Center Parcs Oasis Whinfell

We've just returned from a 4 day stay at whinfell forest, center parcs. It's our 4th visit over the past few years and we have enjoyed it each time. We booked within 28 days of our last stay which meant we got the vouchers and free insurance. We last booked a new style lodge for about £279 which was ok, but this year we booked an old style comfort lodge for £199. It did not disappoint. The accomodation was a little dated but very clean, i was impressed that they seemed to have made the effort to keep the older style(badger wood)nice.
As ever, the only down side to center parcs is the prices of the restaurants. We noticed the Lakeside Inn had been renovated. It was very bright inside (a bit glaringly so!) and due to all the kids in there it wasn't a relaxing place to eat. Even though we have a 5 year old it was too chaotic and expensive. We mainly ate at the Bella Italia which although it was so busy the service was very slow, the food was good.
The staff at whinfell were really pleasant and polite and always asking if you were enjoying your stay. The parc market was pretty reasonable and the bakery/cakes were the best i've ever tasted! As for the clothes shop, i'm surprised it's still open with the ridiculous prices they charge in there! Also I would never eat out at "hucks" its so expensive.
The pancake house was great however, really great service and much quieter than the italian or lakeside inn. The pool was obviously really busy most of the time but cant complain as it entertained my 5 year old for hours.

I remember this place being good value for money, peaceful, and at the sametime entertaining for Adults and childless couples alike! Now it seems it has turned into an over priced Butlins?! I can't believe how overrun it was with children on my last visit, which is fair enough for the likes of Butlins, etc. Centre Parcs was my last refuge for a relaxing/ adult targeted stay. Now it seems they've shifted focus to families, and the fast book in and book out cattle market (10:00am leaving time is too early, should be 12:00!).
Centre Parcs has lost it's sole, and I think it's just about the turn over. I filled in their quistionare and I very much doubt they will get back to me, or care for that matter?

We went to Center Parcs because we have been there on several ocasions, we have never been disapointed in the quality of the accomodation, the cleanliness of the villa and the general area within the Center Parcs village is very good, excellent walking with good signage.
The staff are very friendly and helpful they always leave you feeling that they have listened to you,the villa we stayed in was 4 bedroomed very spacious and warm, it was clean and ready to move in,the only thing I disliked was the tv,s were small and old.
If I was asked to give advice to any first time visitor it would be,use the advance booking activity service, take a small torch, dont waste any time get on with it and you will have a fantastic break.

We came to center parcs in March and enjoyed it so much we booked again using the promotion if you book within 28 days of leaving ( not what it seems it turns out ). Bad move, it seems to have got more expensive in the 8 mths since we last came. Accomodation was only nice thing. Booked adventure golf which cost 30 quid for 2 adults and 2 children for a game which lasted 15 mins or so on a tatty old course that didnt leave much to the imagination, a few rocks and castles made of wood which was rotting placed here there and everywhere and they think this classes as adventure golf. Booked to have my daughters hair braided which was £ 5.50 but she then decided in the 15 mins between booking and her appt that she didnt want it doing so explained this and they said the cancellation policy meant i would only get £ 1.37 back from the £ 5.50 I was charged so therefore they earned £ 4.13 off me as I cancelled the appointment. Complained to guest services just to be told the cancellation policy was on the booking form. Cost of food is absolutely horrendous. 4 sandwiches and kids nuggets, chips and kids spag bol ( which was the worst I have ever tasted ) 6 soft drinks set us back £ 60.00 in the lakeside pub, £ 2.00 for 10 chips is a joke, we actually counted them as we couldnt get over it. All in all this will be our last visit as we are so dissapointed. We paid £ 500 for this holiday and it wont happen again. GREED comes to mind. The only thing free is swimming which I am suprised they dont charge you for as they do everything else. Be warned, things here have changed and its about time that they did something about these greedy prices, you pay enough for accomodation. Sorry center parcs we feel let down by you and its a shame as our first visit was fantastic but what an anti climax, to be honest we cant wait to get home and still have 1 day left.

