Center Parcs, Elveden Forest

Extremely disappointed, please everyone read this post before booking your trip to centre parcs - if you wish to use the subtropical swimming paradise you will have to book your slot !!EIGHT WEEKS IN ADVANCE!! We have tried to book our slots a week before and all slots are taken, our group is for 6 guests and have been told that all 6 guests have to attend together, there is the odd slot for 1 or 2 guests at random times but as all 6 of us have to attend at the same time, the remaining available slots are useless for our party. Centre Parcs have created a booking system that excludes huge amounts of their paying guests. We would cancel the booking if we could, and will never be returning to again. Shocking service from a brand/company that should know better.

My wife and two children took part on the centreparcs tree tops climbing activity. My 7 year old daughter went second on the activity and I had to watch from a viewing platform while she was left unattended hanging by her neck choking momentarily by her helmet strap.

She went on the activity with her mum and older sister. All went well until the zip line part. There was no staff helping my family at this stage and was clearly understaffed. I filmed my family on part of this activity and looking back, it’s clear my family were left unattended as the only member of staff was with a different group.

Whether the rope being caught around the chin strap of the helmet was like it from the start - and had gone unchecked - or had somehow got caught during the activity, was unknown but a staff member checking would have noticed.

The main rope that fits through the Caribbina clip had got caught around her helmet strap on the zip line and she had to hold her body weight up with her arms which was some doing for a 7 year old and of course I did not notice at this time.

When she then went to grab the rope at the end of the zip line, she let go of the rope that she was holding herself up on and and her body weight dropped and she hung by her neck and throat and was choking and could NOT breathe to which I screamed for her help and fortunately the rope unsnagged and she fell down to the normal hanging height in the harness.

On hearing my shouting the staff had to get a ladder to help her down. This was so very upsetting for me, my wife, my family and of course most importantly my daughter. She has not been able to talk about her holiday since.

If she was much heavier or bigger this could have snapped her neck. It was so upsetting and her neck was bruised and marked straightaway.

The staff AFTER the event were helpful and offered her a toy. She was very upset and didn’t want any toys.

Since, centreparcs have offered £50 off a family trip if we rebook! The same money off they offer if you re-book

I paid over £2.000 for this weekend and my daughter is very scared of ever going back. This is not about money but to offer £50 off for such negligence is quite disrespectful and I ultimately want to somehow reverse my daughters fear and it would have been nice to leave centreparcs on a good note rather than such an upsetting one.

This activity, without the correct staffing should be closed with immediate effect to safeguard any other children or adults getting seriously hurt.

This was our second stay in Elveden, this time we stayed at the Lakeview Hotel.

Unlike other locations, Elveden does not offer self-catering apartments, hence, if there are only two of you travelling your only option are the hotel rooms, which only have a small fridge (with ice compartment) and tea and coffee facilities.

Don't be automatically put off by this, as there is ample space to store your dry goods, as well as at least an extra power point.

Also Sainsburys and Lidl are less than 5 minutes away by car (about 20 minutes by bike) on the A11 towards Thetford, and Tesco Extra is about 15 minutes away in the same direction. The Parc Market is not excessively priced either and can offer some real gems.

This means that you will still be able to self-cater instead of having to use the expensive eateries within the grounds.

The rooms are spacious and very comfortable, however they could benefit from a deep clean, as unfortunately this is the usual weak point of all of the Center Parcs we have visited, hence we always bring along cleaning supplies and clean up worktops, crockery and the bathroom as soon as we arrive (the cleaning staff are very friendly and helpful, we can only conclude that they are not given enough time between customers to clean the rooms thoroughly).

We loved the all-glass window and patio doors opening into the spacious balcony which overlooks the hotel grounds and the lake - it is very peaceful and there is a lot of wildlife right there: mallards, coots, moorhens, jays, crows, magpies, blue and long tailedtits, squirrels and rabbits are regulars. Deer also come over here on occasion.

The hotel rooms were very peaceful and quiet throughout our stay.

The grounds are very suited to walks and biking, and it is not difficult to find tranquil corners.

We were told that it should be possible to access the woods to go for bike rides, but we found that the first few entries nearest to the complex were not accessible to the public due to forestry work. It would be really helpful if Center Parcs could provide routes for bikers.

We normally love Aqua Sana, but unfortunately we found, for the second time since last January (when we paid £75 for two including a chocolate treat), that the entry prices were far too high (£99 for two, day entry only) and therefore once again did not visit this facility.

