The Center Parcs Experience

Skellys Bar is excellent and Jolly Boys is a good spot also to eat in that also does takeaway.

Yeah I was pleasantly surprised by the dining options, the Indian in particular is excellent but Cara's and the Italian are also really good. The sports bar and the tex-mex place were the least appealing to me.

if you’re happy to cook it’s the only way to go imo. I Hate spending money on mediocre fayre.

Yeah think for the next time we’d just be better organised. Bring a few things that can just go in the oven, can’t be doing real cooking. Nothing was bad just grand but too pricey to be just grand.

There was a piece about Centre Parcs in the Irish Times last week which was humorous but also fairly balanced. My favourite part was this:

“Ostensibly there are five restaurants in the “village” but really it’s all the same restaurant wearing different hats. There is Huck’s, which is American-themed. There is Bella Italia, which is Italian-themed. There is Cara’s, the theme of which is restaurant … The food, across the board, is neither great nor terrible. It is fine.“

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-style/travel/2024/06/30/a-week-in-center-parcs-in-longford-youve-had-enough-of-holiday-now-havent-you-daddy/

I thought it was a pretty obnoxious article tbh. The guy ruined his own holiday with his determination to be a dick about it.

Like, what did he expect at a holiday destination that caters exclusively to families, Michelin-starred nouvelle cuisine?

In fairness aside from the Indian the others are quite samey, all do burgers 2 do pizzas. Cara’s is very limited I thought. It all feels like the choices are limited in those 3 restaurants, a lot of something and chips or pizza. There are a few options alright but it does feel very much like the fare is too similar to me. It’s missing something option wise, I don’t really go in for a carvery but it could do with some options from a decent gastropub menu (which I accept would also have a burger on it).

Are the pizzas frozen or fresh?

Really when it's costing so much to go to the place it's not unreasonable to ask for some decent quality restaurants to choose from.

I see they are frozen pizza. Fxxk that. And the prices they charge for them. As I said it's not unreasonable to ask for a decent option for parents. It's a fair expectation. I think though with centre parcs you either love it or loath it. Those who love it seem to take any criticism very personally which is weird.

I can see how you’d think the restaurants are all the same if you just ordered burgers in all of them, I’ve never tried the burger in any of the restaurants tbh. That sort of thing is usually a lowest common denominator which is something good to have if you’ve got fussy kids or whatever but if I’m in the pasta place I’ll get pasta, if I’m in the tex mex place I’ll get something like ribs or fajitas, and I don’t recall ever having a bad meal in centre parcs (though I’m not expecting mind blowing Michelin star food or anything, they’re casual family places on par with your typical chain in any city)

I guess this is why the Indian is said to stand out as I assume they don’t offer a burger option so they actually ordered the food the restaurant specialises in.

Of course the pizzas are frozen. The speed the food comes out I would assume its a similar operation to Weatherspoons food, although saying that Caras is painfully slow service.

Yeah the food has become extortionate. If you compare it to what Weatherspoons are charging its robbery and its basically the same fare. We ate mostly in the lodge but ate out twice on the last day as didn't have access to the lodge and felt ripped off. It wouldn't put me off going again tho as have had similar experiences in family hotels in Ireland. Your a captive audience same as a motorway service station.

the shop there has a decent enough range. I’m sure they must have nice pizzas.

It absolutely kills me to spend so much money in restaurants that aren’t great. Can’t understand the ‘cos holiday’ thing at all.

what age are your kids?

The pool and the facilities are incredible. You won’t regret it.

Eating out is expensive and average enough grub. Personally I would rather thrown on a slow cooker in the morning and spend the 100 quid on activities but other people may vary.

Nothing worse than getting a crap meal on holidays. Especially when you are in your 40's!! I can eat average or poor food whenever I want in my local or at home.I dislike cooking when I am holidays too. Just because I am on holidays, but yeah I'd throw in a decent frozen or fresh pizza into the over before I'd spend between 10 and 15 quid on one in the restaurant. And the thing is you can bet that the pizzas in the restaurant aren't even at Dunne, MandS or Tesco signature quality.

Nah give me a decent food options. Campsites on the continent can do it.

This is what I pointed out a few days ago. It's like people who love Centre Parcs take any sort of legitimate criticisms personally. What I would say to anyone thinking of going is to give a go for a few days and make up your mind then. It's great for younger kids. Brilliant. Most of the add-ons and up selling is seriously over priced though. Absolutely you can self cater. Nothing wrong with that. However a lot of people don't want to do that on holidays especially being tired after activities all day. That is fair enough too. Centre Parcs in my experience offers nothing in terms of dining experiences. That's a big part of my holiday along with many other I know and go away with. I didn't have a pizza there because I love pizzas and knew only too well they were a gouge.

6 month old isn’t really going to get much out of any holiday. 3 year old will have a great time.

I go every year. went since the smallest fella is 1. Savage place. I have friends that stay in the same executive lodge as us. Makes it dirt cheap. Family upstairs and downstairs and shared kitchen. We get to have a few beers in the evening and we share cooking duties.

Eating out there has become a bit much and the service… well you can tell they arent getting the staff, but to be honest we cook at the house and its perfect now. Do a BBQ too on the stand they have in the back.

The activities are class and not over sold and the pool facilities are unreal for small kids. Having no cars about the place and cycling etc makes the place so safe its good .

The shop on site could rip your eyeballs out more, but its comparable to a local centra/spar.

Your 6month old will love the pool, You'll be holding them but theres loads of smallies there when we go during school breaks.

I'd recommend it no problem and anyone I know go back year on year. Theres a reason they have over 90% occupancy

Tbh the beauty of Centerparcs is that it just takes a lot of decision making out of a holiday. You don't have to worry about any sort of logistics - where to eat and will it be kid friendly, where to go, what to do and how to get there etc - these things are a hassle/headache with kids on a standard holiday and you don't really have to worry about them in CP. Even walking around in a safe place and letting the kids "off the leash" gives a certain peace of mind

Yeah and that's exactly what that Irish Times guy has missed. The whole article is about how bored he was, how much money it cost him, how he didn't enjoy the activities. My favourite bit is his moaning that the swimming area was wet, FFS.

If you're bringing small kids on a holiday and expect it to be all about you, then Center Parcs absolutely isn't for you.