Sunparks Resorts Belgium

princess

http://www.sunparks.com/en/waarom_sunparks.dhtml

Has anyone ever used these resorts? I was recommended to them by a friend, and was hoping to get more info from money savers. apparently they are like a basic centreparcs - but loads cheaper. thanks for any info anyone has.

pompeyrich

Never stayed at one but have visited De Haan and Oistduinkerke as a day visitor, the pool was really good and the villages were nicely laid out. Most of the other activities are chargeable but the is plenty to do off the park.

trisontana

I have stayed at both resorts on the coast but it was over 10 years ago. I found them very good. The bungalows were very comfortable , there was plenty of sports facilities and the pool was excellent. One word of warning. If you want to use the sauna and steam rooms the majority of both male and female don't bother with any clothes at all. But you soon get used to it! Of course this could have changed since I was there.

We were at the Oistduinkerke park during a very cold and snowy February. It was lovely. We had a log fire in the house every night , the lake was frozen and people were skating and it was realy good to swim in the very warm pool and look out onto the snowy landscape.

princess

the sauna arrangements sound like another reason to go:)

sjpkgp

Our family went to Oistduinkerke last year (2 adults, 2 kids). It was okay. We had a two bed basic villa (which was fine, clean but basic, had everything we needed in it, one double room and one bunk room with a cot in it). I didn't think much of the centre itself (really packed at night, seemed to be a lot of older kids on football tours etc) Was not that clean. Food in the restaurants was terrible. We went for one of the all you can eat buffets (tepid, poor quality, sporadic service), although the setting of the restaurant was nice so it was a shame.

On the positive side the swimming pool was really good (great fun) and there is a lovely beach 10 minutes away. It is also only a ten minute walk to the tram which takes you up and down the coast. There is a playground outside the centre which was also well equipped. The shop was OK also.

We have been to loads of holiday parks (British Holidays, Flamingoland, Center Parcs etc..) and I would put it more in the British Holidays standard rather than the Center Parcs standard. I think my expectations were too high (I thought it was going to be more like the latter). It was cold when we went, and that always spoils things a bit wherever you are.

We went when it was cheap so all in all, we got our money's worth !

scottishlizzie

We went to Oostendkirke in March 2004 and had a great time. We went for a Family Paradise (or something like that) Villa which had two twin bedrooms and a play room. Our two boys didn't share well at the time so we let the little one sleep in the play room although we actually had to dismantle and re-assemble the cot to get it through the doors (take a travel cot!).

We went swimming every day but usually only for an hour or so at the end of the day. We wanted to travel around too and visited the DDay beaches, Ypres, Brugges and France. You can also get to Brussels although we didn't manage that.

We had lovely sunny weather and managed even to get on the beach but not swimming (hey it was March). The beaches were clean and wide but lined with miles and miles of new high rise apartments so not very aesthetically pleasing. A bit like Benidorm but cleaner, quieter and no English bars (surely a bonus).

We also visited another Sunpark for the day along the coast at De Haan. The town is nicer than Oostendkirke (which itself is nice) but we didn't think the pool complex was as good.

Standard-wise our villa was very clean and looked like it had been recently updated. The pool complex was not quite as shiny as Centre Parcs but for the price difference was much better value.

Note a previous poster's comments about school trip parties, we noticed this too and also towards the week-end groups of late teen and early twenties parties on their own. However, you can request a quiet location and we never heard any noise at night and never felt crowded or were aware of rowdiness in the pool complex.

All in all, excellent value and would definitely go again.