I was very lucky to have been chosen as one of Center Parcs’ Family Bloggers for 2014 and we have recently returned from our short family break at Center Parcs Longleat.
We opted for a Monday-Friday four night stay which was within one of their three bedroom Woodland Lodges. A fabulous time was had by all and below you will see how we got on along with some of our top tips to make the most of your stay.
- Check in online prior to arrival. This made our arrival very straightforward as, on arriving at the check-in lodge, we could simply hand over our booking reference and were given the keys to our lodge straight away thus maximising holiday time. We got there around 1pm as we had been advised that queues to check in can get quite lengthy. Although you cannot gain access to the accommodation until 3pm it is just a short walk from the car-park to the Plaza where there are multiple cafes, shops and restaurants and even a small supermarket if you need to stock up on supplies for the week. They even have awesome child-sized trollies which, quite frankly, I wish every supermarket would stock.
- If you are worried about lugging lots of shopping about, don’t. Spend more than £40 and your groceries will be delivered to your lodge for free, and perishables placed in the fridge leaving you free to go out and enjoy yourselves.
- Invest in a Family Grocery Pack. Again, this can be done online prior to arrival at a cost of about £50 and will be waiting in your lodge on arrival. We were lucky enough to have one of these included in our package and it really saved on packing containing many of the essentials for the week such as tea, coffee, milk, sugar, eggs, sausages, bacon, washing up liquid, jams, cereals, bread, biscuits, squash and much more. I would highly recommend it.
- Swim early on Tuesdays with under-fives. We had actually booked swimming lessons for both The Boy and Little Miss which were both early on Tuesday meaning we were at the Tropical Swimming Paradise first thing. The lessons were brilliant with lots of splashing, singing and a really encouraging instructor who put the children at ease and made for a great introduction to the main swimming pool. Once all the lessons had concluded all adults with children under five, even those whose children had not had lessons, were allowed into the main pool at 9:30am. This allowed the smaller children half an hour to familiarise themselves with the pool and perhaps gain a little confidence in the water before the rest of the public entered at 10am and things got much busier. We were also thrilled when offered use of a car-seat poolside to place Little Miss in while we grabbed a coffee up at the Canopy Cafe poolside. Such a simple but brilliant idea that really made life easier. These can be requested from staff poolside and are free of charge.
- Book activities prior to arrival. We were delighted that we had a ten-pin bowling session booked as, sadly, the weather took a turn for the worse and this suddenly became very popular. This was such a fun activity with the boy. He was so delighted when handed his own little bowling shoes and there are amazing ramps available for kids to roll their bowling-balls down which glow in the dark, along with buffers to make sure at least some pins fell down. Here is how we got on:
- Get out and about. As well as the Tropical swimming paradise there are also plenty of things for kids to do around the village without having to pay for any activities. Of course there are numerous cycle tracks but there are also multiple playgrounds and parks and even a small beach by the lake.
Granny and The Boy had tonnes of fun and Daddy liked the beach.
- In fact one of the boy’s favourite activities was navigating his way through a small outdoor maze in search of ‘The Little Green Man’ in the middle. He wanted to do it over and over again. Here he is in action.
- Remember to relax. With so much fun to be had outdoors it can be easy to forget to take time to relax. The lodges are really comfortable and spacious and perhaps my only regret is that we did not spend a little more time there just relaxing. There is a floor-to ceiling chalkboard which is great for little ones, or a bit of late-night hang-man post dinner! There is also a TV and DVD player in the lounge if you do wish to snuggle up and catch a movie. We brought our first meal with us and simply reheated in the microwave so there was no need to search out a restaurant on the first night, or wait in for takeaway which is also available. If we were to visit again, which I really hope to do, I would definitely consider extending our stay to a week to allow for just a little more down-time.
As a family break I really cannot recommend Center Parcs Longleat highly enough. It has been incredibly well thought out, there is truly something for everyone to enjoy and the accommodation is extremely comfortable.
He looks very dashing in his bowling shoes and if his exploits in the maze are anything to go by, he’s destined for a life chock full of action and intrigue.
Yay, let’s hope so….I think.
Great tips here. What a fab idea to have a chalk board: we would have loved that when my boy was little.
The boy ran straight to it as soon as we got there. Really loved it.
Oh we have been looking at CP for Christmas, this is our closest. I’ve added this to my faves on my laptop so I can come back and convince Hoff that it’s a good idea!
Go go go! I would LOVE to go at Christmas, I think it would look really magical.
I’ve heard they make a real effort with their decs etc. I am working on it!
I think Rebecca at Here Come The Girls went at Xmas. Am sure I remember seeing some beautiful pictures on her blog.
I would LOVE to go there for Xmas!
What a lovely break – it’s great when things like early swimming have been thought through – it makes the experience so much more pleasurable for everyone
It really does and TBH there were just so many little things that they had thought of which made holidaying with kids so much easier. Really impressed.
your post really wants me to book a week there. So nice and wonderful!
If you ever do get the chance Otilia go. Your girls would love it 🙂
I do love the UK centerparcs, we had so many great family holidays there! It’s just so well organised isn’t it? 🙂
It really is and the little touches like the chalkboard, and kids being given crayons in every restaurant really make all the difference.
You know, I have never been!
Maggy, you should definitely go. Maybe they could hire you for a craft demo in return?!
Looks like you all had a blast! I hear that Center Parcs is the place to be when the weather turns bad as there are so many indoor activities to do. Does sound like the best tip is to book things in advance though. I think we’ll take our family when our little ones are a couple of years older.
Yes, as they get older there would certainly be more to do and I would definitely recommend booking. Having said that we went with a 3 year old and a baby. The toddler had a blast and the baby loved the water. They keep the water nice and warm for littlies too.
I’ve never been to a Centre Parcs and just recently I keep hearing how fabulous they are. Glad you had a good time. mich x
We really did Mich. Didn’t want to leave LOL.
some fab tips! we are huge centre parcs fans!
Now we are too! Hope we can go back again next year.
Only been to Centre Parcs once, many years ago but we loved it. Sounds like you had a great time, great tips.
We really did Jen. It is definitely worth some pre-trip preparation but so easy to do online.
ronnie has been asking to go after seeing the adverts on tv, he really likes the american authors song too i hope he doesn’t expect it to be playing when we get there!
looks like you had a fab time x
You should definitely take him Vanessa. You would have a blast 🙂
Oh some great tips there, especially online check in, I had no idea abut that. Great post.
Thank you. Are you going soon?
Just LOVE center parcs
Looks like a fun trip! (visiting from parenting-pin-it-party, bphotoart)
Congrats on being chosen as one of their Blog Family. Looks like you had fun =)
Sounds like you had a great time and some great hints – it can be so stressful travelling with little ones! Thanks for linking up to this weeks Parenting Pin it Party
I’ve never been to Centre Parcs – always thought it would be too claustrophobic for my tastes but it does sound very family friendly, you’ve opened my mind somewhat. I’ll pin it for the Parenting Pin It Party.
My husband had EXACTLY that concern. He is a total convert and now an even bigger fan than me. I worried about it being busy in school holidays etc too but it was apparently running at over 90% capacity during our stay and did not seem at all overcrowded.