We’ve been visiting Center Parcs in Longleat for 13 years and finally I’ve decided I have an opinion worth sharing. Yes, it’s nothing to do with what I normally blog about but, hey, even recruiters sometimes take a break! These are my tips which are probably relevant to anyone going with kids aged between three and the early teen years.
1. Pre book anything you really want to do. Restaurants and activities get busy and you could easily miss out. If you change your mind about an activity or decide to eat somewhere else you can easily cancel anything once you arrive.
2. The shop is well stocked and about as expensive as shopping in M&S or Waitrose. If you want Asda prices then bring your own food. Even if you don’t mind the price I’d suggest bringing your own booze (lots of it if you are travelling with kids) and if you’re in a cabin during winter months it’s cheaper to bring your own firelogs (this type of fake one). If you plan to self cater you might want to pack a sharp knife and wooden spoons as the kitchen is “stocked” for those eating out!
3. If you have school aged children and aren’t going in the holidays then chances are you’ve booked a Friday/Monday break. If you can get them out of school for even one of those days it’s totally worth it. Friday is the better day as if you arrive at 10am you can fit loads in. If you are there on a handover day the Jardin de Sports is very quiet (it’s the furthest from the car park) – be aware though that not all activities are available. This year on our handover days we played snooker, table football, ten pin bowling, had lovely quiet lunches and swam.
4. Swim. Apart from walking it’s the only free thing. On Trip Advisor people always complain about the changing rooms. However, in my experience (certainly of Longleat) the communal single sex “family” ones are spacious and clean and have available lockers even in the busy times. If you like a quiet pool then getting there the minute it opens at 10am is the answer. It’s busy from mid morning to mid afternoon. And, OMG, do not go after 7.30pm if you’ve small children as the pool looks like a Club 18-30s single night! Oh, one other thing – the hairdryers (they are actually just artfully placed hand dryers) are free to use!
5. If you are eating out there is loads of choice. The one with the best play area (at Longleat) is Hucks followed by the Sports Cafe, Cafe Rouge and Strada. The only one which would hold any interest for a child over eight is Hucks. My favouriate place to eat with the kids is Hucks, the husband liked Hawtons (relatively new restaurant) and the kids all say Pancake House. At the pancake house you can have pudding for your main course – I can’t possibly imagine why mine love it so much..
6. We’ve always gone in November or December which is their Christmas period. You get loads of “freebies” at this time of year from singing reindeer, beautiful decorations, fake snow everywhere and the choir and brass bands they have some nights. The highlight though has to be their amazing fireworks. Even having to stand in the freezing cold on the “beach” (that’s the best spot to view them) is worth it for the fireworks. I’d also recommend the panto. Tricky to get into the spirit of Christmas in early November but the really quite professional panto helped. I’m not sure the Santa’s Grotto is great value for money but it’s a nice touch to offer and when my children were younger they did love it.
7. The staff are great so make the most of them. Over the years we’ve encountered problems from lost property to dodgy steaks to mouldy showers and missing kitchenware. However, I have never had a bad customer experience. As with all these things I’m sure sometimes they aren’t perfect but I would really recommend speaking to customers services as soon as you have an issue as if no one tells them they’ve “lost” a fridge shelf how will they know to replace it (god know how the people before us lost the one in our apartment!).
8. This one maybe should have gone first… there is a lot of choice in accommodation from pretty standard bungalows to the treehouses. Some are right out on the edge of the resort (take night lights if your children aren’t used to the dark!) and whilst much quieter will require a long walk to anywhere. In the summer I suspect it’s lovely down by the lake and outside activities whilst in the cold months you might prefer to be closer to the Plaza with the swimming pool. Even if you stay right near the hub(s) it’s lovely to walk around the outside. We did a long loop from Plaza to Jadin des Sports this year and even with a lazy 10 year old it was as delightful hour.
I don’t have a strong opinion on hiring bikes but if you are out on the edge of the campus then you’ll probably need them and when you have young children the trailers are handy for getting them around whinge free. I personally hate the land train (it’s so bloody slow) but kids seem to like it. I’ve never been to the Aqua Sauna so can’t comment. Whist there is free wifi in the main areas there is terrible phone reception at Longleat so you can probably pretend to be totally offline for a few days.
Finally, I’d really love to stay in one of the “breath-taking Treehouse’s” but until I win the lottery that’s just a distant dream.
