Do holidays at Center Parcs live up to the hype? I visited to find out
Center Parcs is a little like Marmite – people either love it, or they hate it. Bemoaned as overpriced and overrated, the internet is awash with suggestions of more affordable alternatives. Still every year, around two million of us sign up for a self-catering break in the woods.
For those that have never been on a Center Parcs holiday, it’s difficult to know exactly what to expect. The online reviews vary wildly yet the adverts suggest a haven in the woods, a veritable playground for all ages and abilities.
So can two million people really be wrong? To help decode the mystery and find out exactly what Center Parcs is like, we visited Woburn Forest, which, despite turning 10 in June, is the newest of Britain’s five properties (Longleat Forest, Elveden Forest, Sherwood Forest and Whinfell Forest are the other locations). Since opening, it has an impressive occupancy rate (97 per cent) and has welcomed more than three million guests.
Looking at everything from location to activities and accommodation, we’ve scored each category out of five. Here’s what we found.
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Location
The appeal of this Center Parcs is that it is London’s closest, tucked between Milton Keynes and Cambridge. It takes less than an hour to get to Flitwick Station from London St Pancras by train, with a complimentary guest shuttle service operating the 2.3-mile journey (around seven minutes) to the park.
You can also drive, of course. Although for those who are new to Center Parcs, it’s worth noting that you can’t use your car around the site. You have to drive in, unpack and then relocate to the car park – which can be as far as a 15-minute walk away.
Style/character
As a lover of rural camping holidays under canvas, I was surprised by how little freedom to roam there was. Adverts always show happy families racing together through the woodland on their bikes, but the experience is rather different. There are no cycle paths through the woodlands, no free routed walks, just wide concrete paths – albeit car-free. It’s also worth noting that Woburn is the UK’s smallest Center Parcs (365 acres).
For those who are happy to compromise on nature in the name of comfort and convenience, it’s easy to see the appeal, especially for multi-generational family breaks. The public spaces are beautifully looked after – there wasn’t a scrap of rubbish in sight – and the grounds comprise a handful of key areas: the Plaza, the waterfront and the village square, where you’ll find the waterpark.
The accommodation is split into four areas: Maple, Birch, Oak and Pine. These have been constructed to sit around the main public areas, with Oak to the south (near the Plaza), Maple to the west, with the lodges sprawling from Village Square down to the Plaza, Birch to the north (near the Village Square) and Pine to the northeast, bordering the car park.
It’s a sterilised, soft version of nature, perfect for those whose idea of the great outdoors comes with boundaries and a solid path.
Facilities
As one of the only free activities at the park, the Subtropical Swimming Paradise is a key selling point – and with similar facilities few and far between across the UK, there’s not much in the way of competition. At a balmy 29.5C, we happily kept our four-month-old poolside for hours; there were even cribs dotted around the edges as well as chairs. Meanwhile, our toddler – decked out with a complimentary flotation jacket – loved the family play area, toddler pool, wave pool and lazy river. For bigger kids, there are a number of fast indoor slides as well as the wild water rapids.
Beyond the waterpark, Woburn also features two outdoor playgrounds, a gym, craft room, falconry centre, roller rink, sports zone, mini golf, shops (such as Joules and Aquatique), indoor climbing area, badminton courts and much, much more. There’s also a crèche that will take children from three months old and soft play areas can be found in some of the restaurants (the one at Huck’s American Bar and Grill is the best).
Lodges
We stayed in a two-bedroom Executive Lodge in Oak, not too far from the Plaza. The living area was simple but spacious, while the two bedrooms each had their own ensuite – a definite perk. Our two-year-old loved little touches such as the chalkboard, hydrobath and feature wall of tree photography. He also enjoyed the floor-to-ceiling windows as it meant he could sit and spot squirrels.
As we travelled in June, we had no use for the log burner but overall, the lodge was comfortable, if rather simplistic in design, and had everything we could need, from dishwasher tablets to hair dryers.
