Center Parcs Oasis Whinfell

Just returned from Whinfell Forest. Kids enjoyed it but we had to restrict them a bit because of the costs involved. The activities are very expensive and with 4 kids it was restrictive.
Accommodation was good, clean, tidy and spacious - no complaints there.
Prices are my main gripe - why is everything sooooooo expensive at CP?
In the end I walked the huge hike to the car park, got the car and went to Penrith Morrisons and did a shop there and saved £'s!
It also seems that CP don't want you to leave the site whilst you are with them. There is absolutely NO information about the surrounding area, it's as if the Lake District doesn't exist. We wanted places to visit during the stay and on the way home, why don't they acknowledge the local tourist area. This felt rather 'prison like'.
Not a bad holiday but I certainly won't be going again, unless I win the lottery.

2 readers found this review helpful

1/10 is being kind. Our stay was a complete disaster. Put us in a lodge right in the middle of a building site. Dumper trucks, cement mixers, vans and cars hurtling past all day. Knocking, digging, drilling, hammering, etc etc. Didn't exactly match the peace and quiet they advertise on the tv !!! We asked for a new style woodland appartment and paid an extra £25 to select the actual lodge we stayed in. So we paid extra for the privelage of staying on this building site !!! Workmen walked around the back of our lodge outside the patio window each day ! Had to walk about an extra 1 mile round the site as the road was officially closed. Complained on site, they first of all offered us £185, got them to double this eventually, but was made to feel that I should be eternally grateful to them, you would think that it was them that had paid for our holiday £750+!! plus our spends (which they receive on food etc) and not to mention the waste of our annual leave entitlement. I will be taking this up with their HO. Do not recommend this park (even though we had stayed their twice previously and really enjoyed it) for the simple fact that they do not want to know when someone complains and don't deliver on what they promise. Although it was a new lodge, we complained that the door couldn't be secured from the inside as the chain was broken (to stop 2 year old escaping onto building site). No one turned up to repair. Had to get cleaners back three times when we arrived to clean up a spill on the wooden floor. Not a good experience. If this was abroad it would be on holidays from hell.

1 reader found this review helpful

Having been to this park twice before we were extremely disappointed, infact I would go as far as to say disgusted in what we found when we got there on this visit. I had booked one of the new style woodland appartments (not thinking quite how new it would be!) We were in the middle of a building site, with trucks, diggers and concrete mixers going back and forth past our lodge all through the day. The mess on the roads was horrible, workmen walking around the back of our lodge, vans, cars etc hurtling past. Not a bit like the peace and quiet they advertise. It also took three visits from the cleaners to actually get the lodge in a clean enough state for us to be satisfied (sticky floors after a spill by the previous people). The road that we were staying on was closed at one end so that meant an extra walk of about a mile. We were not informed of the building works or the road closure at the time of booking and they actually had the cheek to take the £25 extra reservation fee from me to reserve this particular lodge !!! I have so far received a promise of half of my money back (let's see if it actually gets credited) and I intend to persue the remainder from HO on my return today. Please be careful when booking at CP and ask if there are any building works going on, as they won't tell you. If this was on a holiday abroad, it would be on holidays from hell!! Will not be in a rush to go back and don't recommend anyone else to visit. So disappointed, have always thought it perfect before this.

1 reader found this review helpful

This was my second visit to Whinfell Forest and yet again I had a fantastic time. I booked a Lakeside Executive Apartment and the location was perfect - half-way between the village centre and Sports Plaza so we didnt even need bikes to get around. My only gripe with the accommodation was with the decor - having stayed in a Comfort Plus lodge previously I expected the Executive accommodation to be of a superior quality but was disappointed to find that there was no real discernible difference between the two. As far as I could tell a dvd player, towels and maid service were the only differences.
In terms of activities, we loved the archery and halk walk and I rounded the weekend off with a lovely Swedish massage at Aqua Sana.
A real frustration is with eating out. The italian restaurant had a two-hour wait for a table and the booking line was constantly engaged. I'd recommend cooking for yourself or booking in person as early as possible.
Despite a few minor irritations I can't recommend Whinfell Forest strongly enough.

2 readers found this review helpful

This review mainly applies to the person who posted a review on the central heating in the lodges. The heating in the lodges is on a timer, you don't touch it at all. However if you do want to higher or lower the temperature or even put the heating on when it is not on then there is a small white box in the living room. Should be near the couches somewhere. There is an arrow pointing up and one pointing down. This is how you ajust the temp. You can only put it to a Max of 25 it tells you this in your guest book information in your lodge. I think 23 or 24 puts the heating on. Hope this helps.
Anyway I go to center parcs with my mum every year and it is a must see. You never want to leave and 1 week is just not long enough. Even though this holiday can get tiring, it is very peaceful and quiet with a lovely atmosphere. We love it that much that we went 3 times last year. We have stayed in Moorland view a couple of times, it’s a nice area but the hill that leads to the sports plaza and the village center is very tiring to cycle up. We have also stayed in Bilberry wood and beech wood once and Lake beck a couple of times. I must say that Lake Beck happened to be my favorite part. We will be returning this year and we are going to get a New style woodland Lodge.
The lake it wonderful, however you can only go on it when the weather is not cold. When it is freezing you can't get a kayak out it would be far too cold.
The restaurants and fabulous, my favorite is the sports cafe, it is an independent restaurant where you pay first and you feel really comfortable. I also loved Lucianos when it was there. Bella Italia is probably nice too but we have yet to try that.
The activities and great, I my self have done all the things on the action challenge, they are reasonably priced and are great. The tree trekking is brilliant I couldn't go without doing that and of course the high ropes.
The spa is wonderful, very relaxing with music that you hear as soon as you walk in. The outdoor pool is heated in the winter, so you can still go in. Of course it is better in the summer when you can sunbath on the deck chairs, but it doesn't stop you from going all year round. The rooms are great and really relaxing. You get three hours to spend in the spa. We go every time.
The entertainment is great and very professionally performed. Our last show we went to see was Cinderella, which was really funny.
The shopping is great, Natural elements can be pricey but the products are just great. Aquatique is nice; you can buy bathing costumes and all kinds from there. Sportique is another nice shop that I could spend and spend in. The parc market is really useful, very reasonably priced like any other supermarket. Everything you could want. Even sells DVD'S.
The accommodations are nice, we usually stay in a comfort lodge, and however this time we chose to go for an executive lodge. I must admit the beds were more comfortable; we had a DVD player and a dishwasher. To be honest the comfort lodges are still fantastic.
I heard that Oasis is the best out of all of them. I mean this is bound to be the best being situated in Penrith. Its all natural.
Hope this review helps

