Center Parcs Review.

In January we went to Center Parcs Longleat for a midweek holiday. I have been many times before when I was a child and we went as a family about 3 years ago so I have many good memories of Center Parcs, but also high expectations. I was not disappointed! Check in was smooth and fast,  accommodation was clean and comfortable, and the staff were all lovely and clearly loved their jobs - we did not meet any member of staff that was anything but happy, helpful and efficient.

ACCOMMODATION

We were allocated one of the newly renovated villas in the 'Fir' area of the village. As we went with friends we had a 3 bedroom villa, the living area was open plan and it was spacious yet felt cosy at the same time. The open fire, which definitely upped the cosy factor,  was well used as we went in January, but the villa was lovely and warm with the central heating alone. Between the two families we had 4 children, including a baby each, which meant we had A LOT of stuff - 2 prams, 2 cots, toys, changing bags, car seats, baby carriers... but they was more than enough storage space in the bedrooms and in the entrance porch, we never felt cramped. My only issues were that we were a long way from the main plaza, but the land train stops were near by and it runs regularly all day so it wasn't as much of a problem as I expected. Also, they are rather stingy with what is provided in the villa - there was only one loo roll in each bathroom and 2 bin bags, so next time we will be more prepared and take more with us. But the villa was spotless, the blackboard was a big hit with the older children and the beds were comfy, so overall we were very happy with the accommodation.

ACTIVITIES

 With two 4 year olds to entertain we sampled quite a few of the activities! The swimming pool was the most popular by far, we were there at least once a day, but often twice. They have recently upgraded the pool to include two new water rides and some impressive children's areas which the older boys and the babies both enjoyed. Casper is a very confident swimmer so was absolutely in his element, he especially loved the waves which start every half an hour after what is supposed to be a Tarzan call, but sounds a lot like a call to prayer! The water slides were also a big hit, although he was only tall enough for two of them, and the ones in the children's pool, there was so much to do that he didn't have time to get bored. We also took him to use the mini jet skis one morning, it was very early which was difficult to herd the children too, but Casper loved it and talked about it for ages after. The staff at the pool were all great, really enthusiastic and interactive with the children but you also felt they were safety focused and were monitoring all areas well.

At the Jardin de Sport we did archery and used the maze. The archery was well organised and very age appropriate, again the staff were wonderful and kept everyone safe, but also entertained. The maze was a new addition which was free to use and well received by Casper and his friend. It is great for kids because it has been built so the walls are low enough so you can see them at all times, Centre Parcs have obviously put a lot of thought in to making it a useful, fun and functional activity. There was a very wide range of activities here, definitely something for everyone; the facilities looked modern and well looked after and the pricing was very reasonable.

We hired bikes for the duration of our stay, well the Dads did as the babies were too small for any of the trailers so I opted to walk instead of bike to make things easier. The older boys were also at a strange age which was kind of in between the different options for kids that aren't riding independently yet - too big for trailers, too small for the bike that clips to the back of the parent bike, so we decided to use bike seats instead, which I hear was fun when going up the fairly impressive hills with a solid 4 year old as well! The helmet which was hired for our friend's little boy wasn't the best quality so I would advise taking your own if possible. The bikes themselves were well maintained and easy to use. If you are looking for ways to keep costs down I would definitely suggest taking your own bikes as it can be quite pricey for the whole family to hire them for the week, but is so much more convenient if you are happy to budget that in to your plans.

FOOD AND DRINK

One of the biggest added expenses at Centre Parcs is eating out or using the supermarket, but the villas are well equipped for you to cook there as long as you are organised and take all food with you; it is possible to keep costs down and have a really good value family holiday but also, if you are happy to spend the pennies there are plenty of options for eating out as well. We decided to cook for two nights and eat out for the other two, our favourite restaurant was the classic Pancake House, the kids loved it, the menu was varied, good value, and filling, and the staff were great, it really felt like a personalised service. We also ate at the American themed restaurant, Hucks, and a burger bar type diner called Dexter's Kitchen and the Sports Cafe, all had good menu choices but were on the expensive side. The food was always tasty, and the kids had good choices too. The supermarket was well stocked, but more pricey than your average supermarket, more convenience store prices, not ridiculously excessive but you could definitely save money by bringing as much with you as you can fit in the car! There is lots of options for getting food and drink in all the main areas of the village, including bars, Starbucks and sweet shops. Most of the restaurants are chain brands, so not the most exciting choices for 'foodies' but definitely enough to keep all the family happy for the week.

SUMMARY

We had a great time and will be looking to book again next year, I will probably be less tight and pay a bit extra to be more central though! We could not fault the cleanliness or maintenance of any of the facilities but the best thing about the village was the staff, as I have said repeatedly, they were all fantastic, you could tell that they all enjoyed their jobs and it showed in the standard of their work - the domestic staff, the lifeguards, the check-in people, the waiters... they were all enthusiastic and helpful! I have highlighted a few ways to keep costs down if you are on a budget so it really is up to you how much or little you want to spend, the initial booking is good value, as long as you can go in term time. There are plenty of ways to splash the cash if you are looking for a bit of luxury, but also you can have a great time without breaking the bank.

