Center Parcs & Butlins

pinkmami

thelawnet wrote: »

You can certainly leave, but the park is setup to keep you inside. According to Center Parcs own figures the average off-site spend is only 6 pounds/visitor/stay for all off-site spend - buying petrol, snacks, visiting local tourist attractions, etc.

I which way is the Parc set up to keep you in? Compared to Butlins that is?

thelawnet

pinkmami wrote: »

I which way is the Parc set up to keep you in? Compared to Butlins that is?

Center Parcs has only one exit, a car exit onto an access road, whereas Butlins has a foot exit right on to the sea front as well as a car exit, both of which are straightforward to access. By contrast it's over an hour's walk from the furthest part of Center Parcs to the car park, whereas it's five minutes walk or less in Butlins. Center Parcs build for motorway/dual carriageway access, so when you get out the gate you are nowhere (not good for cycling either), whereas out the exit at Butlins is a pedestrian-friendly town centre.

When we went to Butlins we spend as much outside as we did inside, whereas at Center Parcs we spent all our money inside the park, apart from a stop on the way home.

Spendless

We frequently holidayed at CP but changed to Butlins last year cos it is a trip we do with my elderly grandmother (87) and she is becoming less and less mobile.

After always going to Whinfell CP I was shocked how ugly Sherwoods is in comparison, Butlins (Silver) accom was a lot nicer than Sherwood, and the 3rd bedroom at Sherwood which was a bunk bed room plus what looked like a bookcase as the only place to store clothes,was ermmmmm not quite what I was expecting.

I was impressed that it was only £10 to request a ground floor apartment at Butlins, having spent upto £60 at CP to name accommoation so Granny doesn't need to walk far.

At Butlins we could nip granny in the car upto the pavillion or beach. I do understand what people are saying about how you feel 'enclosed' in CP. Our last break the only cash machine at Whinfell was out of order for nearly 48 hrs, and the shops though they do cashback did not do visa cashback which is what our debit card is. We kept on putting off going to get the car because we felt by the time we'd walked down there got it out, drove to Penrith and back, we'd not only have taken a chunk out of our day but it would be fixed by then...how wrong we were. And yes, we did need a small amount of change due to the kids playing on air hockey machines on an evening.

I do find Butlins evening entertainment better, though the queues were long (BH weekend). And I felt how messy it got was due to the lower staff ratios than CP have.

There's a lack of choice where to eat though early afternoon, and that's something I'd be prepared for in future.

Have only used the spa at CP so can't comment but I used it in conjunction with the Time out club, which cost around £15 for 3 hours. My kids are too old now but I saw the Butlins nursery advertised as £5 for 2 hours. I don't know if it's me looking at the brochure wrong, but though CP will offer clubs for kids, without parents from all ages, Butlins seems to be offerring nursery 0-5 and a kids club 9-12 then teenagers, and seems to have missed the 6-8 age bracket out? (of which I have a child in that age).

I would still (sometimes) go to CP, but now the discount codes have gone, I think it's less value for money and it's no longer ticking the boxes for us who are holidaying with 4 generations.

charis18uk

thelawnet wrote: »

Depends what you mean by 'spa'. We don't particularly see the point of sitting in the steam room or whatever for three hours, but yes it's true the Center Parcs has more extensive facilities

If you are having a 'treatment', e.g., massage, then it comes down to the quality of the individual therapist. It's difficult therefore to compare, however the treatment brochure at Butlins was pretty extensive and somewhat cheaper also.

That wasn't my experience this last couple of days in Bognor. Perhaps they have been refurbished recently, but I certainly didn't see any problems. The ones at Center Parcs are ok, but for example:

Center Parcs Tree Tops course - cost £25 and is clearly not a patch on any of the Go Ape courses
Climbing wall - very basic, not comparable to a specialist facility such as Craggy Island, where I go weekly
Bowling green - we paid £10 for an hour, which is more expensive than you'd pay outside the park and the green was poorly surfaced, and we had to share with another party
Pool table - no chalk was available

The off-site paintball was about 50% more expensive than playing privately at the same course. I'm sure you could go down the list and find that all the activities are overpriced and don't reach the standards of specialist centres.

Rather than paying hundreds to stay at Center Parcs and then hundreds more for their activities, you'd be better off doing the same thing offsite.

Maybe it depends when and where you go, but on our stay I'd never seen so many children under 10. There were virtually no teens on site, and no loud or obnoxious behaviour at all.

Can't comment, I didn't even contemplate staying in one of their chalets - it's not compulsory, but let's compare like for like, May 16 midweek at Butlins, £265 buys you a room with oblique sea view in the Shoreline Hotel, that's a separate children's sleeping area with 2 bunk beds, TV + dvd player, with king-size bed for parents with their own TV + DVD player, or you can pay £379 for a Comfort Villa at Center Parcs.

