There's a lot of chatter across social media around what to expect from Center Parcs - from the cost of the break, prices when you get there, the selection of activities available and the friendliness of other holiday makers. You hear things on social media like you can book an all inclusive abroad for less than a trip to a UK Center Parcs village so I figure its worthwhile sharing my opinion by writing an "Honest Review of Center Parcs" based on my trip from Glasgow down the M6 to Whinfell Forest just outside Penrith in May 2024.
I'm tackling this as a day by day account of the break and will sum up with a breakdown of the Good and the Bad.
Overview
We stayed Monday to Friday in mid-May 2024. Two paid extras we added to our booking were:
I'm tackling this as a day by day account of the break and will sum up with a breakdown of the Good and the Bad.
Overview
We stayed Monday to Friday in mid-May 2024. Two paid extras we added to our booking were:
- Early arrival: we choose this as we were travelling with a 1 and a 3 year old and thought best to get in the lodge that little bit early to get them naps and settled.
- Lodge preference: as we were travelling with young children we elected to choose our accommodation so we could ensure we were close to the Village Centre to minimise walking (or scooting) for our 3 year old.
We stayed at 17 Seven Pines which is a 4 Bedroom New Style Executive Lodge Two Storey. This basically means 2 bedrooms on the ground floor, 2 bedrooms upstairs and all bedrooms have an ensuite.
Monday
Staying in Glasgow the trip to Whinfell Forest is really easy. Get on the M74 and its a straight road down to Penrith, through a couple of roundabouts and boom - you're at Center Parcs.
Our trip down was pretty uneventful, we had to stop once to let the 3 year old do the toilet and aside from some torrential rain we got to Center Parcs no problem. We left Glasgow around 10am and got to Whinfell Forest just after 12pm.
As we had early arrival on our booking we went straight to the security gate rather than queuing at the arrivals lodge and were allowed onto the park right away so were able to park outside the lodge (despite not getting entry until 2pm).
We unpacked the pram, met some other members of our party and went to the Lakeside for a 'pub lunch'. The menu in the Lakeside quite limited however at lunch they have more options including a range of sandwiches. Lunch was probably comparable to a service station stop but for 4 adults and 2 kids it was around £80.
We headed back to the lodge for around 2pm and unloaded the cars and took them to the car park. I had booked into a Vend Electric EV charger, went down found my space (which wasn't ICEd thankfully, my prebooked ev charging spot at Sherwood Forest was ICEd last year and customer services weren't much help... story for another time). The Vend Electric app and user experience is terrible, easily the worst EV charging experience I've had in 4+ years of driving an electric vehicle. Myself and at least 3 other cars were struggling to get a charger to work, I gave up and headed back to my lodge. I was at 49% battery after the drive down so I was confident I could eek out the trip back without charging but I eventually got the Vend Electric app to work on the Thursday. I've written up a guide on how to use the Vend Electric charge points on our blog, check it out before you head to any Center Parcs Village with your EV.
For dinner on Monday night we had a quiet night in. We brought a fajita kit and some chicken in a cool bag so cooked in the lodge, relaxed with some beer/wine and everyone had an early night ready for the next day.
Tuesday
The Tuesday we had an early start. Breakfast in the lodge then out to the play park before heading to the Subtropical Swimming Paradise for some fun in the pool. The pools opens at 10am, we arrived shortly after and spent just over an hour messing about in the pool before heading up the road for lunch in the lodge.
We had a quick bite to eat and the 1 year old went for a nap while the 3 year old went to her first booked activity of the trip - Wizard Academy. It lasted 3 hours and the little one was dropped off and left without parent supervision. Over the 3 hours they learned about casting spells and decorated their own magical items (a rock which was painted and a wand) and got their own wizard costume.
It felt like really good value, the activity was around £30 and the little one came back excited and with a new interest in all thing witches and wizards.
While the 3 year old was in the activity we went a walk with the 1 year old after nap time.
