I've written extensively before about the terrible experience of using VendElectric to charge my EV at Center Parcs. Come June 2025 that is going to hopefully change as Center Parcs switches to Monta.
Perfect EV destination
In theory Center Parcs is the perfect place to go on holiday with an EV. You park up and the car usually wont turn a wheel until the morning you're leaving. That's a solid 3, 4 or 7 nights for it to charge and in a future world of a smart adaptive grid the car can charge when demand is low or generation (from wind or solar) is up.
With VendElectric this was far from perfect - it was a nightmare.
Buggy app and web app. Confusing interface. Poor support. To get it working you really needed to top up your wallet before heading down.
Hello Monta
Monta is a the new provider at Center Parcs. You can use the App Clip via the QR code on the charger or download the Monta app:
Perfect EV destination
In theory Center Parcs is the perfect place to go on holiday with an EV. You park up and the car usually wont turn a wheel until the morning you're leaving. That's a solid 3, 4 or 7 nights for it to charge and in a future world of a smart adaptive grid the car can charge when demand is low or generation (from wind or solar) is up.
With VendElectric this was far from perfect - it was a nightmare.
Buggy app and web app. Confusing interface. Poor support. To get it working you really needed to top up your wallet before heading down.
Hello Monta
Monta is a the new provider at Center Parcs. You can use the App Clip via the QR code on the charger or download the Monta app:
Monta is widely used across the UK and the app is much better designed and more stable than the poor VendElectric app.
Tips for charging
Monta is new but the advice for charging at Center Parcs remains the same:
- Get the app (linked above) before hand. Before heading to the car park also try make an account and ensure you have a payment method
- Bring your cable, the EV chargers in Center Parcs are untethered so you will need a cable. If you don't have one you can get them from Amazon or Halfords.
- Make sure you have enough charge in your phone and data in your plan (WiFi can be patchy at the EV chargers)
My experience with Monta
I actually have more familiarity with Monta than most having made several apps and web services using the Monta Partner API.
They're a fast growing company with thousands upon thousands of charge points across Europe (and now expanding into America). It's a good move to see Center Parcs move to using Monta and hopefully they will even start to integrate the chargers, reservations and paying for charge sessions into the existing Center Parcs account as one cohesive experience (I know from experiences of using the Monta API that its doable).
