Our Return to Center Parcs

Having booked this trip over a year in advance, we had been looking forward to it for such a long time. As this was for the girls’ 13th birthday, I wanted to make it extra special for them, so we invited their best friend from birth — whose mum also happens to be one of my best friends — making it the perfect excuse for all of us to get together.

I decided to return to Center Parcs Woburn, as we really like the area, it’s not too far from us, and we already knew the site fairly well. I also booked the same style of lodge we had stayed in previously, as I find it offers a reasonable price for three double bedrooms, as well as a sauna and earlier access – 3pm instead of 4pm with a Forest Lodge.

What I booked

Activities

• Bowling
• Aerial Adventure
• Archery
• Electric Boat Ride
• Exclusive Cabana

Restaurants

• Las Iguanas
• Pancake House
• Amalfi

This felt like a really reasonable amount of activities. I wanted to find a good balance between having fun and actually having time to relax, rather than cramming too much into the weekend.

Friday – Arriving at Center Parcs

On Friday (officially my birthday), we arrived at around 1:30pm. We could have arrived from 10am, but I wanted us all to ease into the trip rather than rushing around from the moment we arrived.

We had a little explore and got our bearings. As I’d booked a Forest Lodge, we were able to check in from 3pm, which was lovely as it meant avoiding the main rush of families checking in at 4pm.

Our lodge was in the 900s in the Maple area, which was closer to the Village Centre. The last time we stayed, we were in the Oak area, which was closer to the Plaza and Waterfront.

Both times I’ve booked, I’ve just winged it and not paid the extra for a more central location. We don’t mind walking or cycling, so for us, it’s not really worth the additional cost.

Once we’d unpacked and settled in, we headed off for bowling at 5pm, followed by dinner at Las Iguanas. I always try to book activities relatively close to wherever we’re eating afterwards, just to make things a little easier.

I’d originally booked Café Rouge, but the vegan options weren’t great, so I switched to Las Iguanas. This did mean walking from the Village Centre down towards the Waterfront, although at Woburn that’s really not far at all.

The meal itself was okay, but I was disappointed that, once again, there wasn’t much on the vegan menu. The kids ended up ordering a few different sides instead. I wish we’d been given the kids’ menu, as I’m sure there would have been something on there they would have enjoyed.

Unfortunately, vouchers or promotions couldn’t be used there, so my birthday meal wasn’t free — but that’s fine, and I completely understood that. What I wasn’t so impressed with was being offered a drink and then still being charged for it!

Let’s just say I wouldn’t bother dining at Las Iguanas again. Instead, I’d probably choose the Indian restaurant next time. They had a lovely, lit-up outdoor area overlooking the lake, which looked beautiful.

Lesson learned!

We took a lovely stroll back to our lodge, stayed up for a little while longer and then hit the hay ready for a busy Saturday.

Saturday – Birthday celebrations

Saturday was going to be our busiest day. While it wasn’t officially the girls’ birthday, this was the day we had planned around celebrating them.

First up was Aerial Adventure. The girls have done Go Ape in the past and absolutely loved it, so this seemed like a perfect choice for them.

There were a couple of zip lines, including a finale zip line that went right over the lake. My girls are mini adrenaline junkies, so they absolutely loved it! They were already saying they’d happily do it over and over again.

Afterwards, we made our way to the Pancake House, which was conveniently next door, so there wasn’t much walking involved.

There were loads of options, including vegan choices, so I really enjoyed this. It was also very filling — I was absolutely stuffed afterwards!

Once we’d finished at the Pancake House, we headed back to the lodge and relaxed for a little while before getting all our swimming gear together. We packed everything we needed, including beach towels and a change of clothes for dinner afterwards.

Tropical Paradise & our Exclusive Cabana

I’d pre-booked an Exclusive Cabana from 4:30pm until 7:30pm, but we arrived at around 3:30pm so we could have an extra hour enjoying the Tropical Paradise swimming area.

When I went to check us in, we were told that, because of the storm, there was a chance we wouldn’t be able to use the rapids and flumes. They kindly gave us an extra 30 minutes with the cabana to make up for this.

They also said they would make announcements every 30 minutes with updates.

Thankfully, about 20 minutes later, an announcement came over to say that the rapids and flumes were opening again!

We all headed straight to the rapids first, followed by the flumes, which was so much fun. The flumes and rapids are definitely the kids’ favourite, although us big kids had a few goes too!

Afterwards, we headed back to the cabana for a little rest.

I had been hoping to get us all a Starbucks, but unfortunately the Starbucks in the pool area closes at 3:30pm. Thankfully, they have the Canopy, so I ordered us all some chips to keep us going until dinner.

We left at around 7:30pm, got ourselves dried and dressed, and headed off for our evening meal at Amalfi.

When we arrived, there seemed to be a bit of confusion because they couldn’t find our booking. I’d had a screenshot and confirmation, so I knew it had definitely been booked! Thankfully, they still seated us, although they had no recollection of the reservation.

Despite the booking confusion, this was probably our best meal of the weekend. You really can’t go wrong with Italian food!

I’d also booked Huck’s for the Sunday evening, but after spending so much money on activities, meals and treats, we decided we’d save a little money and eat in at the lodge on our final evening instead.

After our lovely, busy and exhausting day, we headed back to the lodge and enjoyed some Nozeco before finally calling it a night.

Sunday – A slower pace

Sunday was much more relaxed.

I’d booked the girls into archery, but it wasn’t until later in the day, so we had a slow start. We headed into ParcMarket and grabbed some hot pastries before making our way over to the outdoor activities area.

The group was a little larger than I’d expected, but the girls handled it really well. They don’t particularly enjoy larger groups, so I was really proud of them.

The group itself was lovely and welcoming, which helped the girls feel at ease.

They did really well with the archery and both said they’d 100% do it again — so that was a huge win!

Afterwards, we decided to grab some Starbucks and ice cream before heading back to the lodge.

That evening, we cooked a meal at the lodge, enjoyed some time in the sauna and then started packing everything up ready to leave the following morning.

Monday – One last activity

We had to be out of the lodge by 10am, so I walked down to get the car at around 8am and started loading pretty much straight away.

We then drove down to the car park, parked up and headed back over towards the Waterfront to enjoy one final activity — an Electric Boat Ride.

It was a lovely way to finish our time at Center Parcs. After the boat ride, we made one final stop to pick up some sweets from Treats and, of course, another Starbucks before heading home.

We left at around 12:30pm and were back home by around 1:30pm, which meant I had plenty of time to unpack, get the washing on and start the drying.

Would I go back to Center Parcs?

Absolutely!

Each experience we’ve had at Center Parcs has been different, and that’s something I really love about it. Even though we’ve been before, each trip has its own little memories, activities and moments that make it feel different.

I definitely plan to book another weekend break. It’s become a bit of a tradition for us — celebrating birthdays, spending time with our closest friends and finishing the summer holidays in style.

And honestly, I can’t think of a better way to do it.