General news
General important information and latest news about Center Parcs.
Keep abreast of the news and updates for all our individual villages here.
Looking for UK updates?
Longford Forest closure update - 20th October 2020
In light of the change to tighter restrictions across Ireland, we are extending the temporary closure of Center Parcs Longford Forest until at least Thursday 3rd December 2020.
The safety and wellbeing of our guests and staff is our absolute priority and Center Parcs is following the government’s restrictions and guidelines.
In the current climate we know that things can change very quickly, so please note that 4th December 2020 is not a confirmed opening date - as soon as we do have a reopening date we will let you know.
For guests impacted by the current closure period the information below should help answer some questions:
Is your break due to commence before 3rd December 2020?
We’re offering the option to either reschedule your break to a future date or receive a full refund.
I want to select a new date in the future:
Breaks are on sale for arrivals up to April 2022. You can rebook for a new date in the future with no amendment fee and we’ll also offer you a €100 discount from your new break.
If you select a lower-priced break we will still offer you the €100 discount and refund the difference. If the break you select is higher-priced, we will, again, apply the €100 discount but you would need to pay any outstanding difference. The discount is only applicable once, so if you have already received this as a result of a prior move or in the event of a further date move the discount will not apply again.
I would like a full refund:
We hope you’ll rearrange your break but we understand that this won’t be possible for everyone. If you prefer a refund you may, of course, take this option. Please note that our refund process may be a little slower than usual right now.
What do I need to do to get a refund or change the date of my break?
Firstly, please ensure any activities, restaurant, spa sessions or treatments are cancelled via your Center Parcs account. These must be cancelled a minimum of 72 hours prior to their start times:
Step 1: Access your Center Parcs account here
Step 2: Go to Booking overview in My Booking
Step 3: View your itinerary
Step 4: Click on each activity, restaurant and spa booking in turn, you will then see a ‘cancel’ button on the details page, click on this button *
Step 5: Click on the green refund button
Step 6: That’s it - you should now see a confirmation screen (please note that you won’t receive a confirmation email)
*If this button is inactive:
- The activity, restaurant or spa booking may have been booked by one of your companions (see instruction below)
- The booking(s) were made via our Contact Centre (you won’t be able to cancel your activities online, please submit the form below)
- The start time is in the past (you won’t be able to cancel your activities online, please submit the form below)
- If you have companions on your booking that have also booked activities, restaurants or spa please instruct them to follow the same process above
Once your activities, restaurants etc are fully cancelled please complete this form to instruct us to either cancel your break or change the dates.
When will I hear from you?
We are working through refunds and date changes in date order and we will confirm your change of date or refund via email as soon as this is actioned. Please allow up to 28 days once you have submitted your form as we have many guests to help.
Can I contact you?
Please use the process outlined above, this will be the quickest way for us to deal with your request. Our team will also be keeping an eye on live chat, social media channels and communicating via email where possible. Please do not call us.
Is your break due to commence 4th December 2020 onwards?
Future breaks:
If you are on a break in the future and currently not impacted by the closure dates, please do not contact us at this time to allow us to deal with guests with imminent breaks. We will continue with our cancellation or date move options for future breaks. If your break is due to take place before the end of December 2020, you will receive an email from us no later than ten weeks (six weeks for all other break dates) prior to your break arrival date outlining the process.
As it stands, we are closed until Thursday 3rd December 2020. We will continue to closely monitor and follow government guidelines so please keep a close eye on our website for any updates. If anything changes for your break, we will contact you directly.
Winter Wonderland
Due to the tighter restrictions now in place, we will not be able to set up and create our planned Winter Wonderland experience at Longford Forest this year. We are so sorry to have to confirm this and know the news will be disappointing for many families looking forward to their break.
All guests visiting during the Winter Wonderland period will receive an email within the next 2 weeks and will have the option to continue with their break, move their dates or cancel and receive a full refund.
Breaks now available until 18th April 2022 - 13th October 2020
We are pleased to tell you that we’ve added more breaks, so you can now book breaks at all six villages for arrival dates up until (and including) 18th April 2022.
Longford Forest closure - 6th October 2020
In light of the change to Level 3 restrictions across Ireland, the decision has been taken to close Center Parcs Longford Forest from midday Wednesday 7th October to at least Friday 30th October 2020. We know that this will be disappointing news but given the advice for people to remain within their county, we do not feel it would be practical or appropriate to remain open. The safety and wellbeing of our guests and staff is our absolute priority and we feel that this decision supports the government’s guidelines.
Our villages in the UK remain open in line with UK government guidance.
We will be in contact to move your break to a different date or arrange a full refund as soon as we can, for guests due to arrive on the following dates:
9th October
12th October
16th October
19th October
23rd October
26th October
As we’re sure you appreciate, our Contact Centre team are working hard to process these changes as quickly as possible and we would ask you to wait for us to contact you, rather than calling us directly.