Contrary to other reviews I’ve read online, we found our lodge incredibly clean; we moved the mattress onto the floor for our son to sleep on and found it spotless even beneath the bed.
A downside during our stay was that the lodge was semi-detached, so we had people crossing our outside area on a regular basis. Our neighbours also noted their surprise that this small grassy area was lined with nettles; I wouldn’t expect anything less from a woodland but this is clearly not obvious for everyone. Travelling with a baby, it would have been good to have had access to facilities to wash clothes, but the stay was just short enough to get away with it.
There are 800 lodges at Woburn. The most basic are the Woodland Lodges which sleep up to 12 guests and feature a kitchen (including dishwasher), log burner, family bathroom and patio with barbecue stand (you can only use instant barbecues here). Meanwhile, Exclusive Lodges sleep up to eight guests and feature a private hot tub, sauna, steam room and games room. For the most indulgent stay, you can opt for a Treehouse, with Sky television, private decking, a balcony and a gas barbecue – however this luxury costs from £2,699 for eight people, midweek, in low season.
While all Center Parcs UK locations offer apartments, Woburn also has a hotel. Here you will find simplistic rooms. Set above the spa, this is the cheapest accommodation option on site (from £259 for a couple for a midweek stay in January).
Activities
There are so many activities on offer (80 at Woburn) it’s difficult to know where to begin. Many people start with bike hire (from £44 adults; £32 children). With no cars allowed on site, it makes for a safe environment for children to cruise around, but be advised, it is a little hilly.
All ages, tastes and abilities are catered for when it comes to things to do. There’s a range of action and adventure options, as well as arts and crafts, from facepainting to fencing and pilates to pottery. These start at £8pp for Adventure Golf, and go up to £50pp for aerial tree trekking. My two-year-old especially enjoyed the Baby Owls session (£12pp) at the falconry centre, which allowed everyone to interact with the birds.
There are outdoor, non-motorised water sports on offer and, down at the lake, a large number of pedalos were out and about during our stay – although I did see a couple of children chastised for jumping off and taking a swim (understandable given the likely water quality). It is here that the zipline, adventure trek and adventure golf course can also be found.
Value for money varied by activity. For example, my local mini golf course charges £10 compared to Center Parcs’ £8. Yet you can visit GoApe at the Alexandra Palace in north London and pay £39 for the Treetop Challenge, compared to £50 for Woburn’s Aerial Adventure.
One downside of the range of activities on offer is the temptation to overdo it. All activities need to be pre-booked and the urge is to stack your diary. But by the time you’ve had three meals, wandered around and taken a dip in the pool, there’s not a whole lot of time left in the day to fill with activities.
Spa
If the activities and facilities around the village are ideal for children, Aqua Sana is the place for adults to escape them. Larger and more comprehensive than your average hotel spa, Aqua Sana Woburn has 25 multi-sensory experiences set in six zones (Fire & Ice, Blossom, Herbal, Sensory, Mineral & Gemstone and Salt). Beyond the various saunas and steam rooms, there are also reflexology footbaths, a snow and ice room, Zen Garden, waterbeds and a heated outdoor infinity pool.
In addition to a spa session, you can also enjoy a treatment in one of the 22 rooms. The menu features the expected — Elemis facials and a list of manicures and massages. I tried out the Aqua Sana Mind, Body and Sole Experience, which included body brush exfoliation and a scalp, neck, shoulder massage and foot massage. It was relaxing but not as targeted as similar treatments I have had.
When it comes to cost, I found that the treatments are not dissimilar in price to those on offer at similar recreational sites, starting at £60. The three-hour spa session, however, is a little more expensive (£119pp Monday– Friday; £169 Saturday; £149 Sunday), but there is a lot on offer. I visited during the 6–9pm slot on Sunday and found that it was relatively quiet. You can also visit the spa through a daily pass if you don’t want to stay overnight.
