We recently returned from a four-night family break at Center Parcs Longleat, and it was a mix of nostalgia, new experiences, and plenty of fun. This was our second time visiting Longleat – our first trip was back in 2018 when the kids were just three and six. A lot has changed since then, including our budget, the kids’ swimming ability, and how we holiday.

From Budget Break to Activity-Packed Escape

Back in 2018, Longleat was the most expensive holiday we’d ever had. We paid £300 per night and couldn’t afford to do any of the activities or dine out at the restaurants. Aside from the incredible swimming pool, there wasn’t much we could enjoy for free. Our kids were too young to swim confidently, and we only managed about 45 minutes in the pool each time, holding them the entire time.

We always said we’d return once they were older and we had more to spend. Two years ago, we visited Whinfell Forest Center Parcs in the Lake District, armed with more savings and freedom to book meals and activities. It was such a brilliant experience that the kids declared they wanted to return to Center Parcs every year! While that’s not feasible financially, we did manage another visit sooner than expected—this time to Longleat during the recent May half-term.

The Cost of a Center Parcs Holiday in May Half Term

Let’s get this out of the way – Center Parcs is expensive, especially during school holidays. Our four-night stay cost £1,599, working out at nearly £400 per night. That’s £1,000 more than the same Monday–Friday stay the week just before or immediately after half term. Once we factored in restaurants, fuel, and activities, our total spend hit just over £2,700. Yikes.

It’s even more shocking when you realise we’ve had week-long family holidays to Spain and Portugal for less.

Even more eye-watering? The treehouses at Center Parcs! We had a nosey and saw they were going for £6,000 for the same dates! For that price, we’d rather have a villa abroad with our own private pool. Our last family villa holiday in Cyprus cost just over £4,000—and that was for seven nights, with a private pool and four bedrooms!

So we almost didn’t book it because of the price, but after a few recent active holidays full of hiking and sightseeing, we wanted to treat the kids to a break filled with fun activities, a waterpark pool, food, and reasonably minimal walking. So we decided to go for it.

Center Parcs New Style Woodland Lodge Accommodation

We stayed in a two-bedroom “new style” Woodland Lodge, one of the more affordable options at Center Parcs. There was only one cheaper option (I guess the “old style lodge”?!), and everything else, even the apartments, were more expensive!

It had:

• A double bedroom for us and a twin room for the kids
• A family bathroom with shower-over-bath
• An extra WC
• A kitchen/diner/lounge area
• A private patio with table, chairs and a brick BBQ stand

Though the lodges are terraced, they’re well designed. We didn’t hear our neighbours through the walls and our outdoor space wasn’t overlooked. The interiors were spotless, well-maintained, and came with thoughtful touches like washing-up liquid, a tea towel, dishwasher tablets, and even a couple of Tassimo pods for the coffee machine.

The welcome note on the blackboard in the lounge was a lovely touch—the kids turned it into their personal drawing board all week.

The kitchen was well equipped, and we made light lunches every day—soup, rice pots, easy meals.

The beds were comfortable, and it was so quiet and dark at night that I slept brilliantly from the very first night, which never usually happens when I’m away.

One of our favourite things? Watching squirrels hop across our patio. They weren’t shy either—probably used to being fed by guests. It added to the peaceful forest feel.

The only downside? The eco-shower. It had low pressure and water flow, which made hair washing a bit of a chore, especially with long hair. It made me really appreciate my power shower when I got home!

Working Remotely from Center Parcs

There’s no mobile signal throughout the park (on both our networks), but there is free guest Wi-Fi. It worked well in the lodge, allowing us to continue working online while away.

As self-employed online business owners we can’t take time off, so we were grateful for the lodge’s reliable Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi was less reliable around the park, but for remote working in the lodge, it was ideal.

Eating Out at Longleat Center Parcs

We pre-booked three meals before arriving: Bella Italia, Foresters Inn and Huck’s American Bar & Grill, paying a £20 deposit for each. It’s worth booking in advance—things get busy quickly, and having reservations made our week easier to plan.

We also used the Restaurant Runner service one night to get takeaway delivered to the lodge at a time of our choice, choosing from a selection of cuisines.

Eating Out Highlights:

• Bella Italia was our favourite—so much so, we went again on our final day for a goodbye lunch.
• Huck’s was a big hit with the kids (and probably Ben’s favourite too).
• Foresters Inn was friendly, but some of the food wasn’t as impressive or tasty as other places.
• Every place had plenty of vegan options, which we appreciated.

Also, the robot cats that deliver food at Bella Italia? Still a novelty and just as fun as last time!

Center Parcs Activities We Tried

This time we were able to book a few activities thanks to a more comfortable budget.

• Aqua Park: The inflatable obstacle course on the lake was good fun. We’ve been to the Aqua Park at Adrenalin Quarry in Cornwall, one of the biggest in Europe, so we weren’t as wowed. The lake water at Center Parcs wasn’t as clean-looking either! Still, it’s perfect for younger kids as the course is smaller and easier to navigate. If we hadn’t been on larger Aqua Parks before, I think we’d have been much more impressed! If you’ve not been on one before or have kids who are keen, I’m sure they’ll love it!
• Electric Boat Hire: We’d previously only hired pedalos, but this time we splashed out on the electric boat. Our 10-year-old loved driving us around the lake!
• Target Archery: Ben and our son did this one together and had a blast. Great bonding time!
• Indoor Climbing Adventure: My daughter and I did this while the boys did archery. It reminded me how much I miss climbing at the Tide Climbing Centre in Wadebridge, where we used to be members. The themed walls—snakes and ladders, pinball, space and more—were fun and colourful.
• Mini Bowling and Tenpin Bowling: Great fun for all of us.

