A great conference venue but not ideal as a hotel

Advantages: Good rooms, well organised conference facilities
Disadvantages: If you aren't there for a conference, you could feel very 'left out'.

...I'm a member of an industry association that holds a two day meeting every year in spring and we move the venue around between different hotels, typically in the Midlands. Last year we were in Rugby at the Dunchurch Park which had excellent conference rooms but dreadful accommodation. This year, the organisers found a new place for us to use - Ettington Chase near Stratford upon Avon. I travelled down from the North West on the day of the conference and my sat nav had no problems finding the hotel. When I pulled off the road into the car park I found a very beautiful old building that looked like a Victorian vicarage but was completely swamped by the size of the new wing. As so often happens, the website shows lots of pictures of the old building and not so many of the rather characterless red-brick block that provides most...

koshkha 25.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of Ettington Chase Hotel and Conference Centre, Stratford-upon-Avon

Our Center Parcs Experience

Advantages: fun, lots to do
Disadvantages: expensive!

...I have been to Center Parcs several times but hadn't been for a while and since my last visit it has altered a little but still just as much fun as I remembered it to be. I thought I should review it as people who have never been are always asking me what it's like and whether it's worth it. The basic idea of Center Parcs is to have an active holiday where you try things you may never usually get round to doing without having to go far. All of the attractions are very close together so you don't have to spend all day travelling from one to the next and so you can really soak up the family fun atmosphere. I thought instead of reviewing everything individually I would review our entire holiday. **Arrival** We went to the Nottingham Center Parcs and we found that the directions on the website were fairly easy to follow and so we...

lorriellah 23.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Center Parcs, Sherwood Forest

Center parcs

Advantages: Great holiday parcs for all the family
Disadvantages: Reliancy on the british weather!

...villa overlooks another so you feel very private. We loved the fact that as we sat inside, rabbits ducks and squirrels often came up to the patio doors, it was lovely to be so close to nature. The villas are fully equipt with microwave, tv, radio, hifi and hair dryer. The only thing missing which would have been useful was an iron/ironing board, but this is nit picking. There is an on site shop which we thought would be very expensive so the first time we went to center parcs our boot was full of provisions for the week, but to our amazement when we looked in the supermarket the prices are really reasonable, and the quaility of the fresh food is great. You can book a variety of shopping packs to be delivered to your villa prior to arrival, but we have not bothered with this yet. There is also a laundrette on site, which is very...

swordfish1966 28.08.2004 (29.08.2004) · Read review
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Review of Center Parcs

Center Parcs - whats-up

Advantages: Beautiful scenery/lake/walks, OK Villas, Kids love it
Disadvantages: Check-in/out days [traffic chaos], too many villas now

...it will be nothing but a cash machine, the forest is already being cropped and chopped to fit in the new villas (however nice they are), next the rangers will be wearing jump suits with silly hats to serve in the Clubhouse "'cos it is what our guets have told us they want....." I am a fan, I am booked for 8/08 and 06/09, and will book at Warren Woods 2010. My kids love the place, as I do when I am there. I have seen so many changes since 1987, the revamp of the old villas was overdue, the new beds and bikes, both great. The extra builds and Concessions is a BIG mistake, the extra people crammed in, with same 400 acres, same too few car spaces, ripoff prices in half term/summer, the tired , cold and old Domes, the restaurants with poor service/quality - just read the reviews - Center Parcs is doing itself short. My guess is...

CP2004 21.03.2004 (09.08.2008) · Read review
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Review of Center Parcs

Rise of the phoenix-Center parcs Elvedon

Advantages: Location, Facilities, Ideal family holiday
Disadvantages: Can get very expensive

...After the destruction of the dome that housed many of the facilities in the fire of 2002 Center Parcs Elvedon has risen from the ashes, but is it bigger and better? Firstly for those of you who are unaware of what Center Parcs is. Center Parcs are large family holiday villages set in forests. There are four sites in GB Elvedon Sherwood Forest Longleat and Oasis in the Lake District. There are also villages in France Holland and Belgium. Elvedon is the village that we return to again and again having visited twice a year for the last eight years. Elvedon village is set in 400 acres of Thetford forest near Brandon in Suffolk. The site has lakes and streams and varied wildlife. When you get there the first thing you do is book in at the gate lodge, where you get your villa keys, information booklet and any activity...

docpov 24.04.2004 (03.07.2004) · Read review
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Review of Center Parcs

  Center Parcs - Family Fun in the Forest!

