
We were unable to order any take away meals as the system stated they were taking no more orders and this was at 7pm in the evening. We then had to travel to Brandon to pick up a take away!!
We received a partial refund but this does not go far enough as it just ruined the weekend. We will never go back to Centerparcs again and would not recommend anyone else too either.
Extremely over priced and this year you could see that they had cut back on may things.
They charge 5 star prices for something that does not deserve even one star.

Have been going to Centre Parcs Longleat Forest since 2010. It has gone massively downhill. One thing you could always count on was the cleanliness. Not anymore! You pay 5 star prices but get 2 star accommodation. We paid extra for an executive lodge with private parking, a hot tub and steam room. The steam rooms were dirty and we had people parking our spaces so we couldn’t park outside lodge where we had allocated spaces (one of them was a staff member who didn’t even apologise for inconveniencing us). The whole accommodation was tired and in need of a serious refresh. It also looked dirty. The carpets were not vacuumed and the toilets stained. When you go somewhere you expect a clean toilet as a minimum. One toilet even had skid marks on it so obviously hadn’t been touched. I also had to get fresh bedding as mine had a small blood stain on it. It is sad because after years we won’t be going back here again. I went to Butlins and the floors and bedding was cleaner 🤷🏼‍♀️ we did complain to guest services and they apologised and sent us a bottle of Prosecco and chocolate but unfortunately it was too little too late. All the staff were lovely so I think they are probably under paired and short staffed so don’t have enough time to clean lodges properly or just don’t care anymore…

Been going since 2001 and still really enjoy our overall experience, however it isn't what it used to be. We now prefer spending more time in the villa and less in the park due to the commercialisation of everything now. Too many cars are now allowed to be left onsite (notice to move but nothing done about it), whereas they used to make people take their cars back.
I do like the fact that the exclusive villas now come with early access and dedicated parking but feel they should have brought back housekeeping following covid restrictions. I also think that the villages have become too large and the older villas are very tired for the money they expect from guests. We have started going to Forest Holidays more regularly during the year with Center Parcs being our family Christmas getaway as overall we find Forest Holidays better value and nicer accommodation unless (as we do at Christmas) you book the more expensive accommodation (this year the exclusive being £1600 extra compared to the basic 4 bed).

We have visited Center Parcs many times over last thirty years but unlikely to do so in future. Once they had our money we were told that the Aqua Sauna at Elveden Forest is closed for much of this year. I understand that, as a customer, I may have to put up with facilities being taken out of service at short notice for unexpected repairs. However, this is a major project that they must have been planning for months (if not years) and is going to last for much of 2023. We contacted Customer Care who were unhelpful and argumentative. They tried to hide behind small print and suggested it was our job to discover such issues. Center Parc website is still showing pictures of Aqua Sauna at Elveden as if it is open for business as usual. To rub salt into the wound, when you are left waiting to talk to Customer Care, you are subjected to a recorded message selling you the benefits of the Aqua Sauna. Surely if they had any interest in treating their customers fairly they could place a clear warning of closure of the Aqua Sauna at Elveden on their website and flag up the issue automatically to anyone looking to book a stay at Elveden.

Have been visiting Centerparcs for over 35 years but have noticed a definite decline in standards over recent years, obviously driven by senior management, everything appears to be cut back to the bare minimum with maximum profitability being the main driving force. Many companies out source certain parts of their business but obviously should monitor them so standards can be kept to the highest, Centerparcs it seems don’t regularly monitor their contractors. At the Longleat facility the poolside cafeteria did not serve hot food, had a sign displayed saying no sandwiches or wraps were available but delicious crisps were available at £1-50 a bag and sadly if you wanted a hot chocolate the machine was out of order. Over the years one of the highlights has been the fantastic fireworks display accompanied by a visit by Santa Claus - sorry all cancelled for the foreseeable future but you can still see Santa if you want as he’s driven around the facility in the dark it’s definitely not worth dragging your family out for a split second glimpse. Think it’s time for this family to have the same attitude as Centerparcs management and say try and manage.

Center Parcs Woburn has some nice points about it. We enjoyed the pool, thought the river rapids in particular were fun, and some of the slides were good too.
It's quite scenic in places, but would be nicer if there was more forest type walks and more places where you could walk your dog in the forest too.
Activities are quite overpriced, but the ones we did, we enjoyed.
Food choices are varied and generally quite good, although options aren't really there for anyone who wants anything later at night (after 9:30pm).