We also played pool while the kids enjoyed spending a few tokens in the arcade.

The Treetop Adventure and zip wire over the lake looked brilliant, but our son was a bit unsure, so maybe next time.

The Star of the Show: Subtropical Swimming Paradise

This pool is the main free activity at Center Parcs, and it’s brilliant. The kids, now aged 10 and 13, are confident swimmers so we could all go on the slides and rapids together. A very different experience to them being only 3 years and 6 years old last time we visited. We went to the swimming pool four times during our five-day stay, and it was probably the highlight of their week!

Only issue? It was very, very busy. The May half-term crowds made changing rooms hard to find, showers full and slide queues long. We tried going at 10am, 2pm and 7pm to find a quiet time – no luck. It was packed every time.

They open the pool from 10am to 9pm, but I really think they should open it much earlier to help spread out the crowds.

Also, some slides like the Cyclone and Tropical Cyclone didn’t open until 11am, which created huge queues. We only managed to ride those once each. We’d have loved another go, but the long queues were off-putting.

The outdoor rapids were a firm favourite. The kids made us go again and again—and we loved it too!

There’s also:

• Wave machines
• Whirlpool hot tubs
• Cold plunge pool
• Kids splash zones
• Small slides and play areas
• A poolside café

It’s just a shame the space doesn’t match the demand during peak times. If it’s that busy all the time, then the pool needs to be quadrupled in size, and the changing rooms to ensure a more high-end experience for the price tag of the week!

Shops, Bikes, and Exploring the Park

There’s a central Plaza with gift shops, swimwear, sweets, toys, and even a Joules clothing store.

Prices are high though, my daughter had outgrown her swimsuit and the only one in her size in the swimwear shop was £50! Needless to say, we didn’t buy it. She squeezed into her old one instead for the week, and we ordered a Speedo swimming costume online at a fifth of the price for when we were back home!

The kids loved the sweet shop and getting a few treats each day. Krispy Kreme doughnuts from the supermarket became a post-meal tradition.

As for transport, we brought the kids’ scooters and bikes to save on hire costs. Ben and I walked (or jogged) everywhere. For those who prefer not to walk, there’s a free land train which runs three times an hour – great for little legs and a fun way to get around.

There are loads of adventure playgrounds dotted throughout the park. We managed to explore a few, including one with a brilliant zipline where we raced each other at 9pm after dinner with no one else around. Pure joy! Some of these playgrounds looked brand new compared to our visit seven years ago and catered to a wide age range.

Final Thoughts: Would We Go Back?

We had a fantastic time. The kids were in their element and we enjoyed experiencing activities we hadn’t tried before. It wasn’t cheap, but they had a fun, treat-filled break.

Would we return? Yes maybe in a couple of years or so once the kids are old enough (and brave enough) to do the treetops and zipline. As well as my daughter being 14 so we can go to the spa!

But, now we’ve been to Longleat twice, I would return to a different park next time. I’d also love to go for a full seven-night stay so we can combine days of Center Parcs fun with some local exploration days like we did at Whinfell.

Pros and Cons of Center Parcs Longleat

Pros:

• Fantastic activities for all ages
• Lots of vegan options at restaurants
• Beautiful, peaceful forest setting
• High-quality, clean accommodation
• Perfect for families
• Fun swimming pool

Cons:

• Expensive in school holidays
• Pool and slides get overcrowded
• Costly shops
• The activities are pricey
• Many restaurants and activities need to be booked well in advance

Tips for Visiting Center Parcs Longleat

• Bring your own bikes/scooters if you can
• Pack pool towels (or pay to hire)
• Book restaurants and activities in advance
• Visit the pool early evening for the quietest time
• Take snacks and essentials to save money
• Plan your week—it’s easy to run out of time!

Longleat Center Parcs Map

A Peek at Our Center Parcs Itinerary

Here’s a look at our Center Parcs itinerary for our four-night stay. I tried to sync the itinerary off their website and app to my iCal, but there didn’t seem to be a way, so it was easier to simply screenshot it from the Center Parcs website and print it out.

We took this with us so we could remember all the timings. We could also see the bookings on the Center Parcs app. Hopefully, they will create a way to easily sync all bookings to iCal, as this would have been much easier, and we could have set reminders and alerts to leave when activities or meals were coming up.

The only thing we changed on our plan was the swimming time on Thursday. We skipped swimming this day as we’d already been in the lake in the morning, and had all showered. Instead, we did more work at the lodge, then went and played pool and mini bowling.

On the first day, we took meal deals with us from the supermarket for lunch. On the next three days, we made lunch in the lodge. On the last day, we treated ourselves to a Bella Italia as a final meal before driving home. The drive was approximately 3 hours.

Most of the “free time” was spent cramming in as much work as possible, as we never have days off in the week. So there was little rest time and we came back feeling pretty knackered!

With fitting in the meal bookings, swimming times around lunch and paid activities, Center Parcs is definitely a very organised holiday! Hence why if we went again, we’d look at staying at another location for 7 nights so we have some activity days and other days to explore nearby, as well as include weekend days as we have no work at weekends!