Advantages: Great family holiday, perfect for kids, lovely natural setting, plenty to do
Disadvantages: Lodges can be shabby, you will wear yourself out with all the activity!

...Center Parcs is a resort type holiday where the aim is to enjoy a family holiday in natural surroundings. Accommodation is in self catering units, although there are plenty of restaurants available. The holiday can be as relaxing or as active as each individual chooses. There are plenty of optional activities available for those that want to keep busy or expand their horizons. The basic cost of the holiday includes accommodation and you then pay for any additional pursuits you wish to engage in. The main attraction for most families is the natural setting and almost total absence of cars. Apart from the checking in days of Monday and Friday no cars are allowed. This makes for a very peaceful holiday where the main mode of transport is on foot, by bike or even in some cases on horseback! This review covers the Center Parcs at Whinfell...

fallen121 20.03.2006 · Read review
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Review of Center Parcs

Center Parcs - Longleat

Advantages: Great for families
Disadvantages: Not so great if you don't like kids

...Center Parcs - Longleat Taking a young family on holiday is a tricky business with a completely different set of requirements than when going away as a couple. Not least among these is the amount of baby paraphernalia that you need to take. When our youngest was about ten months we took her to New England and managed to get everything into a couple of suitcases and carry on luggage plus a pushchair but now we have two the amount of extra baggage seems to have more than just doubled and unless the destination is particularly child friendly the need for travel cots, gates etc makes the holiday load a bit much for airline travel. For this reason recent holidays have been UK based. The last couple of years have been spent in Cornwall at a friend's apartment but we thought that this year we would have a change. Having heard favourable...

brereton66 09.11.2007 · Read review
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Review of Center Parcs Longleat Forest, Costwolds

Center Parcs - 2 adults and 2 new tracksuits!

Advantages: lots of fun, encourages you to be active and try new things
Disadvantages: can get expensive

...Setting the scene: Couple in mid twenties, had a spare five days off, found a good deal to go and stay at Center Parcs Elveden forest so decided they?d buy some new tracksuits, embrace their inner child and have an active holiday. The accommodation: We stayed in the Lakeview Hotel. The room was clean, of average size (definitely not cramped) but could have done with a lick of paint. In terms of facilities in the room there was a TV, a stereo (complete with tape player!), digital alarm clock, a kettle and a fridge. The bathroom had 2 sinks, a fairly powerful shower and the usual bath and toilet. The décor was quite non-descript. The food: Since the hotel accommodation has no cooking facilities we ended up trying almost all of Center Parcs food options. The Sports Café (in the main sports center) did good basic food ? burgers, pies...

MarieHHH 13.06.2009 (11.07.2009) · Read review
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Review of Center Parcs

Center Parcs Review

Advantages: None
Disadvantages: Everything!

...My mother used to work for center parcs as a cleaner so we managed to get in for free for swimming. but Center Parcs was a true disappointment. You see the advert. Calm, serence peaceful surrounding to take that monkey off of your back and let you relax. In reality, its quite the opposite. Swimming Facilities are poor at best not to mention the Queues where you stand around wet, now freezing and in danger of dying from a severe case of hypothermia. White water swimming rapids go about the same speed as someone shot with a horse tranquiliser and the slides give you the thrill and excitement of being kicked in the groin. Sports Center is.....ok. Badminton (Always Full), Table Tennis (Always Full) Pool (Again full) Roller skating (Shoes are all broke or not open or full). The shops prices are abismally high because they know theres...

Razzmond 24.08.2007 · Read review
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Review of Center Parcs

Center Parcs, Whinfell Forest

Advantages: Relaxing, plenty to do
Disadvantages: Expensive, dirty

...We have just got back from Whinfell Forest. We stayed at Longleat in July, but have not been to Sherwood for about ten years. The drive-through check-in was very slow, and that was at about mid-day, so heaven knows what it is like at busy times. We thought there might have been a fast lane for those who had pre-registered. Also we had a disabled member in our party but its still a long way from the disabled parking to the village centre. Needless to say few of the cars in the disabled area had blue badges on display! We thought the swimming area very disjointed, one of the things we liked about other Center Parcs was the way you could get from one area to the other without leaving the water. To get to the outside hot pool you had to leg it across several yards of open air in the freezing cold. Indeed the overall impression was that...

danensis 30.11.2004 · Read review
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Review of Center Parcs