Centre parcs - Expensive?
Centre parcs - Expensive?
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Discussion

BliarOut

Original Poster:

72,863 posts

268 months

Sunday 31st July 2005
quotequote all
My brother is over from the US with his young family. He's got a villa at Centre Parcs for the week so friends and family can go along and visit and we're going tomorrow/Tuesday....

I've just seen the price for one week, £990 :yikes:

That's not the worst of it, paintballing, £40. Meal in one of the restaurants, from £31.00. A walk in the forest, £5.50. Your credit card bill at the end of the month, priceless!

The only thing I couldn't find a price for was air to breathe! Now I used to go quite regularly with a big crew of lads and lasses but jesus have the prices gone up or what!

It's not like the food is anything better than average or the rooms are anything more than basic. Ok, it's quite nice there, but for £990 I could fly me and the kids to LA.

I'm just glad I'm not paying :yes:

mybrainhurts

90,809 posts

284 months

Sunday 31st July 2005
quotequote all
A walk in the forest, £5.50

Eh, wot.....?

parrot of doom

23,075 posts

263 months

Sunday 31st July 2005
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I'd go to LA then tbh...

BliarOut

Original Poster:

72,863 posts

268 months

Sunday 31st July 2005
quotequote all
Ah, I wasn't very clear.... He's just come over from LA and paid £990 for a week!

parrot of doom

23,075 posts

263 months

Sunday 31st July 2005
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You should have told him to get a nice cottage up in Scotland/Wales for a week, much better IMO

Mrs Fish

30,018 posts

287 months

Sunday 31st July 2005
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BliarOut said:


I've just seen the price for one week, £990
:



A total rip off IMO.

alexkp

16,484 posts

273 months

Sunday 31st July 2005
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Centre Parcs is quite expensive - however they operate on about 95% full occupancy all year roud so they must be doing something right.

I have been a few times, and I think the main attraction is the security and safety - kids really can go off and have fun for the afternoon without having to worry about them.

mybrainhurts

90,809 posts

284 months

Sunday 31st July 2005
quotequote all
anonymous said:
[redacted]


You sure about that?

No weirdo's in the woods...?

How do they manage that.....minefields, or wot?

a2z

1,080 posts

255 months

Sunday 31st July 2005
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Didn't the one in Sherwood Forrest (I think) burn down a couple of years ago?

wedge girl

4,688 posts

268 months

Sunday 31st July 2005
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a2z said:
Didn't the one in Sherwood Forrest (I think) burn down a couple of years ago?


That was Elveden.

tvrforever

3,196 posts

294 months

Sunday 31st July 2005
quotequote all
wedge girl said:

a2z said:
Didn't the one in Sherwood Forrest (I think) burn down a couple of years ago?



That was Elveden.


Oh great - we're off to there with 3 friends and our baby daughter later in the year... Guess the firework shows & BBQs will be a little bit restricted then?

Went to Longleat last year and had a great time - bit pricey and could have done with a 'kids free' resteraunt but good enough for us to go again

alexkp

16,484 posts

273 months

Sunday 31st July 2005
quotequote all
mybrainhurts said:

anonymous said:
[redacted]



You sure about that?

No weirdo's in the woods...?

How do they manage that.....minefields, or wot?


Most Centre Parcs are quite remote (in British terms) and are completely surrounded by a high fence which has CCTV all around it. There is tight security on getting in and out also.

Nothing is 100%, but they take security of guests very seriously, because it is critical to their success.

BliarOut

Original Poster:

72,863 posts

268 months

Sunday 31st July 2005
quotequote all
tvrforever said:

wedge girl said:


a2z said:
Didn't the one in Sherwood Forrest (I think) burn down a couple of years ago?




That was Elveden.



Oh great - we're off to there with 3 friends and our baby daughter later in the year... Guess the firework shows & BBQs will be a little bit restricted then?

Went to Longleat last year and had a great time - bit pricey and could have done with a 'kids free' resteraunt but good enough for us to go again

The Elveden fire was a about three years ago IIRC. It's all been refurbed.... I hope. That's where I am off tomorrow

Muncher

12,235 posts

278 months

Sunday 31st July 2005
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I've been to Center Parcs Elvedon 14 times now to the one in Sherwood once.

It is relatively expensive, but it depends what you want to do.

The swimming pool is free and very good. The restaurants are not that expensive and there are several offering a big range in terms of price and food.

The reason it is so expensive is because of the time of year, if your friend went two weeks earlier it would have cost him less than half as much. It gets very expensive at the times of the school holidays.

The accomodation is actually pretty good and has improved a fair bit lately. When we went a few weeks back we had a 3 bedroom villa, not sure of the exact type though.

It had:

Personal Sauna
3x en suite bathrooms, one with whirlpool bath
TV in every bedroom
Digital safe
DVD RW thing for the TV
Dishwasher, microwave etc
A maid in every day to clean and bring new towels


Elvedon is much, much better than Sherwood and was so even before the fire.

If you go in peak times and eat out at the most expensive places every night it will get costly.

jessica

6,321 posts

281 months

Sunday 31st July 2005
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We used to go a lot when the children where small.
£990 a week is cheap.. It gets more expensive than that I am afraid.
We stopped going because it became totally corperate.
And the class of the clients started to drop.
People with no manners etc.

The whole atmosphere is nice,and yes if you have children over eight who can swim . you can let them et on with it all day and have some peace.

but for the money I prefer a villa in France

DocJock

8,722 posts

269 months

Sunday 31st July 2005
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You will pay less in euros for one on the continent than you pay in pounds for a UK one.

Look for the one at Heilbachsee.....25km from Nurburg

smokeylizard

54 posts

263 months

Sunday 31st July 2005
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jessica said:
class of the clients started to drop

Seconded, i went a few years ago then again more recently at sherwood and it seemed very expensive and actually, quite rough and ready in a lot of circumstances. Still would have thought its a good place to take young children because of the excellent safety aspects.

turbobloke

117,176 posts

289 months

Sunday 31st July 2005
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jessica said:
but for the money I prefer a villa in France
Fair point. Not had the pleasure of a frog villa but have been to Center Parcs in France, the one halfway to Le Mans from Calais, and that was OK. The peace, tranquility and enjoyment was only ever broken by one family of chavs - British of course Edited to add, that's imprecise and unfair, they were English.


>> Edited by turbobloke on Sunday 31st July 23:04

vrooom

3,763 posts

296 months

Monday 1st August 2005
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£5.50 for a bloody walk in a bloody forest. sod that!

polarbert

17,936 posts

260 months

Monday 1st August 2005
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my mate has been a few times, with his mate, they dont pay though. his mate is in the boot. he drives up to the security gate and waves at the guard, cus the guys on his own they assume he works there and they let him in. him and his mate enjoy a whole day of doing what they like there, before his mate hops back into the boot and they leave!

happy days!