Visitors to Center Parcs, which has a holiday village in Nottinghamshire and has its headquarters in New Ollerton, love the facilities but have criticised the prices according to a survey published by Which? today (Friday July 29). The consumer champion released the findings of more than 2,200 stays at holiday parks across the UK.
Customers ranked holiday parks on price, accommodation, cleanliness, food and drink, entertainment, customer services, facilities and value for money. Potters Resorts, which has sites in Norfolk and Suffolk, came out on top with five out of five stars in every category and a customer score of 88 per cent.
Family favourite Center Parcs, which is a Nottinghamshire-based company and has six locations including Sherwood Forest, came 12th in the table out of 19 different venues. It scored just two stars for value for money as guests reported paying £71 per night on average with extra activities on top, finding it was almost the same price as first-place Potters – an all-inclusive. One guest said it was “second mortgage” expensive.
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However, visitors were delighted with the accommodation at Center Parcs, rating it five out of five stars after they enjoyed “luxuries” such as a sauna, hot tub and ensuite rooms. They awarded the group four-star ratings for cleanliness, customer service and facilities.
TV stars Paddy and Christine McGuinness recently praised Sherwood Forest Center Parcs after their original planned holiday was cancelled at the last minute. The couple said they were supposed to be on a flight to Spain with their children but were instead forced to look elsewhere after realising that his daughter's passport had expired.
The Top Gear presenter, who spent a week at the resort, said his kids "absolutely loved it" and praised staff and activities at the resort.
With a 72 per cent customer score Center Parcs emerged just one per cent ahead of Butlin’s, which scored three or four stars in every category to propel it to a 71 per cent customer score. The company has just three sites – Bognor, Minehead and Skegness – and has spent millions smartening up its accommodation and pool complexes in recent years.
Budget brand Pontins - owned by Britannia, the hotel chain rated as the UK’s worst nine years in a row in Which? surveys - finished bottom, propping up the table after scoring just 59 per cent overall. One guest described it as a “dull, dingy campsite”, while others complained of cobwebs, musty smells, sticky furniture and stained mattresses.
Pontins scraped just two stars out of five for accommodation – the worst in the survey. It got the same rating for its entertainment and kids’ facilities, its signature attraction. But others had an “amazing” time and said the trip brought back childhood memories.
Guy Hobbs, editor of Which? Travel, said: “The UK has an incredible variety of holiday parks and resorts. Holidaymakers can choose from those bursting with slides, swimming pools and activities for kids, or opt for a luxury stay in a safari lodge with hot tub.
“Our survey saw smaller, family-run resorts triumph over the biggest names, so there is no need to go for the most expensive option to have a great experience.”
Center Parcs declined to comment and Pontins did not respond to a request for comment when asked by Which?
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