Centre parc or Haven

moneysaver12

Hi i am trying to decide whether to go to centre park for a holiday or to a haven site, was thinking of winfell for centre parc. primrose valley, thorpe park or one in wales for haven.

We are looking at going at the begining of September. There is me and my husband and we have a little boy who will be 23 months old and will have a three month old baby. My little boy does like swimming. Im not sure which would be more suitable for him at the age he is.

Can anyone help please, we have never been to a centre parc or haven before.

artichoke

;)hi

I think it depends what activities / relaxation you want on a holiday, and how you want to spend your evenings. Why not watch the videos on the websites and see how different the two types of holiday are?

Centre Parcs are car free sites so they are perfect for cycling - most people hire bikes with a trailer behind so your children could go in the trailer to move around the park. When we went our kids loved being in the back of the bikes and cycling around with them in the back became an activity in itself. Centre Parks would be an ideal location for your nearly 2 year old to begin to learn to ride a bike if that idea appeals to you.


Centre Parcs accommodation is wooden lodges - and at Whinfell they are all quite new looking (compared to say Sherwood Forest). CP are set in forests and so you get lots of wildlife coming to your back door for the kids to watch. You would probably get a 2 bed lodge and have the option of either cooking yourself or eating out at the many chain restaurants in the Centre Parcs complex. Most restaurants have a soft play area attached for the kids to play whilst you eat. There is no evening entertainment at CP usually - people tend to "eat out" for evening activities. Whinfell used to have a pub that had a soft play area within it. I have not been to whinfell for about 4 years so not sure exactly what is there anymore.


Whinfell has a great swimming pool which is free and lots of other activities which you have to pay for...

there is an adventure playground which is free.


Haven sites are usually caravan accommodation - you usually can not get a travel cot into the bedrooms so might have to put the cot in the lounge. The Havens all have good pools - but the pool at Whinfell is more luxurious - with warmer air temp and loungers by the side of the pool etc.. better perhaps for you with a small baby as you can get out of the pool and feed the baby and then get back in again.

The evening entertainment at Haven is designed for children - your 2 year old is probably just getting to the right age but might be a bit young- it depends how outgoing they are.... The entertainment is in the showbar - children go up onto the dancefloor if they want to and the characters put on little shows for them, the kids are up dancing with their mums and dads if they want to join in.. or mums and dads sit watching having a drink.

The first time we went DD who was 4 loved it and DS who was 3 was petrified of the characters for the first few nights but then gradually joined in.

The Havens you mention Primrose Valley, and Thorpe Park are all action sites with lots of sports activities and entertainment.

I imagine that CP is more expensive than Haven - even for September.

We used to go to CP when the kids were babies as we used to spend the daytime swimming, cycling with the kids in the trailer and then spend the evenings relaxing watching a DVD in the lodge whilst they slept.

But now they are older 6 and 7 CP is too expensive for us as we can only go in school holidays and the kids much prefer the entertainment at Haven in the evenings as they spend all evening (until 8.30 or 9pm) dancing away with the Funstars or watching the shows.

If it was me - I would say go to CP now whilst you can go in term time when it is so much cheaper - hire a trailer, and take a bike for your 2 year old to learn in a safe environment, spend hours in the warm "tropical paradise" of the swimming pool, and when the children are older you can explore the mixed delights and horrors of Haven:eek:

But basically they are very different types of holidays - hopefully others will come along and give their opinions too.

I am biased although i loved the environment of CP and the safe cycling - we dont like eating out in chain restaurants- so the whole set up of CP around coffee shops and restaurants really puts me off. We live in the countryside and so the whole forest setting / wildlife friendly nature of CP is great but is nothing new for my own kids as i work on an organic farm in the moors. I do understand that the forest setting and the wildlife is appealing to many who don't see this kind of thing every day. Now my kids are older - primary school age - we go the different Havens as the seaside / beach is what appeals to them now as we live so far from the sea.

