Thursday 20 April 2017

10 things I wish I had known before visiting centre parcs De Huttenheugte in Holland

Centre parcs Holland, De Huttenheugte, European centre parks, Plopsa
We have just come back from a 4 night stay at Centre Parcs De Huttenheugte in Holland.  It was the perfect mix of nature, activities and cake and all six of us had the best time.  We booked our trip very last minute and didn't do much research, so I thought I would share 10 things I wish I had known before we went

1. The restaurants shut at 8pm.

I thought that being in Europe meant mealtimes were often later, but when we stayed out a bit later, we were caught out as the restaurants stop serving food by around 8pm.  We did manage to find one in the activity centre that was serving pizza still at 8:30 thankfully .

centre parcs Holland, de huttenheugte, Centre parcs Netherlands

2. The evening entertainment is like an 80s gameshow

We had decided just to skip the evening entertainment as it was all in Dutch and unfortunately my knowledge of the language is pretty limited (ok, non-existent).  We stumbled upon it one evening though and ended up watching for quite some time.  It mostly resembled an 80s game show - there were strange costumes, renditions of cheesy pop and a rather strange song where everyone grabbed napkins off the table and started waving them.  It is worth watching for an evening, even if you don't speak the language.

3. Plopsa is next door for longer stays

Directly next door to the De Huttenheugte site is an amazing amusement park called Plopsa.  You can opt to buy tickets when you book your cottage and they last for the length of your stay.  The boys absolutely loved it, there was so much to do for them.  I would say it was ideal for 2-7 year olds with indoor and outdoor rides, play areas and shows.  For shorter stays there is enough to do in the main site, but we loved visiting.

Plopsa Holland, Centre Parcs Netherlands

Plopsa Holland

4. Holland has different term dates.

It took me a while to realise that it was so quiet because in Holland and Germany the schools weren't on a break.  Our Easter terms have different dates so not only was the park cheaper, but there were never queues either.

Centre parcs de huttenheugte, Centre parcs in the Netherlands, me&i

5. Pool is amazing and open until 9pm

I haven't been to an English Centre Parcs to compare, but the pool complex was amazing! Set inside a giant dome, there were lots of different pools and areas, two kids water playgrounds, sun beds, a sauna, a shop selling all manner of water gear and a restaurant too where you can dine in your bikini.  We could have spent so much more time in there.  It is also worth noting that they have float vests available for children to use for free in the pool.

6. Water is expensive, bring reusable bottles

It is cheaper to drink alcohol in some places than water, I was shocked when I realised that they were charging me nearly four Euros for a small bottle of water! It is much more cost efficient to bring your own reusable bottles and top them up each day.  The tap water is drinkable, but even if you wanted to stick with bottled stuff, you can buy big bottles cheaper at the supermarket and decant them.


7. So many different bikes to hire - 10 person family bike for the adventurous.

No matter what size your family and what your ability is, there is a bike for you.  We went for the 10 person family bike for a cycle around the lake, but there are mountain bikes, kids bikes, tandem bikes, trailers and every variety you can think of.  There are also great safari trucks for the kids (worth booking in advance).

family bike, 10 person bike, centre parcs de huttenheugte

8. Everyone speaks great English, even the characters.

Every single member of staff we came across spoke wonderful English, including the characters.  The boys hadn't seen any of the shows as we thought that the language barrier may put them off, but when we visited the pancake restaurant, one of them was there to decorate pancakes with the kids and he chatted away with them easily in English.  This was one of the highlights for Dylan!

centre parcs de huttenheugte, European centre parcs, Me&i

9. Take mosquito repellent.

It just didn't register that we would be outside around a lake a lot, so I completely forgot to bring mosquito repellent.  As it happened, we were all fine, but I would suggest packing some just in case if you are planning a visit, especially in the summer months.




10. Milkshake is a big thing, try the Chocomel

Everywhere we went there was milkshake - far more than you would find in the UK and Chocomel was everywhere.  Obviously we had to try some in both hot chocolate and milkshake form and both were delicious!

Chocomel

We had such a brilliant time during our stay and we are hoping to go back as there was so much to entertain us all.

4 comments:

  1. Looks and sounds fantastic. Love the 10 person bike!

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  2. I'm so tempted by Center Parcs Holland! I wonder if they allow dogs? I know the UK sites do but they're not fully dog friendly, we usually go at Christmas time and take ours with us x

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  3. We are going to centre parcs in Holland (but a different one) in a couple of weeks. I'm very excited.

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  4. Aah it sounds great! I'm a long time UK Center Parcs goer and love everything about it. And I had forgotten they have them in Europe until I saw this post on Twitter. Gonna have to go price it up!

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