We would like to thank you for your patience and understanding in these exceptional circumstances.
Latest update following recent UK Government announcement - 24th September 2020
Rule of 6 and other UK Government advice
It is important that you keep up to date with the latest government advice and COVID-19 regulations and understand what this means for your personal circumstances. If you do make the decision to continue with your break then we will assume that you and your party are compliant with government advice.
The Rule of 6 is now law in the UK and if you are in a larger party please prepare to be questioned by our team on arrival or during your break. If we find that your party contravene government advice you will be asked to leave the village as we must protect our other guests. Center Parcs are legally required to enforce the rule of 6 in the UK.
Please note that all our restaurant tables will be set to a maximum of six guests.
Face coverings
The UK Government has updated its position on face coverings and the list of places where you must wear one by law. Center Parcs guests will be expected to wear face coverings in all indoor areas, including all restaurants unless seated and when participating or accompanying children for some of our indoor activities that are not classed as sports the indoor activities listed below.
- All participants visiting one of our UK villages and 11 years or over will need to wear a face covering, up to the start of these activities:
Any photography session, Virtual reality experience, Locked in a room.
- All participants visiting one of our UK villages aged 11 years or over will need to wear a face covering at the beginning of this session:
Aerial adventure, Aerial Tree Trekking, The Drop, Mini Trek (accompanying adult), Indoor Climbing Wall. - All participants visiting one of our UK villages and 11 years or over will need to wear a face covering for the duration of these activities:
Spy School, Crazy Science, Mucky Pups, Hair Braiding, Teddy Bear Making, Fun Pots with Tots, Pottery Painting, Snooker/Pool, Ten Pin Bowling, Football Pool, Baby Balance Bike Buddy, Challenge Golf, Mini Bowling, Mini Musical Movers, Roller Tots, Teach Me Balance Bike, Build a Nature House, All Chocolate Chefs Academy, Crazy Science, All Cupcake Decorating, Forest Craft Woodland Creations, Halloween Broomstick Making, Halloween Monster Making, Halloween Pumpkin Fun, Design a Giant Christmas stocking, Festive Cupcake Decorating (8 years plus), Festive Cupcake Decorating for Little Ones, Festive Pottery Painting, Festive Wreath Making (8 years plus), Festive Wreath Making for Little Ones, Mrs Claus' Gingerbread Decorating - All participants visiting one of our UK villages and 11 years or over will need to wear a face covering during these activities as follows:
Breakfast with Santa - Face coverings must be worn in restaurants unless you are seated at your table
Pantomine - Face coverings must be worn throughout the show but may be removed to enjoy any food and drink purchased at the performance
Santa's Workshop - Face coverings must be worn indoors, these can be removed for your photo with Santa should you wish
10pm closures
Licensed areas in our UK villages will need to be vacated by 10pm. This means that our final restaurant reservation start time will be 8:15pm and other leisure activities that finish past 10pm will no longer go ahead.
If you have a restaurant reservation start time later than 8:15pm or an activity booking that is scheduled to finish later than 10pm please follow the instructions below to cancel and claim your full refund.
Please cancel your table reservation or activity session(s) no later than 72 hours before the start time of the session or our system may automatically charge a cancellation fee.
Step 1: Access your Center Parcs account
Step 2: Go to your itinerary
Step 3: Click on your booking(s), you will then see a 'cancel' button on the details page, click on this button*
Step 4: Click on the green refund button
Step 5: That’s it - you should now see a confirmation screen (please note that you won’t receive a confirmation email)
*If this button is inactive:
- The activity, restaurant or spa booking may have been booked by one of your companions (see instruction below)
- The booking(s) were made via our Contact Centre (you won’t be able to cancel your activities online)
If your booking has been made by another member of your party, please contact them and request that they follow the instructions above to cancel and claim their refund.
If your booking was made directly with our Contact Centre a member of our team will contact you by telephone to issue your refund as soon as we can, though this may take a few days.
If you’re on your break (25th Sep) or within 72 hours of your affected reservation please call our Contact Centre team on 03448 267723 to arrange a refund.
Can I change the time of my restaurant and/or activities?
You will need to follow the instructions above to claim a refund and then rebook.
If you find that you are impacted by government advice and need to change your dates or cancel please view our Book with Confidence guarantee.
All guests are reminded it is essential to comply with the latest government guidelines.
- Wash your HANDS and use sanitiser provided frequently
- Wearing FACE COVERINGS indoors is compulsory
- Keep a SAFE DISTANCE and abide by the rule of 6
If our staff ask you to follow any government guidelines please respect them and comply with their requests.