10 Things...Holiday Edition

10 Things We Took On Holiday That We Really Didn't Need!

1. Teddy Bear &
2. Story Books - I actually thought that we would continue our normal bedtime routine...Fool!
3. Socks for me when I'd only packed shoes that I don't wear socks with...
4. Vests for Casper- I think even I can agree that 26 degrees is warm enough to go without!
5. Towels- they are heavy and the hotel provided them, which I would have known if I had actually read the info instead of skim reading it. My aunt brought micro fibre towels for going to the beach- they are lightweight and fold up very small, I shall be investing in some before the next holiday.
6. A really uncomfortable bra which creaks when I move - definitely should have tried it on before taking it away. 
7. Three shirts for The Man who hates wearing shirts and only wore one of them for approx 20 minutes as it was too hot and uncomfortable. We were only away for 5 days and knew we wouldn't be doing anything too formal. 
8. A book for me to read- I absolutely did not have time to sit and read!
9. A handbag, everything we took out with us went in The Man's pockets or on the buggy. My hand luggage bag would have been just fine without a handbag as well.
10. An empty tube of deodorant..the full one was on the kitchen table at home...don't pack with a rampaging toddler assisting!

10 Things We Didn't Take That We Really Should Have...

1. Sun Hats for all three of us - I also left these on the table at home because I am a dick!
2. Sun Glasses - see above.
3. The Athens guidebook - see above!!!
4. A variety of sun cream - I only took factor 50, mainly for Casper, but I have olive skin and 50 is a little overkill for me. 
5. Toddler Milk in ready mixed cartons - we don't use this anymore but it would have been very handy for a pre-bed drink as Casper usually has a beaker of cow's milk at home. I thought it would have been easy to source while away but it wasn't really so he just had water instead. I wasn't too worried as we weren't away for very long but the cartons would still have been handy!
6. A light baby blanket - it would have been very useful for naps in the push chair and on the plane. 
7. A book for The Man to read- he doesn't like afternoon naps or sleeping on anything that isn't a bed so he would have had time to read. I would pick a nap over almost all activities - I fully blame nursing for this, before I started my training I never napped now it's whenever I can squeeze one into my day!
8. A really bright luggage tag - I hate the baggage carousel anxiety; a disgustingly loud tag would have made it much easier to spot our bag. It's another thing to add to the list for the next holiday (we are off to Oman in September).
9.  Nipple Cream - not for nipples but for almost everything else! I use the Lasinoh Lanolin Nipple Cream as lip balm; barrier cream when Casper has a sore bum and on all of us if we get sore/dry skin. It is a life saver and would have been lush on my sun burnt shins and on Casper's legs where his swim nappy rubbed.
10. More snack food for Casper - I pack lots for the plane journeys but didn't think about the days that we were there. We were in a pricey hotel so we avoided eating there at all costs! But this did mean we sometimes had quite big gaps between meals, so Casper ended up picking on foods that I would not normally give him so often (packets of crisps and biscuits) which were easy to get and throw in a bag. But if I had been more prepared I could have brought dried fruit or baby snack foods with us to tide him over. 

This was our first abroad holiday so I don't think we did too badly but there is definitely things to remember and change for the next trip!

Holiday! A Review of the Companies We Used.

Apologies for the silence, we have been in Athens for few days. This was our first abroad holiday since firing out a baby two and a half years ago, so consequently was Casper's first time on an aeroplane too! So I was a little apprehensive about how he would behave but he was actually fine - only a couple of strops, mostly due to having to stay in his seat for landing and takeoff! His ears didn't seem to bother him and the other travellers were fab and happy to engage with him so it was much less stressful than I had predicted.

We flew out with Air France who were great, the staff were friendly and really lovely with Casper. We got priority boarding due to the toddler and in a particularly awful queue we were skipped to the front which definitely avoiding a major tantrum! There was a special kids meal which was brought out before the adult ones it included a hot pizza pocket type affair, a potato salad, biscuits and a mini Mars bar. Casper was asleep when it came out so I packed most of it away or later but the adult version was similar but with an orzo salad and an apple tart which was all very tasty and seemed fresh. We kept the buggy with us until the boarding gate when the staff took it to the hold for us, unfortunately they didn't return it at the transfer airport which was a bit of a nightmare as we had a wild toddler rampaging free around Charles De Galle airport for nearly 3 hours but that was really the only negative of the outward journey. I would happily fly with Air France again and recommend to anyone, but especially those with small children.

We stayed at the InterContinental Athenaeum in Athens which was stunning! The rooms were huge, as were the beds- all three of us happily slept in ours. We were in a newly refurbished room - it was slick and luxurious but also felt cosy and relaxing. The staff were amazing with Casper, they were all so friendly and smiley; in fact everyone we met in Athens seemed to love children- he's never been kissed by so many strangers! The only thing that let the hotel down was how pricey everything was, we didn't eat there as main courses were 30-40 euros, a coffee and an orange juice was 15.50 euros, but we got a great deal on the room and the hotel puts on a free shuttle bus into the centre which meant we could go and find food that was more in our budget.

The return flight was with Alitalia who I wasn't as impressed with, Although they didn't really do anything wrong as such everything just seemed a bit less than Air France. The staff were professional but did not come across as very personable and didn't really engage with the toddler.Te food was particularly miserable, there was no child options so he had to have the same dry sandwiches as us - he didn't eat much that night (luckily I still had the Air France food in my bag, so they saved the day!). We took the buggy right up to the plane door and it was returned for the transfer- very handy with an over tired toddler and a long way to walk. The planes were also really rattly and noisy, fine for me as I am not a nervous flier but I can imagine it would be pretty unsettling if you were anxious. I would fly with them again if they were cheaper than other options but I wouldn't recommend them.