We arrived to find significant building work closing 1 pool. Several other noisy building sites around the parc. Raised the issue with customer services who really couldnt give a damn...subsequently now threatening them with court action.
Building in car park area
Building in Boating lake area
Building around parc at various villas being "upgraded"
Building in Pool Plaza in entrance hall
Building in Pool Plaza lower cafe / retaurant closed "Crispins"
Otside Pool , Jacuzzi and plunge pool closed

1 reader found this review helpful

Recently returned from a weekend break in Whinfell Forest, we had booked an Executive Villa for our break, we were greeted by mice when we entered the villa, we contacted guest services and pest control who came and layed traps hardly the best start or environment for our three year old to be rampaging around in, we were moved halfway across the site to a shabby comfort lodge, how does that work being downgraded and inconvenienced when the problem is not your fault, guest services just not imterested the whole episode left a bitter taste for the weekend currently trying to ratify the problem via Head Office and Whinfell but no joy as of yet. Dont GO !

3 readers found this review helpful

We have just returned from a mid week break at Whinfell (by we i mean me and my boyfriend) and we had a fantastic time, i can't recomend it enough!! We stayed in a one bedroom apartment which was right on the lake and central to the majority of the activities and amenities. We were about a 5 minute walk from the pool, all of the restaurants, the shop, the pub etc. The apartment was very clean and had everything you would need for your stay i.e hairdryer, iron, ironing board, tv with dvd player, cd player, microwave, gas stove and gas oven with extractor fan. All utensils and plates and cutlery are also there. As we were in accomodation that was classed as executive our towels were included as was housekeeping everyday which came in handy. The tv also had a channel that was tuned into a badger cam which you could check all day for sightings. As for other wildlife it was in abundance everywhere, there were rabbits, ducks, moorhens, coots, blackbirds, loads of robins, blue tits and coal tits. That is without the red squirrels and the birds of prey that they have on display. We pre booked the bird of prey experience and the hawk walk and we had many opportunites to capture pictures of the birds in their own environment. The falconers were very knowledgable and gave everyone the opportunity to feed and catch the birds flying to you on a gloved fist, even making the birds stay still for those who wanted pictures. The shop on site has everything you would need and despite comments relating to how expensive it was this was not the case when we were there. The prices are very reasonable and there is no real need to take anything with you. It has a bakery selling pasties and fresh cream cakes. There is a lottery terminal as well which is always good to know. The spa is absolutely fantastic, well worth the money for a treat and some well deserved pampering. I had a pedicure and a manicure and both were unbelievable!! I didn't pre book any of these and they were very accomodating in finding adequate times. The pool is huge and has hot tubs, slides and waves - something for everyone!! Easy to spend hours in there and as it is free why not make the most of it! We ate out at Bella Italia one evening and had a takeaway from the indian on another night, both meals were fantastic and the service is wonderful. We didn't go into the pub and instead had a bottle of wine in the apartment. We didn't hire any bikes as we didn't need to, we were close to everything and the walk from one end of the village to the other was only approx 30 minutes so the exercise and fresh air did us good. Overall it was a very enjoyable and relaxing week and we would definately return

Just returned from an excellent weekend break. New Woodland Lodge was very impressive - a vast improvement - very comfortable. Restaurants visited were Cafe Rouge, Bella Italia, Yang and the Indian Restaurant. As people have said before, their prices are slightly higher than off site restaurants but the quality and quantity are extremely good. Have been to all four villages in the UK and will definitely return in the future.

We have just returned from a midweek break at Whinfell Forest Centre Parcs, and yet again have had a fantastic time. This was our second visit, and we stayed in a Comfort Woodland Lodge. It was very clean, although a bit shabby (although the park is in the process of completely refurbishing all its accommodation), spacious and well equipped.
My children are aged 1 and 2, and there was plenty to keep them occupied. They enjoyed a couple of crèche sessions where they had a fab time and the staff are all lovely. While the kids were in the crèche we spent 2 hours in the spa - deliciously relaxing, and well worth the money (we got a discount for putting the kids in for a 3 hour crèche session).
The pool is fabulous - we spent 2 full days there. There are lots of different pools, slides, rapids and waves, secluded seating areas (which you can leave your towels on and keep coming back to), and the toddler pool is great, with lots of toys and slides perfect for my 2 yr old.
We ate out a few times, and were impressed every time. Yes, the prices are a little inflated, but this is to be expected on any holiday park. The supermarket is very well stocked and good value. The only negative I would have would be the lack of soft play for little ones. Most restaurants have a play area, but they tend to be small and really only suitable for babies. There are bigger play areas, but they are really only suited to 3+.
We have booked again, next time for Sherwood as we have heard it is the best of the 4 Uk parks. However, we will always be happy to return to Whinfell, and can see us returning to Centre Parcs year after year as it is so fantastically family-friendly.