1 reader found this review helpful

We have been regular visitors to Center Parcs, Whinfell Forest, for many, many years and have enjoyed some great breaks there. However, things have drifted on a number of levels and they have got overly greedy. It is time Center Parcs had a wake-up call.
We went again this year for a 4 night stay at half term (24-28 October) and paid over £900 for a 3 bed semi detached lodge in Badger Wood. Prices have been going through the roof and all you get included is the swimming facility. Center Parcs offer many activities and shows etc all at extra cost. However, prices are so inflated and really hammer your budget. We would have booked more but simply could not afford it. If you book similar activities elsewhere you can get them for about half the price.
Our lodge was typical of what we have stayed in for the last 10-15 years. They are roomy and comfortable BUT they have do not appear to have been upgraded or refurbished in all the years we have been going. Carpets and furnishings are worn and stained and the lodges look tired and in desperate need of some TLC. Even the Televisions are the very old box type with the basic channels. For the kind of money they are charging you should get better than this. It just strikes of Greediness – how much can we get away with attitude!
Finally, I need to mention the PRICE PROMISE GUARANTEE as we believe it is very misleading. The guarantee states and I quote “Our lowest price guarantee gives you the satisfaction of knowing you have paid the best price for your break. If you see the same break, accommodation type and size advertised for less please call us on 08448 266 266 and we will adjust your booking accordingly”.
My gripe with the price promise is this. Before we went on holiday Center Parcs were selling off the exact same holiday for just over £600 (we paid about £900). The offer holiday was at Whinfell Forest on exactly the same date. The lodge was a 3 bed like ours. The only difference was that the lodge on offer was the level above ours, being detached. We mentioned this to customer services and sent an E mail about it expecting them to honour their guarantee. They refused to act on our comments because the accommodation on offer was not identical to ours. Technically they are correct BUT the fact is that the offer accommodation was a slight upgrade (it was detached and included a couple of extras e.g. DVD player) to ours. They tried to sweeten things with a few vouchers but point blank refused to implement the price guarantee. Very disappointed. Quality down, customer service down, prices through the roof. What a shame!
Also, before I finish a word about the swimming facility. The changing area is being worked on at the moment leaving insufficient cubicles. Access to the remaining cubicles is from either side and the result is chaos. At busy times (which are most of the time) it is basically a free for all and we personally witnessed arguments over cubicles that were close to getting violent. This work will take some months and then they will start refurbishing the pool area. My advice is to check before you book and give it a wide berth until the work is done.
This recent visit has left a sour taste with us. Customer services all stuck to the same line when we voiced our concerns and we got nowhere. I think that as bookings are still high they can treat the little man in this manner. Keep doing this and more people will vote with their feet and, like us, choose better value breaks with companies who value loyal customers.

Cold room
Insufficient cooking accessories to even cook a pizza!!
Double bed and two single living room chairs only
Fridge noisy
Bathroom ancient
Nowhere for adults to go for a quiet meal or drink without other peoples children annoying you
Village center overcroweded
Car park overflowing because parking not clearly marked
If you want the old holiday camp atmosphere then this is the place for you, but for peace and tranquility in beauiful woodland surroundings (this is how Whinfell used to be) this is no longer the place for you.
We booked for the weekend and lasted 1 day and came home extremely disapointed.
Could have spend a wonderful relaxing couple of nights being waited on hand and foot if we had picked a country house hotel...... next time we will.
Good luck to anyone with children you will not doubt enjoy Center Parcs.

Brilliant as a family holiday but do expect to take out a second mortgage to afford all the activities on offer. NOTHING is free, except the swimming pool and fresh air (and the swimming pool is not as good as it looks...). So-called old style executive accommodation is more the former (old style) than the latter)and a lot needs fixing and updating (fridge was a joke, with bottle shelf broken and unusable and nowhere else high enough to store e.g. milk)
Staff at coal face make the place work. Management behind it more of a hindrance at times, one gets the impression... not good at responding to complaints (even serious ones like the whole place filling up with smoke and smoke detectors going off - took two phone calls and 30+ mins response time bit disconcerting in a woodland location!!!). STaff who actually came round very helpful, suggesting ioniser to get rid of smoke smell or even get a new lodge. Naturally, management stayed very stumm on the new lodge front... again: staff at front line great and helpful without exception. Management? well, as so often, they bring the place down a bit... shame.

