Tips for centre parcs

frizz_head

Shrimpers,

Always best to go straight to the Cycle Centre as soon as you arrive - you can't access the villas until 4pm, so we always tend to arrive at 11am ish and head straight to the Cycle place and then onto the pool.

Very envious! Hope you have a great time!

Frizz

Shez

Shrimpers_Joy wrote:

We are off to Elveden on 12th Sep for a midweek stay, with a 10 month old - do the baby buggy trailers for the bikes hire out quickly??

I'm guessing they probably do - I want to get a bike with a child seat on the back - I did try and ring and reserve one but you cant - its first come first served - so i aim to get there earlier.

The villas (as you probably already know) are available at 3pm in Elveden.

Shez

just as a matter of interest........can anyone tell me what they do with taking food.

I shall be taking most things with me, but am worried about taking a few frozen bits and pieces, by the time i drive in the car (which is about 2 hrs) will it keep in a cool bag with ice till i get there?

be interested to know what everyone else does or do you just buy the frozen stuff in the supermarket???

Shez

Shrimpers_Joy wrote:

We are off to Elveden on 12th Sep for a midweek stay, with a 10 month old - do the baby buggy trailers for the bikes hire out quickly??

just a note - dont know what youre 10 month old is like for sitting up - cos they only give you a trailer if they can sit up properly unaided from 6 months i think as i seem to remember when mine were that age - maybe someone else here can clarify this point if theyve been recently?

Have fun though - i cant wait, this time tomorrow i'm gonna be down those rapids!!!!

Shez

Got back from CP Elveden yesterday - had a fab time!!!

Park is much much better than it used to be years ago, before the fire - the village and restaurants are much better laid out and nicer than before where they were all crammed in under one roof. supermarket much bigger now. I took loads of food, but to be honest the prices werent that much more expensive than asda. They did hot chickens £3.99, (asda are 3.28) lovely bakery items, hot sausage rolls etc. Bread was about 10p a loaf more than asda, so not too bad considering.

Didnt go in the restaurants as ive got 2 little ones who just dont sit still long enough to enjoy a meal - but they looked very nice.

Villa: only had a 3 Bed comfort one, but very nice decor indeed, much better than they used to be.

Swimming was great of course, the rapids still good fun - although they are much bigger and better at Longleat and they have a few more slides but its a much bigger site. The kids pool was good, sand pit, 2 slides, pool in the shape of pirate boat. Seemed plenty of seating there with playpens too.

Elveden of course is much smaller and flatter so if you have to walk (like my mum does cos she wont cycle) it wasnt too far - unlike Longleat which we had to wait for that little train to pick you up!!

Also Elveden is very easy for me to get to for the weekend just straight up the M11/A11 from London.

Did the badminton and table tennis, sports facilities looked good. My husband and older son did the quad biking (off centre) which they said were great.
A lot of people seemed to be doing the Action Challenge. I wanted to go on those Big Trampolenes but didnt get time!

I guess the parcs are all good in their own ways, i havent tried Sherwood or Oasis yet.

and still great FUN!!!!!! cant wait to book again for next year!

Helen_from_yorkshire

The only park I've not been to is Elveden but I personally wouldn't recommend the Oasis park to anyone. The sub tropical paradise is like a municipal swimming pool - all white tiles, chrome handrails and perspex whereas the others are more tropical and natural products are used, ie stone floors/rope handles etc, although I cant speak for Elveden.

The pool, all restaurants and the shop are all under one roof at Oasis. It feels like you are at a large shopping centre and you don't get the feeling of being outside in the woods like you do at Sherwood or Longleat.

I think most of the problems with the layout at Oasis is because this park belonged to a different company which was bought out by Centerparcs, rather than the site being constructed by CP initially. It is of note that CP offer larger discounts for accommodation at Oasis than they do at other parcs so this could suggest many other people feel the same way, either that or because it is not as popular due to its location.

It would be interesting to hear other MSEs views of the parc at Oasis.