Center Parcs in the Netherlands

tmp_3

Hi,
I am planning a holiday to Center Parcs in Holland for late August.There seem to be several sites to choose from and I would be grateful if anyone can give me some advise on which one to go for.
It will be hubby,two sons and myself,and we are going to use the Stena HHS from Harwich.
Also interested to know if people would consider booking ferry and Center Parcs villa separately or using Cresta to book a package.
Thanks

Dumyat

there are other similar parks in holland... https://www.landalgreenparks.com which are featured in hoseasons brochure.

we're going to a landal park...booked direct - half the price of hoseasons...and using easyjet flights/hire car (two weeks all in...under £1200 for family of four)

wishingwell

We've have been to: De Eemhof; Het Heiderbos and De Kempervenen all of them equally good and excellent value compared with their UK counterparts. Having looked at the map they all seem roughly equi- distant from the Hook of Holland so I'd look at the facilities that you require. Het Heiderbos has a wonderful Jungle Dome (adventure park) and is great for kids up to 16 although bigger kids (adults) have been known to join in. De Kempervenen is close to the Belgium border and has the advantage of an indoor ski centre - but it does add to the cost of the holiday when all sports activities (except swimming) are additional expenses. De Eemhof is based around a lot of lakes so you are more or less guaranteed to be near the water front. I would advise taking some mosiquto repellant and cream though, as near the lake they can be a bit of a nuisance if they are usually attracted to you.
Its not huge, so the native "Dutch" people don't tend to cycle as much and I suppose its not that much of a novelty for them as they tend to cycle everyday. It is good for sailing and is handy if you want to have a day trip to Amsterdam or Amersfoot or even up to the Dolphinarium along the coast. There is also a designer outlet about 45 mins drive away which can be useful for bargain hunters.
I would recommend going for a VIP villa as you get spoilt with a sauna and lovely fresh rolls every morning plus a few coupons for the grocery store. The Dutch don't have ovens though - (microwave or hob is the option) We went to De Eemhof in August last year and had no problems booking any restaurant, any activity or travelling around. (The Dutch speak excellent English). There are only the usually CNN and eurosport channels that are dedicated to English but lots of films are in English if you want a lazy night in after a day full of exercise. If you're near to Stansted you could also consider flying to Eindhoven on a cheap Ryannair flight and hiring a car at the airport. From Eindhoven Het Heiderbos and De Kempervenen are not very far.... or even de Vossermeren (personally my favourite - as it has adventure dome plus all the water facilites as well). However there are not many places to visit over Eindhoven way so we generally stayed on the park or just visited the local villages.
Have a good time if you go.

Blarm

Been to De Kempervenen twice. Used Dover-Ostend and Dover-Calais ferry crossings. Dover-Calais is best as its much quicker to drive the extra miles than sit on the ferry for over an extra hour.

Center Parcs in Holland is much better value than UK (even including the ferry crossing it worked out cheaper). The Dutch people are extremely friendly and helpful and speak perfect English. They let you come and go from the site freely with hired bikes.

If you use the indoor ski centre ask about the price of a weekly off-peak pass (6-11pm evenings). Its not advertised anywhere but works out extremely good value. The ski centre accepts only VISA and not MasterCard.