Centre Parks Woburn Forest?

[cardamomginger]

Hass anyone been? Is it any good?

I am a Centre Parks virgin, and we are thinking of going with another couple - between us we have DD (4), another DD (8 months) and a DS (19 months). I'd be grateful for any general tips and advice!

[mrsmilesmatheson]

Me, dh and dd8 went on a taster weekend to woburn back in June. We have been going yearly for about 10 years to elveden and longleat.

It was nice, a lot like all the other center parcs. Quite hilly if you are planning to cycle and the pool is slightly smaller than elveden/longleat I thought but still very good.

The only thing free is the swimming and play areas.

Eating out is not cheap but there is a range of types and prices. The sports cafe is good for as hoc dining as is the pancake house. You may need to book anywhere else depending on the time of day. We tried them all as we got given discounts the weekend we were there and our favourite is hucks (American) but the shearing house was lovely, although more ££.

Dd has been going to center parcs crèches and kids clubs since she was tiny and I would recommend them.

I'm not really a spa type person but the couple of times I've been I was impressed. Book in advance though.

We don't really do lots of activities but always ten pin bowling which is good because you pay per group per time slot rather than per game for each person.

Accommodation is lovely, even the basic.

[mrsmilesmatheson]

Oh and most of the restaurants have soft play or childrens areas and areas to warm up baby food. The swimming pool normally has a "baby dolphins" parent and toddler session before main opening hours.

[cardamomginger]

Thanks so much Mrs - really helpful!

[Racers]

We are going in sept - Whinfell is our usual choice as it is nearby but we thought we would try the brand new one. Interesting to hear it is hilly as we thought it would be fairly flat in that part of the country (but hadn't looked into it clearly!) We've been going to CP since eldest (9) was 2 and love it. It's pretty easy with young children in terms of facilities, I imagine the new one is well planned, but we will see. The Whinfell one is a bit different as wasn't originally owned by CP so not designed by them apart from refurbishments and new lodges.

[mrsmilesmatheson]

Maybe I've been spoiled by elveden which is lovely and flat

The woburn one is nowhere near as hilly as longleat but the lake, swimming pool and jardin des sports are in a kind if valley with lots of the villas up the slopes of the valley.

Would also second the poster who says about the lack of trees, it was a bit sparse but that's only to be expected with a brand new site.

[mintysmum]

We've been to woburn this summer (also longleat three times and winfell once over past 13 yrs) but we have a teenager and 9yr old so very different needs to yours. We really loved it.

I think woburn is perfect for younger kids as it is smaller than the others so feels cosier and is quicker to get between areas such as swimming pool to villa, or villa to bike hire. It means the bike rides are quicker and if you forget something and have to pop back to your villa it's easier. I didn't think woburn was hilly at all - only few inclines but quite short.

We did a store locator for tesco, sains and waitrose using the woburn postcode and found a waitrose 1.5 miles away which is were we did a big food shop before we arrived so we were well stocked up. The CP shop is good with fresh food and decent range but expensive. I don't suppose you'd need to do that if you're travelling from home, but we travelled to CP from another holiday.

The pool is fabulous and it is always our main activity each day with other things added in as a bonus. Over the years I've found that it's best not to plan too much else it becomes a bit regimented with no spontaneity.

The restaurants are expensive as are the activities and when we have travelled from home on previous holidays, we've always brought one or two meals from home like a big chilli or BBQ stuff so no one is doing much cooking in the villa.

[mrsmilesmatheson]

Was just talking to dh and he reminded me, massive steep hill near spa and medium hill from sports cafe/parc market up to villas, cycle centre and outdoor activity centre. That was why my legs ached so much after doing the bike treasure trail lol

The rest was pretty flat so I guess unless your villa is up there (or you do the treasure trail on bikes) you'd never even see the hills