On this occasion, we also did not visit the Tropical Dome, but on our previous visit in January we had found this to be very good - the rapids, the various slides and the Cyclone were all very good.

All in all, this is a great place to relax, unwind and hide from the rest of the world for a while.

Extremely expensive plus was talking to lovely lady who does horse riding for centre parcs at elveden who said she was being made redundant because centre parcs are doubling the money they are taking off them and are unwilling to negotiate. visited many times over the years went to centre parcs as a child myself but now just get the feeling that centre parcs have gotten greedy. Sad because got some lovely memories from being a child here and would have liked my children to have had holidays here every year or so like I did. Also price of accommodation per person was as expensive as a hotel but it's self catering!!!! Maybe if all accommodation had wifi and phones etc would feel a little bit more like value for money. Activities expensive bowling ridiculously price and not as stated on price list says £15 not from £15 should change that centre parcs cause to tell your child they can do something then have to say no because price is £11 higher than shown on price list has made me a very annoyed mother. Yes I could have paid it but was on principle plus staff didn't seem to care that I was misinformed. Shame because I've loved my says there over the years. Centre parcs getting greedy too spoke to a lady who does horse riding she is getting made redundant because cp have double amount they take off them and won't negotiate so that small business is closing because of corporate greed.

It was a nice welcome on our arrival. Our accommodation was very clean and tidy. The cleaning staff was very friendly. We had our room serviced regularly. The restaurants were nice but could be more value for money. The cost of the some of the activities were also too much for the duration that lasted. Swimming area however was very clean, safe and life guards in every corner. Generally, excellent service, great activities something for everyone. Particularly enjoyed the lakeside. It's beautiful when it's a lovely day.

But for families villas are more ideal than the hotel.

The lodge we stayed in was suitable for Dogs, and it certainly was! The floors were filthy, there was dust on the furniture and grime on doors and frames. There were used poo bags left near the cycle rack which I had to dispose of. CP offered to send a cleaner to sort out but I had already decided to bring it up to my standards at my cost! The Villas are poorly equipped, not even a single dishwasher tablet or scrubber for washing up. The park is lovely and so is the pool. The place just feels tired and "not that special" considering the huge cost to stay there.

It would be nice if CP could offer free bike hire or at least a discount for one of the restaurants. I can fortunately afford CP but don't like feeling ripped off.

The staff are excellent though.

Well I have been going too since 1992. I do not have much choice as the family out vote me on the subject.

When it was run by the Dutch company founders, it had a very good ethos. The large cross in the centre of the PARC and the church, with the small religious statues implanted in the trees, gave everyone a moment to think about life.

New companies have taken it over and the religious apparel has been removed. I have been to this Parc around 28 times, and it has NOT gone without its faults.

CLEANING and the Villa accommodation seem to be their biggest issue. On one occasion the floor flooded to the Villa and the carpets stank with damp, I reported it and they acted as though one should wait until it was dry. I remonstrated the point and they moved us.

There was another time when the roof looked right over the top of our bed and we got a wash while we were asleep.

When I reported it I got much of the same as you usually get with Guest Services.

Last year the villa was filthy 40 Cigarette ends outside in the patio area and there were repairs that had not been touched, from when I reported them three years before that, in the same villa.

I told head office in a formal complaint along with other issues such as very rude staff in one of the restaurants. I got a very cheap bottle of wine and a small box of chocolates for the inconvenience They really push the boat out. This year same time same villa, still not clean, the sofa looked like it had half a coach load of world cup supporters sleeping on it, along with the beer and damp stains. The corners of the patio door windows look like something out of a cheap bedsit hotel.

I do not understand what part of the word CLEAN they do not correlate here. There is a very dangerous piece of laminate coming away from one of the cupboards in the kitchen. Which could catch on an eye/face if you are at the right height or cut ones hand, I am surprised no one's been injured. Thank the lord

The windows all 8 of them were filthy cobwebs and bird excreta stains on them.

The reception lady at Guest Services, by the way who was the rudest I have spoken to in 28 visits, claimed that It could have been done overnight, they went on to state it does gather together in a day.

A cleaning team arrived and they windows looked fabulous and stayed like that for 2 1/2 days. The only problem was that the team missed two windows out of the 8.

I have stayed in virtually all types of villa accommodation including the new 4 bedroom Ash with Pool Room and outdoor Sauna, they all seem to suffer badly from continued use.