5 readers found this review helpful

Most years we go abroad so I was a bir aprehensive about staying in the UK this summer. Sadly the weather wasnt great which was my biggest concern but there is so much to do here that you get over that pretty quickly.
Our party was made up of 3 adults and two kids (13 and 6) and we stayed at Heather Glade which is a 3 bedroom old style exec lodge.
We went for the flying start package which allowed us to beat the jam and unload our car at 2pm. This meant that by 3pm we had our BBQ lit and the wine open (for the adults that is!!) This package also got us 2 bikes for the week and a handy selection of food to get started.
Accomodation:
Our lodge was excellent even if it was a little dated, plenty of space with 5 minutes walk to the village centre or to the plaza in the other direction. Each of the 3 bedrooms was en-suite, we had a lovely garden and a sauna. It was clean and the maids visit every day to freshen the place up.
Excursions:
We pre booked a few to take the sting out of the cost. Get there early and you will have fun. Even in peak season we never felt rushed with anything and the staff were great. The pool is great for the kids. You expect a bit of dirt with so many people there so why moan when you see it?? We booked premier seating for Decades Explosion which gave us front row with dedicated drinks service. Really enjoyed that!!
Meals:
My wife loved the Riverside Lodge, I liked it too but prefer being waited on at a resturant so Bella Italia was my favourite. We averaged £60 per meal for the 5 of us with a drink each. We mixed it with a few BBQ's and home cooking throughout our stay. One thing that I will add though is we treated ourselves to a takeaway from the onsite delivery shop. Great idea to mix Italian, Chinese and Indinian but the portions are small. I felt robbed paying around £4 for 6 small pieces of kebab meat.
Staff:
No complaints at all, we were looked after everywhere we went. One comment was that there were 2 guys in Center Parc suits who could have made more of an effort to smile. We are there on holiday so please act accordingly please.
Tips:
The flying start package was good value and allowed us to beat the rush.
Do not book everything before you arrive, most of the time you can check out the excursion when you get there and decide if it's right for you.
Be prepared for Ducks!! there are hundreds of them!!
WiFi is avialable but was very patchy and not reliable. The Vodafone signal was ok, 02 just about worked too.
I have uploaded a video of our time on youtube which can be found at eyemouthboy center parcs, this shows the accomodation and some good pics of the site.

1 reader found this review helpful

This will be my 7th return to a Centre Parcs. My first experience was about 15 years ago with a group of a total 6 women I only knew one but came away with with an additional 4 friends. We did not do any activities apart from the swimming pool areas and had a great time.
You really do need to take your own food and drinks.
My next visit was at Sherwood - I absolutely loved this place went with 2 other girls and thier sons same age as me and my boy what a fantastic holiday that was about 6-7 years ago kids now 15ish still talk about it!!
Been on my own loved the peace and tranquility - but you do need company now and again but my point is that it's safe to visit by yourself.
Have only visited whinfell and Sherwood out of the two Sherwood is definately my favourite there is just something about this place the animals etc just make the place so peacful and relaxing.
Am due to visit Whinfell next Friday and cant wait I just know I will enjoy the whole experience, just getting my shopping list ready from cossies, wellies to a bottle of wine - just enjoy and get everyone involved in the cooking and clearing - then its fab enjoy your hols :-)

1 reader found this review helpful

This is our forth time at Whinfell, as always we enjoyed it and did not want to return home. We nearly always stay in the New style woodland lodge accommodation which is clean and modern. Plenty to do on the village all year round, bike riding, swimming as well as other activities at extra cost.