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Center Parcs advice

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I need a break and I've just booked 4 days at Centre Parcs Elvendon Forest for James and I from 14th April. It means taking him out of school but his head already said she wouldn't mind - my holidays are a week later than his.

 

Never been before - always thought it was a bit sporty for me but I@m a lot more active since I lost the weight and he is one very active little boy. We both love swimming but he finds those really loud pools disturbing (HATES the one at Butlins Bognor) - is the pool there good? What about the childrens facilities - can you leave your kids there for a little while? (guess who has her eye on the spa, oh and I@ll need my hair doing as I'm having to cancel the appointment I have for that week).

 

Is there any entertainment in the evenings? I don't think we'll be up for much as James will be tired but we might catch the beginning of something.

 

Oh and is there Wifi? I'm gonna need somethikng to do whilst I sit in with him at night. We have a 1 bedroomed room and there were no twins avaialable so I'm figuring I can make him a bed out of the sofa cushions - I guess I can just take his quilt to put on them.

 

I'm so excited really - it was the cheapest thing I could find where the accomodation looked like it was not into the "roughing it" zone (Pontins, Butlins etc!) Actually was cheaper than the 4 days Mum has booked for them at a caravan at Whitsun.

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We went with another family when the kids were quite young (about 5 & 3) the pool was a riot- rapids and chutes etc we had to forcibly drag the kids out at the end of the day. Just a warning the pool temp is quite chilly so a kids wetsuit for your boy might be a good idea. The creche is excellent and there are acticvites for the kids so you can go off and do other stuff- we went riding (surprise) and tried field archery. The evenings were a bit dull but we spiced them up with a few bottles of wine :wink: it was the days before t'internet so no info there.

I'm sure you will enjoy the break, if James is the active type who throws himself into things he'll love it!

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We've been to Elveden - just after they refurbished after the fire - with daughter, SIL and Lauren and Jake.

 

I get all the Center Parcs mixed up but I do remember the revolving restaurant at the top of the on-site hotel - wonderful food!

 

They do a babysitting service which you have to book in good time - preferably in advance and all the usual Spa stuff - we went in there while Lauren and Jake did a morning at one of the childrens courses.

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We have been to the lake district one a few times. It was great. The kids loved the pool. The childrens activitys are fab and well supervised so you can sneak off for some pampering sesions. You can pre book them before you go. Mine went on a pool activity thing and a survival course in the forest. You will get a book through the post 2 weeks before with all the activitys listed. They are age grouped so you can see whats suitable for James.

We went on some nature things with a ranger too. Its not all sporty :D

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I've been to the Longleat one, and there were lots of activities you could book before you actually go, which may get you straight into your holiday when you arrive as you'll already have something planned.

 

Although we didn't use the creche facility it looked well organised.

 

The pool was fantastic ( I think I may have enjoyed it even more than the children!!), if its anything like the pool at Longleat enjoy! There was an outside heated pool which was divine to be in whilst looking up at the sky and trees...

 

have a great time

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oooh riding - James would love to try it and I guess I@m no longer to big to get on a horse!

 

Food isn't a consideration - I'm still abstinent and James is happy to eat on the hoof and have one meal a day of "bits on a plate" - so I'll probably just get him a hot lunch every day and make him up a plate in the evening.

 

I was confused about the age ranges for activities on the site - James is 5 so comes under "pre-school" but of course he is in his second year of schooling already being a June baby. So I guess the activities for 6 year olds would be more his speed

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We used to go twice a year to Elvedon until the kids started school. center parcs is ace but far too expensive out of term time for us to justify. Anyway, the pool is fab, you'll both love it. DD had her first swim at 6 weeks old in the lovely warm salt pool. The communal changing rooms are normally empty so if you're not too shy there's heaps of room, whereas the family changing cubicles are in short supply at peak times! Don't know about wi-fi I'm afraid, but the spa is fab and if you need a babysitter, do pre-book it because they are very popular. You can normally get some kind of special offer for a 3-hour spa session on your arrival night, so it's worth booking a babysitter for that period. The revolving restaurant (la Sapiniere) is lovely and well worth a visit, the matire'd could be hercule poirot, the food and the atmosphere are both great and they even have a proper piano player who does requests (we always ask for a James Bond Medley!) DS did a nature walk the last time we were there, he loved it, collecting bugs in little tank.

 

oh, I miss it - so many lovely memories of our earliest family holidays!

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coool - I like the way things work out cheaper when there are less of you. Last summer in NYC on my own the extra $20 for an express pass up the Empire state building didn't even bear worrying about - but if I'd been a family of 5 I guess I would have been in the queue!

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We are off to sherwood next week and really looking forward to it. We have been going since my brother was small so about 13 years. We still love it especially cycling everywhere. We usually don't book any activities before we go and just swim everyday and book badminton, bowling and canoes on the lake when we get there. We have always found the villas good everytime we have stayed in the most basic one(apart from this time as its my dad's 50th birthday so we are staying in the most expensive one!)

I'm sure you will have a great time-also its really good when all the animals come up to the door in the morning wanting food, many a time we have had ducklings in our villa!