Worst part of it was the hotel room. Was really unclean, visibly dusty and grimey on surfaces and sinks, toilets, etc.. The shower was disgusting, mould growing in every corner. The noises at night coming from the lights, high pitched electrical noises and mechanical noises were so loud. Slept terribly my entire stay, and found it so difficult to find anyone working there who was willing to assist, lot of "it's not my job" type of responses.

All in all, I'd nevery stay in that hotel again, it's awful, although I would perhaps consider a lodge.

We paid over £1000 for an "executive lodge". Here are just some of the problems:
- Child gates on the stairs were broken which was quite dangerous.
- Cutlery etc was disgusting so we had to spend our first evening washing up.
- "Customer services" are non-existent. You can't get through to anybody.
- The rapids and various activities, parks etc. just arbitrarily close. Nobody tells you this before you stay.
- Restaurants on-site are horrendously understaffed and expensive. Food is mediocre at best.
- We had an Indian takeaway which was an hour late, around a third of our order was missing entirely, and the remainder was undercooked and inedible. We were promised a refund that never came.
- You CANNOT get through to anybody to help you. Customer services and reception just pass you around. In one case someone transferred me to the security gate just to fob me off. 15 minute waits for someone to answer the phone seems to be normal. Nobody has any authority or knowledge to fix anything. It's always "another department". Head office send you to the park. The park sends you to head office, and you get nowhere. God forbid you have an urgent problem.
- I sympathise with the staff, who despite the extortionate rates CP charge customers, are mostly teenagers on minimum wage, but the level of customer service is just unacceptably bad.

I'm still waiting for my refund. I am going through the legal route as I'm tired of sitting on hold only to be passed around for hours and hung up on.

Whinfell

I am not sure what to say about our Whinfell stay, a stay that was cut short because of the Queen's funeral.

A few months ago ish, Center Parcs contacted us to say that our lodge - one of the Heather Glades - would not be available for our stay because of 'refurbishment'. This was just after we booked it so surely they would have known that it would be unavailable?

And the cheek of the people I spoke to. 'We gave you a more expensive lodge and central preference for free.' NO!! You gave us the only lodge available in the central area we initially booked because you'd have to refund the money if we were given the outer area. Giving someone a REPLACEMENT lodge, whether more expensive or not, is NOT a nice thing to do. It's It's RIGHT thing to do, because you didn't want to give a £600 plus refund.

Then there was the cutting it short because of the funeral. We weren't happy BUT there was nothing we could do. To be honest, the worst thing about that was the WAY they handled it. Emailed and/or text to say that they were taking the Monday off us because of the funeral then turned off their phone lines.

The Tuesday that we were to arrive (the 20th) at Whinfell, I was told that the lodges would NOT be available before 4pm. We got there a bit early intending to go swimming. The lodges had apparently been available since midday. So why, when I asked the GUEST SERVICES that morning, did they not say this? We lost a SECOND day.

We got to the lodge, one of the Bilberry wood 3 bedroom ones and my nine month old is wanting to crawl everywhere. We were PROMISED the floor was clean. My partner put her and down and within seconds, her skin was black. It was very slippy too, she slipped and banged both her face AND head twice whilst playing. We were in the same room and changing her brother at the time. So don't suggest we 'watch her'. That isn't an answer to a slippy and filthy floor and she was ALWAYS watched.

The kettle was full on limescale, the tassimo has mould in it and I had to wash it twice, as well as sorting out the toaster.

We didn't book any tables for the Tuesday because we were told to CANCEL everything for the Tuesday. (Proof of this) and when we asked Hucks, we were told to 'book in future' and looked around to the next person. Disgusting customer service.

There needs to be better rules for people on bikes. It's not a race, my little boy shouldn't have to be dragged out of the way of people speeding on the PATHS on bikes. Don't cyclist's have their own lane?

The Lakeside Inn was just foul. The food took almost an hour to arrive and there were LOADS of tables, the place was practically empty. There was NO NEED for the long wait. The staff were slow and asked us if we wanted desserts before we even got our COLD food. Mine was inedible and I wouldn't have paid 1p for it. The drinks were flat and tasted odd.

The Pancake house was nice, just rude woman at the front.

The lodge bedding was clean and the lodge okay in every way except cleanliness. My kids shouldn't have needed 3 baths per day due to how unclean it was.