My ideal would be a combination of both - maybe that is a new business venture for someone - to set up a holiday parks that was car free - with safe cycling like at CP, but on beach side locations, with evening entertainment for children, lots of sports activities to choose from (which both CP and Haven's larger parks provide) fantastic swimming pool, ..and a selection of independent restaurants serving locally sourced food - - well i can dream;)

Art

dmbw

I just stumbled on this thread but just wanted to say thankyou Artuchoke for such a lengthy reply, i found it really helpful!

samsil

hi there, thankyou too artichoke i am always drawn to your posts, i have noticed! very informative, thankyou....!
hi there again moneysaver 12, if you havent been to either, centerparcs is generally more up-market feel (ok only my opinion no-one shoot me lol)... but is more expensive. We love centerparcs,but totally in agreement with artichoke, we can only go in school hols now when its expensive, and have diverted to the newspaper deals at havens, just to get a break.
If i were you I'd go to CP, (we think sherwoods nicest but again, IMHO)....go while you can go in term time, and possibly use a discount code to get it cheaper....
oh, and at centreparcs if you wanted to do a toddler craft activity etc it'd probably come at a price (I think they do still charge for all activities?) whereas at haven its usually free.......

haven and centreparcs both have different feels but while they were very small it was nice to be at centerparcs because you could usually find a quiet spot while the babies nap in buggies, i think CP is the more relaxing option - save Haven for later?

HTH

flutterby_lil

What about Park Dean instead of Haven?

I went to lots of Haven Parks when younger. We have just booked Park Dean in Norfolk for July, will have a 3 month old baby and a little boy who will be 4 when there.

CP charge for all activities when you are there and in my opinion it is expensive to book the accomodation. I have never been to centre parcs but may try it when the children are older as it seems more mountain biking activities etc.

moneysaver12

Thankyou all for your help. Had a look at park dean, they are much further than we would like to travel.

OneYorkshireLass

Re Haven sites in Wales. Greenacres is great for small children - http://www.haven.com/parks/north-wales/greenacres/

There is direct access onto the beach (Black Rock Sands - very wide beach, miles long), a toddler pool as well as a main pool (main pool needs an upgrade though IMO), a new-ish Splashzone etc.

The site is large but well laid out and flat and it's a two minute drive away from the nearest town (Porthmadog - large Tesco and local shops), there's also a shop on-site (bit expensive), or a Spar down the road.

FYI - there's open water on-site (two small ponds and a brook), and I have to say that for my own peace of mind because I'm not sure the staff tell parents (although you get a map with them showing) .... a child died there some years ago when he wandered off from his parents.

just_looking_2

Don't do center parcs with kids that age, nothing to do but swim for them. Go to somewhere like primrose valley, lots to do, entertainment for them in the evening. As for travel cot not fitting in a bedroom, I've never experienced that in any caravan I've been in. Get a three bedroom van and you'll have plenty of room. ANd have fun!

pinkmami

I'm a huge CP fan. Never been to Haven...don't find them appealing (had a bad experience at Woolacombe Holiday park a few yrs a go & its similar to Haven). I 1st took my kids to CP when they were 3.5yrs & 18 months old & we had a great time. There is a great soft play in the Sports Plaza @ Whinfell & its very reasonably priced. IMO your little one will won't actually "do" much but play but you have 3-4 of these play areas there Swimming for the kids is great as they have small pools & much warmer water! We also love walking round & spending time relaxing.

In fact I'm off there tomorrow for 4 nights!

Tigsteroonie

artichoke wrote: »

Haven sites are usually caravan accommodation - you usually can not get a travel cot into the bedrooms so might have to put the cot in the lounge.

Can I just say that I've never had a problem with a Haven caravan - one time we stacked one mattress on top of the second bed, turned the bedframe on its side, and erected the travel cot in the space between the bed's legs. Every other time we contacted Reception and asked them to remove a bed & mattress from one room, creating a space for the travel cot, which they did within an hour of request.

apesxx

we've always been given a 3 bed when we've been to haven and travelled with a small child so we just stacked the bed frames on top of each other on one side of the room and errected the travel cot on the other. granted the rooms are not massive but it fit in at a squeeze. I have however never been able to fit a travel cot in the master room of the caravan, but with a 3 month old he/she'd still prob fit in a moses basket or carry cot off the pram which would fit fine x

with your 2 year old i would just take a bed guard. Ds was only just 2 when we went last year and he slept in the bed fine with a guard on. remember with caravan homes that they get very, very cold at night, even when its nice weather so take extra blankets x