Food & drink
There are 10 restaurants to choose from across the site, including The Pancake House, Vitalé Café Bar (in Aqua Sana), Las Iguanas, Rajinda Pradesh, Starbucks, Amalfi, Café Rouge, Huck’s American Bar & Grill, and Canopy Bar.
The restaurants here have a very commercialised feel with swift service the priority. This was evident in our meal out at Huck’s where the food came incredibly quickly. It was of perfectly good quality; the chicken wings were especially good if you enjoy deep fried food. The service was also good; the staff were happy to help with our requests and were swift in taking our order. The soft play area was a godsend as it kept our toddler thoroughly preoccupied. The only downside was that it was rather busy, perhaps to be expected at 5pm on a Friday. However, that did not seem to impact the quality or speed of service.
The cost varied depending on the restaurant. A burger at Huck’s, for example, cost £14.95 – similar to prices in a gastropub. The bill at Las Iguanas was fairly comparable to those beyond the walls of Center Parcs, with prices differing by less than a pound when compared to my local (a chicken burrito cost £15.30 compared to £14.70 in Reading). Café Rouge also added extra pennies to take advantage of the captive market; an eight ounce sirloin at Woburn costs £23.45 compared to £22.50 at the St. Paul’s branch in London.
If you don’t want to cook but are tired of trekking around the park, you can opt for the in-park delivery service, Restaurant Runner, which charges £3.95 delivery to your lodge door. You can select from four different restaurant menus (Rajinda Pradesh, Huck’s, Pinch of Asia and Pizzarrivo); order on the app, choose a 15-minute time slot, and all food will be delivered together. We found the service punctual and convenient, with the wide selection ensuring there was something for even the fussiest eater in the family.
When it came to cooking our own food, I was surprised to find that the ParcMarket was operated by Co-op. There was a markup when it came to pricing (see below) and with a Tesco Superstore just a five-minute drive away in the nearby town of Flitwick, it is much more cost effective to arrange a click and collect on arrival day.
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Service
Almost everything can be booked online, but that doesn’t mean that service is lacking. From the staff at the swimming pool to those working in the crèche, the restaurants and at the booking point near the sports zone in the Plaza, every point of service we encountered was friendly, helpful and efficient. Special attention was also paid to the children, who were encouraged and spoken to directly.
Value for money
Center Parcs functions with efficiency in mind and manages guest turnover and a car-free space by operating set booking periods. These are Monday–Friday (four nights) and Friday–Monday (three nights). Midweek breaks almost always come in cheaper, regardless of the season.
A midweek break in January 2025 (low season) in a Woodland Lodge costs from £399 while a weekend break in November 2024 (high season) costs from £799. The type of lodge also impacts the price. An Exclusive Lodge, by comparison, costs from £1,499 midweek in January 2025 and from £2,799 for a weekend in November 2024.
It’s a good short break option with plenty to do, but you really have to value ease and access to facilities for it to be worth it; especially with strong alternatives on offer at a lower price point. Once you factor in the additional food (you’ll be lucky to make it past the ice cream stand outside the pool without being pestered) and activity costs, you can burn a hole in your pocket very quickly.
Access for guests with disabilities?
There are 19 accessible lodges across a variety of categories throughout the park. These are mostly adapted for wheelchair users with ramps, nearby parking, lowered worktops and handrails. The swimming pool and spa are accessible, with hoists and ramps into some of the pools. Hearing loops are available in many of the public areas. Guide dogs are not permitted in the pool areas but staff are on hand to offer assistance. A number of the activities on offer are accessible, including archery, adventure golf and ten pin bowling.
Dog friendly?
Dogs are welcome but must be kept on a lead at all times outside of your accommodation. There are special exercise areas dotted throughout the village, but they may not be taken into any of the public buildings (with the exception of guide dogs).
Penny Walker was a guest of Center Parcs Woburn Forest, Millbrook Road, Bedford, MK45 2HZ (0344 826 6266; Center Parcs).
