not just a shopping center - a day out!

Advantages: easy to park, loads of shops and restaurants
Disadvantages: quite far away

...My experience: As a man I'm designed to hate shopping, however the Bluewater Shopping Centre has made the whole experience so easy and pain-free, I've actually started to quite like it! I had never been before and must admit I was rather intrigued to see what it was like as I had heard many people talk highly of it in the past. Living in London I found it hard to justify driving around the M25 purely to go shopping for the day, but as soon as I arrived I realised why I had driven so far. To start with there were 13,000 car parking spaces - no need to worry about where you are going to park the car and with well over 320 shops the place basically has everything you could ever want; almost all the top high street retailers and department stores. If this isn't quite enough for you it also houses a thirteen screen multiplex cinema...

beanie8844 11.03.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Bluewater Shopping Center

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
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Center Parcs, Sherwood Forest

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

...Just back from Sherwood April2008, (can't find link to do new review). The new 4 Bedrm Exec Lodges with Games Rm are fantastic, very expensive at half term £1200 for 4 nights, but your kids will adore it. At Sherwood they have chopped down half the forest to build this row of units - rather defeats their origins - but great villas - guess Money Talks. More villas more income. Hate the new Sunglasses shop - again Concession guaranteed income for CP, now Starbucks too - how low will CP go to make a buck! Perhaps te Big Mac didn't offer them enough (haha) but makes you think, what will be next..... I still luv em and am booked again for Aug 08 and June 09 - keeps the kids happy, and at Sherwood you can just about find a quiet corner... Update - Appeal won, 5th Parc off A6 in Beds will open about 2010. Update 2 - read in Bedford Today...

CP2004 21.03.2004 (09.08.2008) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Center Parcs

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
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Center Parcs

Shop til You Drop

Advantages: great it the weather is lousy
Disadvantages: can get really busy on holidays and weekends

...Right it’s morning you’ve had those twenty coffees to bring you into the real world and you now face the prospect of having to go shopping for a loved ones birthday present! So after planning exactly how much you are going to spend, and what you are going to buy, (you find your budget doesn’t fit the present but never mind) You make the final check before you set off......got the money, got the keys....got one small child asking a thousand questions! Right the plan of action is............ Cambridge is quite expensive to park. So for convenience sake and to keep one young child happy you make your way to the Bus Park and ride. At £1.20 return ticket and not having to pay for parking this is a lot cheaper and easier. The buses arrive every ten minutes so waiting isn’t so bad if you just missed a bus. From...

nitebabe 29.05.2001 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Grafton Centre (Shopping Center)

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
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
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
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Center Parcs

Nice Cinema, poor range of shops

Advantages: WB cinema
Disadvantages: Limited range of shops

...Grafton Centre, Cambridge. Apart from Universities and the River Cam, there are some shopping and entertainment facilities around in Cambridge. The Grafton Centre is just one of them. From one side (Fitzroy Street) looking at Grafton Centre you'll see a glass(ish) entrance, with a big 'g'. From the other side (East Road) you'll see the new part of Grafton Centre, which was added a few years ago. The main attraction apart from shopping is the 8 screen Warner Bros. Cinema (actually reading again it is Warner Village Cinemas). It displays the films currently showing on a big screen, so anyone driving past can see it. Location: Pretty much near the centre of Cambridge. There are several car-parks, all with North, East, South, West....but I don't know my directions. The main one is via East Road, which is fairly big. This is a multi...

robertliu84 23.02.2001 (24.02.2001) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Grafton Centre (Shopping Center)

Center Parcs - Longleat

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

...experience I was still afraid that it would be a claustrophobic, enforced environment where personal choice was limited. First impressions were not great. On arrival we were given our keys and paperwork at the drive through security lodge and pointed in the direction of the car parks where we would leave our car for the next couple of hours. As Center Parcs virgins we were drawn towards the main plaza which forms the central point of the camp along with many others arriving at the same time. Here we found a supermarket and shops selling toys and sweets, it was all rather sterile and I came to the conclusion that I'd gone on holiday to Bluewater. More experienced heads would have moved on to other areas of the camp or indeed already started on their activity schedule, having booked in advance, and if and when we return that is what we would...

brereton66 09.11.2007 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Center Parcs Longleat Forest, Costwolds

Shopaholics Watch This Space

Advantages: Wide range of shops from expensive to cheap
Disadvantages: Shop turnover happen a lot

...The Marlows Shopping Center The Marlows shopping Center is situated in the center of Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire and is one of the main shopping centers I tend to go shopping to for both convenience and locality. I would not say that it is one of the best shopping centers by any means, though it hosts a range of over 70 stores and has recently been refurbished on the outside street to add more variety to your shopping trip. Let me explain further? ******The Marlows****** The main reasons in which I tend to visit The Marlows more than anything is the convenience of it being the closest to me, and also a range of shops which sell good products for less money than a lot of other shopping centers. Don't get me wrong, there are a whole range of shops ranging from the really expensive to the really cheap and so you are given...

elfbwillow 26.09.2007 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of The Marlows Shopping Center