Test and trace - 24th September 2020
On all Center Parcs villages we will be following the updated government test and trace protocol. Unique QR codes are clearly displayed at entrance points to restaurants, leisure activities and other required locations. You will be able to use the new NHS COVID-19 App to scan the QR code and identify that you have then entered that specific location on village.
Latest government guidance - 11th September 2020
At Center Parcs we continue to follow government advice. Following the latest advice from the UK government, we ask all of our guests visiting our UK villages to check the latest government guidelines to see if the ‘Rule of 6’ announcement impacts their break. For groups of 6 or less your Center Parcs break will be unaffected. For parties above 6 that include more than one household/support bubble, please refer to our Book with Confidence guarantee.
We will assume that all guests arriving at Center Parcs are compliant with government guidelines. If you find that you need to cancel or move the date of your break within 4 weeks of your arrival date, you can do so by completing this form.
Our phone lines are very busy today, if you are due to visit later in the year please use our website for the latest information. Could we kindly ask that you only contact us within 4 weeks of your visit as we are supporting guests with imminent breaks.
Breaks now available until 19th April 2021 - 9th October 2019
Every spring and autumn we will release breaks so you and your family can book up to 18 months in advance. We are pleased to tell you that we’ve opened up bookings until April 2021.
Center Parcs recognised for commitment to charity - 13th June 2019
We are delighted to announce that Center Parcs have won the award for Best Scheme to Encourage Staff Fundraising at the 2019 Better Society Awards. Celebrating our long-standing partnership with Together for Short Lives.
In recent years, an unexplained dog illness known as 'seasonal canine illness' has been found in an increasing number of forest areas around the UK, particularly in late summer and early autumn. The illness is currently believed to be triggered by a naturally occurring cause and has affected a number of dogs in areas across the country, including those local to some of our villages, particularly Sherwood and Elveden Forest. There appears to be no comprehensive explanation as to why this has occurred.
Cases of Alabama Rot have also been reported around the country. This is another unexplained disease affecting dogs. None of our villages have been identified as locations with cases of Alabama Rot, but in the interest of vigilance we recommend dog owners familiarise themselves with the symptoms on the Forestry website.
If you are visiting Center Parcs with a dog please ensure you’re aware to the potential risks of a forest environment to animals. Please research or talk to your veterinary surgeon about SCI (Seasonal Canine Illness) and Alabama Rot.
If you are bringing a dog to one of our villages and have concerns, please call our Contact Centre team on 03448 266 266.
Please note: if you are visiting Longleat Forest, dogs are not allowed on our Land Train except guide dogs.
Tommy’s Award for Best Family Friendly UK Holiday - 5th April 2018
We are delighted to have won Best Family Friendly UK Holiday Provider at the Tommy’s Awards, which took place on 16th March at the Landmark Hotel, London to a packed audience of household name companies and Tommy’s supporters.
Parking on village
We are keen to keep our villages as traffic free as possible so that guests can enjoy the tranquillity of the forest environment. There will of course be a small amount of traffic during times of developments and to support village operation. However, once you have unloaded your belongings from your vehicle, we kindly request that all guests move their cars to the car park as soon as possible, on the day of arrival. In response to recent feedback from our guests, the Security team will be supporting this by requesting that all cars left on the village after this time, are moved. Should the accommodation type include a car parking space, please use the space allocated.
Using hoverboards on your break
Guests who wish to bring hoverboards on their break must be aware of the potential fire risks associated. For the latest advice, we recommend guests visit the National Trading Standards website here.
For your safety, please do not leave a hoverboard charging unattended or charging overnight.
External Shows, Events and Festivals
Because our villages are set in some of the most beautiful parts of the UK, they are often close to popular tourist areas which can mean increased noise and traffic in the surrounding area. Despite our best efforts to preserve the tranquillity of the forest in our villages, there may occasionally be noise from local events, shows and music festivals.
It's never too early to have a short break in the diary, so book now and give yourself something amazing to look forward to.
Accommodation upgrades
As many of our guests will already be aware, we upgrade a number of accommodation units every year at Center Parcs. Work is regularly underway across most of our villages to ensure we continually improve our standards. Such works are closely monitored and disruption to our guests visiting during this time will be kept to a minimum.
Forestry works
As we are in a forest setting it is essential that we manage the environment and preserve the natural outlook. This means that from time to time forestry works such as tree felling may be taking place during your break with us.
The lake in winter
Being close to nature is an important part of a Center Parcs break, but it also means our villages are subject to the whims of British weather! For this reason, and for our guests’ safety, our lakes may close for watersports during the winter. But don’t worry, we still have plenty of indoor and outdoor activities available during this time, from cosy indoor crafts to bracing bike rides.
*available when break booked is 26 weeks or fewer away.