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- Center Parcs, Longleat Forest
- molly13's review
Have a picture of Center Parcs, Longleat Forest?, please send it to us.
Picture courtesy of nt500.
| Value for Money | 6/10  |
|---|---|
| Reviewer Rating | 7/10 |
| Overall Rating | 7.1/10  |
By molly13
on 18th Mar 2007
| Value for money | 7/10 |
|---|---|
| Overall value | 2/10 |
 molly13's recommendation | |
Lots to do
Lots of wildlife
Set over a very large area which is hilly
No phones in accommodation
Cars allowed to drive around the park all the time
Have to go to the pool or sports area to book activities
Having previously visited the Whinfell Forest park for 2 great holidays, my family and I were really looking forward to our Longleat Park holiday. However we were very disappointed. I do blame myself slightly for maybe not doing a bit more research but I don't think that Center Parcs makes the differences between the parks very obvious in their brochures or on the website. Unfortunately our accommodation was a long way from everything and subsequently took a long time to get to the pool or between the pool and any other activity we did. This really limited what we were able to fit into a day. We ended up not hiring bikes as not only was it quite hilly but there were cars driving around the site constantly which I considered to be quite dangerous as we had two young children with us who really wanted to cycle around. Apart from the obvious danger of the cars, their presence just took the edge off the atmosphere for me. At Whinfell I had always thought that one of the most appealing things was the tranquil atmosphere but this was just shattered when a car went roaring passed. There is a landtrain to help you get around but sometimes this gets full and you just can't get on so if you are relying on it to get somewhere on time you may be disappointed.
I found the accommodation lacking too as there were no phones or irons and ironing boards (all supplied at Whinfell). I mention the phones as my 2 nieces were booked in for a dance class which was cancelled. However we only found this out when I went to the sports booking desk to enquire after we had been waiting by the dance studio for quite some time for the "teacher" to turn up. They said that a letter had been sent out to our accommodation but I guess whoever was supposed to be delivering it was still on their way out to our faraway accommodation or had been hit by one of the many cars driving around, as we hadn't got it!
I have been using the word "accommodation" rather than "lodge" as this was also a surprise when we first arrived at Longleat. The lodges at Whinfell are lovely, wooden, Scandinavian-type buildings, whereas the accommodation at Longleat is mainly concrete blocks. Internally they aren't too bad although for the same money you get 2 bathrooms in the 4 bedroom lodges but only 1 bedroom in the 4 bedroom concrete block. Having that extra bathroom makes a real difference with 8 people sharing. I think that there are now pictures of the concrete blocks on the website so maybe they won't be such a shock to visitors now.
I wouldn't say don't go to Longleat, but I would say that if you've been to Whinfell just be aware that it is different. Definitely get accommodation near the pool or the sports plaza so that you don't spend half your time there just walking between places.
Important, please be aware that:
| Helpful | Unhelpful | Agree | Disagree |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Total Respect: -2
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cavebear666 on 14th May 2007