The village is much more modern and better presented than Elveden as everything seems much closer together.

The Bella Italia staff, who gave us an on-the-day table on the first say, were really good and very accommodating for our sons allergies.

I'm not sure we will come back here. We vowed never to go to Elveden again just because of the absolute nightmare to get there (not CP fault and Elveden was fab, just a bit outdated but brilliant.) I'd rather have my kids scream the 2 plus hours to Elveden than come here unless promised better cleaning and no mould in the coffee machine and toaster or limescale in the kettle... and also the LODGE we booked initially.

Booked to stay Mon-Fri but because of CP’s appalling decision to close on the day of the Queen’s funeral our holiday is now cut short and we can’t arrive until 4pm Tuesday. As a result we have incurred additional accommodation expenses which they have refused to reimburse us for. CP have demonstrated they don’t give a jot about their customers. When all other hospitality establishments found ways to enable their staff to watch the funeral whilst still honouring holidays, CP customers were shafted. Have been to CP on a number of occasions and spent a lot of money, but won’t be returning again. I would suggest you spend your hard earned money booking a holiday with an organisation that values its customers!!!

Just got back from CP Woburn , so called dog friendly that’s why we booked , unfortunately that’s not true, only 2 places the dog can go and that’s Starbucks or the pancake house , feel like we were mislead, only dog bowls with water are stationed where dogs aren’t allowed to go!! Think this is the most least dog friendly place we’ve stayed at , no sure why people rave about center parcs , 100% won’t be going back

I have recently come back from a stay in one of your recently refurbished woodland lodges. It was very tatty and dirty, not at all worth the money we paid. We’ve had many visits to Center Parcs but it’s really gone downhill. Tables are never cleared in the sports bar restaurant and we struggled to get a locker for the swimming area.
The kids enjoyed the splash pool but it’s not worth the money.

We booked two chalets at Woburn next to each other as there were 4 adults and five children, three of them were 5 year old and the other two, 8 year old. Booking was without any problems and fortunately the car park was near our chalets, so getting unloaded with all the family packing was easy.

We stayed for four nights late August and the total cost for both chalets was just over £3000 which for a short family break during school holiday, I considered expensive. However as it was a last minute decision for the holiday, I had to put up with the cost. The beds were rock hard and like sleeping on a slab of concrete. Tip, if you want a good nights sleep, take your own mattress.

Little did I realise that the restaurants were going to be VERY expensive and the food mediocre, nearly £50 for two bottles of cheap wine, which can be purchased for £8 a bottle in Tesco. Also don't use the parks Co-op shop to buy food as that's VERY expensive as well, nearly twice the price for each product than can be obtained elsewhere.

The extra activities for the children were expensive, £50 for a ride on the high zip-wire. We tried several of the activities and they were all very expensive, £17 for half an hour on the lake in a paddle boat. The beach area at the lake was covered in duck and swan excrement.

The main pool was free, but the temperature of the water was fairly cool and tasted just like sea water it was so salty, plus the children started to shiver after about an hour of play.

Overall, I think the experience was somewhat enjoyable for the children but not for the adults. I think for a short family break it was very expensive and it would appear CenterParcs are determined to screw every last penny from you. We shall not be going ever again.

The staff were on the whole, very very good but the CenterParcs at Sherwood has gone downhill when it wasn’t very far up it in the first place. The changing rooms in the pool have had a long overdue makeover but this is about it for the positives. The negatives are as follows.
1. Very very expensive in school holidays.
2. No cash accepted anywhere.
3. They no longer serve hand pulled ale, just fizzy keg ale and lager.
4. Two large vodkas and two bottles of J2O cost us just over £26!
5. Take away delivery service has been massively cut back. Menu is much smaller and everything has to be ordered online. We tried to order at about 4pm on our first day to be told they had no delivery slots available, so that was that, no delivery.
6. £10 minimum in tokens for children to play arcade games as they will no longer accept cash.
7. Zero information in the lodges. The booklets with various services and phone numbers have all gone, you have to look for this online if you want them and this includes emergency numbers as well.
8. The restaurants all have a QR code on the table and ask you to order using this method because they have hugely reduced the number of staff.
9. Very crowded. Watch the tv adverts for a laugh. They show one perfect family enjoying themselves at CenterParcs with almost no one else present. Everywhere is empty, especially the pool. Believe me, you will never see it like this, it is like a cattle market and CenterParcs are aiming to milk you for every penny!