Center Parcs is fairly peaceful, but you've still got chalets to your front, rear, left and right, if you're really looking for that you'd be better off booking a cottage somewhere properly secluded. If you don't want to stay in Butlins you can walk along the sea front or do whatever you like, and at the end of the day you've got a decent hotel room to sleep in.

I didn't even contemplate the inclusive buffets tbh, not my thing at all. We ate here:

http://47musselrow.co.uk/

and here:

http://www.eastbeachcafe.co.uk/

both classy restaurants, a few minutes drive from Bognor - quicker than getting to the on-site restaurants from certain parts of Center Parcs, and a proper one-off experience unlike the chain restaurants (which are as you would expect) and truly disgusting Sports Cafe and Pancake House we tried at Center Parcs.

The food at Center Parcs is let's face it poor. It is at Butlins too, but the difference is at Butlins you aren't trapped in a plastic pine forest, the exit is just across the car park, so you can spend as much - or as little - time in the 'brash' Butlins as you want - when we got there we walked straight out and bought fish and chips from the hut on the seafront and sat eating it on the beach, much nicer than sitting in the chalet at Center Parcs or in their dome thing.

The supermarket was rather poor and expensive, but again you can be out the gate and in a proper supermarket in just a few minutes. The supermarket was really the one thing that I felt was a rip-off at Butlins - whereas pretty much everything at Center Parcs is extortionately priced, plenty of stuff at Butlins was cheaper than I'd pay locally - for instance I paid £2.10 for a Pimms from the pub.

Hmm, I believe they are building one near Luton, tbh I don't think any of them are genuinely remote, it just seems that way when you are inside.

Each to his own of course... I was just expressing my surprise really, I thought it would be horrible and full of chavs, and actually it was quite pleasant. And of course for our kids (3 and 8) there was just no comparison at all, Butlins is far more appealing. Consider that if you hate it you don't really have to spend any time there and you've not lost out, whereas if you are at Center Parcs and decide that staying in a forest with hundreds of chalets in it is not your idea of getting close to nature, then you really are stuffed.

Ah well that wasn't possible at Center Parcs. The only massage available (which my wife wanted) when I checked shortly after booking (which admittedly was at short notice) was a couple's massage. Also because there is pressure to pre-book sessions at Center Parcs, we booked the High Ropes as a family (except for the youngest) and therefore had to book the creche as well. At Butlins, the High Ropes was just turn up and pay, no real queue, and it was next to the sandpit and playground, so taking turns there was much more practical compare to Center Parcs where different activities can be long distances apart - not great if you have children of different ages or with different interests.



Well there were certainly some rough looking people around the camp (didn't see any pets though?), didn't cause us any issues at all though, no bad language or anything, I think the hotel guests were upmarket of the chalet guests, FWIW.

What the devil does FWIW mean!

charis18uk

By the way, all my comments relate to Elveden Center Parcs, so perhaps the issue is Sherwood Forest!?!

blue_monkey_2

charis18uk wrote: »

What the devil does FWIW mean!

For What It's Worth

Reeves

FWIW I'm not intending to troll here but I do think the op has spent rather a little too long over analysing this subject.

blue_monkey_2

LOL. It's Butlins all the way for us too. When my friends tell me they have been to CP and that they spend the night in chating or watching TV and there is nothing to do in the evening, I kind of figure I could have done that at home.

In regards to kids clubs. As it is our holiday I like to spend it with my kids and doing things with them so we never stick them in kids clubs, we go out for the day or do things in the park together, shows, swimming or rides.

I've never seen groups of teens having around unless they are with family, they have loads of things for teens to do at Butlins and their own seperate clubs so they are usually there. if you have seen groups of teens I'd asume it is because they are with their own large party and are all out together instead of going to the clubs. It IS a bit chavvy but I do not go there to go mingle with other people, I go to make the most of my holiday. We met a really nice family when we as there last time though and the kids spent time playing together.

However, our other holidays in the next year are Disneyland Paris and Orlando so we like full on in your face busy. We have just come back from Orlando too. The thought of spending my days riding a bike through the trees (I hate cycling) and having a hike to get home just isn't doing it for me. My friend came back and asked why everyone was wearing 'Bench' while she was there, LOL. I live in the country and can see fields and trees out of my windows whenever I want. I spend my days walking the dogs in the fields and woods - why on earth I would then go on holiday and pay for that and have not a lot ot do unless I pay out MORE money, I have no idea, I really cannot see the point of CP.

pinkmami

I also live in the countryside (on a small holding in fact) and I'm surrounded by trees & fields & we love CP. For the very reason you mentioned in your post - the other place is CHAVVY!!!! Good enough reason for me!

A "holiday" means many different reasons. You may not like to sit in & chat but to others who may lead busy lives they like to take the quality time to "stay in & chat" as it could be the only chance they get.

hyltonlad

i find we can have as much chill out time at butlins or a chat over a drink but if we want to have buckets full of fun we can.P,S butlins must be doing something right they are 75 today.
hyltonlad