I had always considered that Center Parcs was for 'somebody else.' That is to write that the 'holiday camp' type of appeal of such places was not entirely to my tastes, but this is not intended as a criticism of the parks, well, not this part of the posting anyway. No, just because the nature of these sorts of places does not appeal to me it does not necessary follow that the appeal is not there... it's just not for me.
I had seen with my very own eyes, sensed with my very own senses, that these Center Parcs were loaded with 'appeal.' I had been a day visitor on no less than three separate occasions. And on these occasions, all of them, I had experienced the great pleasure that the parks could afford families with children of that certain age. The enclosed aspect of the parks, the cosy and relatively secluded nature of the cabins, the fact that all that one should require for the duration of a 'short break' was contained upon the site, the fact that there was a bustling hub of multifarious activity freely to hand, all of this clearly had great appeal to the family unit with small children who might be in need of constant stimulation.
When I had last been invited to attend it had been to visit my brother and his family, with two boys of 'just the right sort of age.' And, my brother still recalls his time at Center Parcs with great fondness. Without a similar family of my own to consider, I had always thought the prices somewhat overindulgent. I had always thought that I could travel half way round the globe for these sorts of prices. And, often I did!
Yet, even so, my brother would point out that, abroad there would be considerably less on offer, and that abroad that which was on offer would be likely to be more dispersed, far less conveniently located for a family such as his. And, he was right of course!
Last week my daughter and her family spent a week upon the Elveden site. And I was given cause to further ponder both the appeal and the exploitation of that appeal. When she had said that she was thinking of such a visit I had recalled the praise of my brother, and I said as much. Of course, I wanted nothing more than for my granddaughter to have 'the time of her life!'
When the holiday was over and I was reunited with my delightful granddaughter I asked her what she had most enjoyed and she recalled the, "Huge waves of the swimming pool!" But, as is often the way with small children, she came at me from 'left field,' stating that the very best thing was the fact that every day, "Daddy made a new fire!"
So, on a slightly more negative note, allow me please to expand upon this 'open fire.' Center Parcs, or the Elveden line of this company, has a (is it a) rule upon the use of firewood, whereby bundles of this may only be obtained within the grounds, naturally at somewhat inflated prices.
When I learned of this, it brought to mind the circumstances of the American Dust Bowl. The background to the Dust Bowl situation is openly in the public domain, so I shall skip to the part where we find tenant farmers in the US being paid not in cash but in tokens. These tokens were accepted at the local store, but were otherwise completely worthless; naturally there would be significant mark-up over other shops in the area, where the tenant farmers might otherwise have elected to shop for their goods.
I know that the parallel is perhaps an exaggerated one, but the principle is the same. The purchasers of such firewood are anyway not 'trapped' tenant farmers, and they may well choose to holiday elsewhere... but they are not yet quite free so to do. A point for exploitation not lost upon the management of Center Parcs.
So I looked at other aspects of park life, at what such inflated prices might afford the holidaying family. And I learned that families were given access to the wonderful forest. That would be the same forest that was freely available to the families outside of the park, in the wider and far more extensive Thetford Forest.
Families were also given free access to the swimming pool. And the pool really is something of a pull! The pool is a wonderful place in which those families might spend hours, especially if one's family enjoys frolicking in choppy waters or travelling down exciting water slides. I myself have spent hours there. Everything else will cost you! Every other activity will add to the price of your already quite expensive holiday!
So, what of the time not in the pool? Or time spent bowling (cost not known)? Or what of the meals and the snacks and the other moments away from the waters and not strolling along pathways similar but more restricted than pathways outside of the park?
Well, there is a range of eateries, certainly enough of these to satisfy the tastes of most families and their variously fussy children. Try booking a table for four at one of the restaurants and it will set you back £20! Just to clarify this is twenty quid on top of the cost of the meal.
"Twenty quid?" I puzzled! "Seriously, twenty pounds?" But, apparently it will cost you five pounds a head to pre-book any of the eateries, five pounds for my two-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter! Turn up on spec and it won't, but some families on holiday, especially where children are involved- that is pretty much all families here- set their sights on a certain menu. Why not, whilst on holiday? Why not eat what you, and especially your children, want to eat? So, five quid a head!
And, what about eating in your cosy cabin? Well, no bars here, how could there be? Except to write that all food must be purchased from the on site shops.
This is sort of an exaggeration, but only 'sort of,' because the park tries very hard to inconvenience you if you should elect to do otherwise. Should you take your car beyond the park to buy food at another location, said park will not permit you to drive the load to your cabin. Petty, but also damned inconvenient! Perhaps the families should opt instead to stay on campus, pay those slightly inflated prices. It is only a week, or perhaps two. And, of course you've already spent £2,798 (based upon my spot check search, duration seven days).
Happy holidays! And the family did have a good one. It's just a shame that the Sharcs are not of a more benign nature, especially as they are in the business of selling happiness!
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