 

Emma

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I don't think we'll get the animals at the door bit as we are in the hotel building not a villa - just a one bedroomed room for us - any more would be wasted and they seem quite roomy (at least twice the size of the cabin that 3 of us shared on the QE2 last year!)

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oooh riding - James would love to try it and I guess I@m no longer to big to get on a horse!

 

Oh for goodness' sake dont pay for that- come over to mine! I have a Shetland pony (big tough one) with no current rider (youngest can only ride her if he wears roller skates) and a Fjord with a heart of gold for you.....go on.....make my day :wink:

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Oooo, can we all tip up at Rhapsody's? *jumps up and down all excited*

 

Pengy - I've not been, but a friend goes regularly and loves it.... they go with another family and get a villa. Mind you, their children are old enough that they hardly see them all day!

 

If you're going to Elveden, then be prepared for the traffic queues - we go past the turn off on our journey to Norfolk and the traffic through Elveden/Thetford Forest is a nightmare (road needs dualling). I hear that the cycling is great fun too.

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We went to Elveden 3 times, some years ago - both before and after the fire :D

 

DD and DS loved it and I couldn't drag them away from the pool (just aswell as the activities were quite pricey and booked up quickly so some of the things they wanted to do were unavailable)

 

I must say I preferred Elveden before the fire - IMO the restaurants were better, the layout and atmosphere was nicer. To be fair, I only went the once after the fire and it had only just opened so it will probably have improved with time :D :D :D

 

Have a great time :D:D:D

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Pengy,we go to CP at least once a year (6 weeks & counting to our next trip!), so obviously we love it 8)

 

James & you will have a fab time.There is heaps for you both to do.....the pool itself may prove such a draw that you spend most of your time there.

The Spa is fab (Elvedon is Polynesian themed & really s"Ooops, word censored!"y),the food is great & the whole place has a nice safe,chilled vibe.

 

We love it & have been more times than I can remember - the girls now know each Parc so well that they can just wander off & do their own thing,leaving Hubby & I to spend some time together too :D

 

The Kindergarten is brilliant for leaving little ones for a couple of hours while you pamper yourself.They do special Kindie & Spa packages.They take good care of the children & there are a multitude of activites for them to enjoy...all very well orgnised.

 

There is a lot of changing space in the pool area, & there are special parent & child cubicles whicj are good & roomy.the lockers are plentiful too.

 

Longleat is our favourite,but Elevedon comes a close second.There is a new one being built now for opening in 2011 :P:P:P

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There are no communal changing rooms at Penrith.

A note about arrival day- it can get pretty hectic around the food areas as you can't go to your villa before 3.30 ( unless you have booked VIP).

Pack your swimming stuff & go in the pool, have a wander around the complex, & if you can, don't take your car to the accommadation to unload it, the traffic is v busy. It's better if you can just wheel your suitcase around to your room!

Or, if you can't do that do follow center parcs advice & unload you car later when the rush has died down.Why not hire a bike/take your own? It's a great way to see everything ( as long as it's not hilly like Penrith :roll: ) :lol:

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WE went to Elveden a few weeks ago, had the most fantastic time!

 

We had one of the exclusive villas that have the outdoor hot tub and private sauna/ steam room - brilliant!

 

In terms of the evenings, there were 8 of us going, so we mostly sat in the hot tub and drank wine and looked at the stars :oops: but we also took some board games. One night, we hired a babysitter and went to La Sapiniere for the 7 course tasting menu - can highly recommend it!

 

The other night we ordered pizza takeaway from the Italian restaurant.

 

We were a bit apprehensive about leaving our toddlers with a stranger, and I wasn't sure what to expect, but the lovely Pauline, who could have been your granny, appeared and all was OK.

 

We didn't leave our kids in the creche, but we did book one of the Messy Play sessions, which is great but you have to supervise them yourselves (based on the price of the activity, we were kind of expecting to be able to dump the kids and go and sit in the bar for a bit).

 

During the day, we had treatments in the Spa, and I also did a salsacize class which was good.

 

We did find that going in the general spa with all the different rooms was really busy on the Sat and Sun, and full of hen parties....not very relaxing really. But if you are organised enough, go on the Fri or Mon, when not only is it more peaceful, but it is cheaper!

 

We did like the Dome and the pool, but hated the changing rooms.

 

We had such a good time, we are booking again for September :D

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All sound so cool. Im going midweek so hopefully no hen parties.

 

I don't think I'll bother with a babysitter either - TBH its not terrific fun going out on your own in the evening and the kind of entertainment you get in holiday places really isn't my cup of tea. The last time I went to Butlins, we stayed in the Shoreline - in fact I nearly stayed IN THE SHORELINE for the whole weekend - you walked out of the door and were in Butlins which I hated - but the hotel was great as was the food in the restaurant, although it was pricey. Oh I did go swimming, the morning sessions where it was just parent with child and on teh Sunday the session that is just for Shoreline guests.

 

Going in a big group sounds like fun but I don't really have that sort of friends - we have a hot tub here and I@ve never sat in it with friends.

 

Salsacize sounds fun, I'd like to take in a couple of exercise classes. Do they let your kids join in or is that another thing I'd need to lose him for? Not a huge problem as he is such a sociable little boy he does his swimming with me then asks for the creche usually (well he does on a cruise anyway!)

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