Dinner on Tuesday was the Lakeside. On a Sunday and Tuesday they offer a roast/carvery which was a crowd pleaser. Per person it was around £20 which felt a bit expensive for what it was but everyone in the group enjoyed it.
Wednesday
Wednesday brought another early start with the 3 year old again booked into an activity in the activity den, this time Chocolate Chefs Academy. The 3 year old likes to help mum bake at home so we figured this was a good fit for her. While she did enjoy it the 'baking' was very basic - chocolate covered rice crispie cake, digestive biscuits with chocolate spread and sprinkles and some chocolate buttons.
I guess we avoided the tidying up.
After the academy we had lunch and went swimming in the afternoon. We stayed in the pool a tad longer this time and then went straight to the kiddies disco to let the little ones throw some shapes.
Some of our party used this day to head to the Aquasana Spa. They spent most of the day there, had a treatment and lunch there. Overall they came back relaxed and felt it was time well spent.
Dinner we tried a hint we had read about online. We ordered a takeaway from an Indian in Penrith. It was delivered to the security gate so one of the group headed down on their bike to grab the food. All in we had plenty of starters, 4 curries, rice, naan bread, dips and chips. It came to less than £70 delivered to the village. A really good alternative to the takeaway options onsite and substantially cheaper.
Thursday
Our last full day of the break. We started the day with a trip to the Sports Plaza for Football Fun Factory. Not a fan of football? Don't worry. Football is barely related to it You split into two teams and kick (or throw) a ball at a sticky dart board to win tokens for a giant Connect 4 and then move onto beat the goalie. It was good fun for all the family and got us all out the house together.
We then played some pool in the Sports Plaza before heading back to the lodge for lunch and naps. After lunch and naps we went back swimming before heading out for dinner.
Dinner was in Hucks around 5pm. Quite early because we wanted to miss the peak time rush and get the kids back up the road for a sleep. Service in Hucks is quite slow, food is mediocre and the service is average.
We headed up the road, kids to bed and I went to the car park to fight with the terrible Vend Electric mobile app.
Friday
Our cul-de-sac in Seven Pines had really limited parking. We had 4 cars come to our lodge alone (family coming from across Glasgow and Falkirk) so on the Friday we got up and out to collect our cars. Two cars packed and left before 9am.
We stayed on, packed up, took the car back to the car park and split up. My wife and eldest went swimming when the pool opened at 10am and I took the 1 year old a walk around the park to try get some sleep.
We then finally left around midday and drove straight home to Glasgow - no stops.
Was Center Parcs good value?
Overall I would say yes. But lets dive into it a bit more:
- Onsite eating wasn't cheap and by default a service charge is added to your bill. My advice is _do_ eat out onsite but not all the time, bring some dinners or order in from Penrith
- As a yard stick for costs, a pint of beer was at least £6.
- We did a handful of activities, the ones we did do we felt were good value. Don't cram your holiday with end to end activities. We used the swimming, softplays and play parks to keep kids busy.
- The cost of the accommodation was roughly £950 and was booked with the Come Back Soon offer which gave us the Center Parcs Price Promise. On the lead up to the actual holiday Come Back Soon Tracker alerted us to the price being cheaper on two occasions an in total we saved over £180
- We went in May while the schools were in, at school holidays the prices at Center Parcs are substantially higher. It is worth noting due to proximity to Scotland the Whinfell prices increase with Scottish school breaks (ie the Scottish schools typically finish up in June vs middle of July for English schools).
TL'DR Center Parcs at Whinfell Forest was a great break for the family. We took a few steps to save money here and there. I think if you try some of our hints and tips you too could save time and enhance your experience while staying at Whinfell Forest.
This post was written by Add Jam cofounder Michael Hayes. Michael stayed at Whinfell Forest in May. He and his family go to Center Parcs at least 3 times per year. Next trip planned is Winter Wonderland at Whinfell Forest in November 2024 to see Santa.