For some reason this company appears not able to keep up with turnaround refurbishments with the villas, there is a logistical problem here.

There are issues at this Parc and especially with the villas.

However on a positive note I must say the central part of the Parc including the Plaza, was Superlative in its condition and appearance.

However, it is not commensurate with the state of the villas.

The fridges/freezers at the Parc Supermarket broke down, so all week we had to shop elsewhere. That was good fun, driving on the new road to Sainsburys in Thetford.

One of the staff told me that they no longer had deliveries of the Long Life patisseries in the central bay near the ice cream fridge, this was a sad loss of food purchase as it used to provide very good cakes in that section.

I don't know what was in the water this week, but some of the staff were extremely unfriendly bordering on quite rude.

There is an issue with the staff who are in the Tregus run restaurants on the site. If you attempt to make complaints to Head Office about staff at any of the facilities run by Tregus, they will inform you that it is no longer within Centerparcs' jurisdiction as these restaurants have been franchised out.

I think Center Parc have a reporting mechanism to communicate with Tregus management and there appears to be some liaison between Tregus and Center Parc in various issues of this matter.

I was told that the Tragus staff do not comply with the D.E.S. service standards that is guaranteed and delivered by Center Parc staff, even though on occasions some Center Parc staff appeared to have forgotten what Delivering Excellent Service should be. Tregus appear to have their own formula for staff deportment and training that seems to be worlds apart from the Center Parc ethos.

The remark by some Center Parc staff “The others are allowed to get away with more” appears to be a poignant one to which I can agree with.

The Blackstone group who own the Center Parc group and Tregus do not appear to be running these businesses in kilter with each other.

I have said this to Parc management and Head Office; this is a very expensive way or methodology for a customer to be disappointed.

£650 for a 4 night stay in a 2 bedroom villa to me is a lot of money. The whole 4 day stay in total costs well over £1000 after other expenses.

I used to go in the cheaper weeks in December which amounted to nearly half the costs. The following week to me the cost is even more at the start of the school holidays.

The company really need to take notice of the issues, before it turns the parks into a pastiche of the holiday camps we are all too familiar with from the days of 1960.

My wife & I had a great time,we took our 2 sons,daughter in laws along with our 5 Grandchildren & their 2 dogs,we stayed in 2 villas.

There was so much to do,great walks plenty of great places to eat & drink,the grounds were safe as there are no cars etc.

Check in was easy,the sports was great & the water sports were fantastic for all ages.

We all liked the facilities & the easy way to book everything,with all costs very clearly shown.

The gift shop was very expensive.

First of this, this is our 4th visit to this place and before now its been fantastic. A great friendly place until things goes wrong.

There where 5 of us in our party (1 baby, 1 young child, 1 OAP, 2 healthy Adults). One night we decided to have use the take out service for Pizza (Dining out). Only the 2 Adults.

5-6 hours later, we are burping egg, stomach cramps, my wife was vomiting and we both have explosive runs. This was the only meal that we had that the others had not.

In the morning after poor sleep, we reported it to Center Parc, They said they would investigate and gave us a refund (nice food poisoning for free). We had to do samples for the medical center and where told to stay away from everyone for 2 days (nice pay lots of money to be told to stay in villa).

My wife got it a lot worse and it ruined 2 days of our holiday. None of the others got it. We where told from Center parcs that they would get back to us within 3 days and seemed to be taking it seriously (ish) but kept saying they have only had food poisoning twice and so its probably viral.

After a week of hearing nothing I tried chasing up center parcs which was like banging your head against a wall. Finally after posting about them on twitter, we where told the samples where negative and so they take no responsibility for being ill and basically off you go. We even got a letter a few days later with the completely wrong date on, reinforcing that they wont do anything about it.

So, I will let you people decide, illness for 2 days, no updates until we write about it on twitter, letters with wrong dates on, no sorry for wasting our time, being ill etc.

It seems center parcs is a great place until something goes wrong, then its off you go, we don't care your recurring customer!

Fantastic family weekend away. Good value for money very helpful staff engineer in cycle hire taught my children to finally ride their bikes without stabilisers (something I thought I would never see) staff at center parcs elvedon go above and beyond it was my youngest daughters birthday was on the day we arrived when we checked into our villa housekeeping had left a welcome and happy birthday message on the chalk board. It's little things like this are the reason we came back Monday night and rebooked Tuesday night. Great facilities, clean and well equipped accommodation safe environment value for money helpful and knowledgable staff amazing holiday