For our holiday to Center Parcs last year we only needed a 2 bedroom lodge as Erin was still able to sleep in a travel cot, which she did in our room. My sister and her partner shared the other bedroom. This year though, with my Mum coming on holiday with us and Erin sleeping in a proper bed, we had to go for 3 bedrooms and we chose the 3 bedroom new woodland lodge, rather than the regular woodland lodge.
418 Birch
This year we stayed in 418 Birch which was a fair bit closer to the Village Square than our lodge the previous year. Unless you want to pay extra to pick an area, or a specific lodge, you will be allocated a lodge randomly it seems based on what you book. While it was nice being a little bit closer, it wouldn’t have been much of an issue had we been further away; we would have just had to take the pushchair out more with us.
The entrance area and layout
As you enter the lodge you are met with a sort of entrance area which has coat hooks and is also where the store room (I don’t really know what else to call it) and the toilet are. I liked that this area was closed off to the rest of the lodge as it meant we could dump our coats and bags, as well as the pushchair, without them taking up space anywhere else. The lodge also has a living/ dining area with a kitchen only closed off by a small wall built around it. The bedrooms are off to the side of the kitchen, as well as there being a bathroom in the middle of 2 of the bedrooms.
Living room
The living room/ dining area is plenty big enough for 6 people and we found that we had plenty of space to spread out a bit. We could all sit and watch TV together or all sit and eat a meal at the table so I couldn’t have asked for more really. The living area has a TV with USB ports and a DVD player and there is also a log burner for when it’s cold.
Kitchen
The kitchen is quite small and only really has enough space for 1 person, especially if you’re cooking or washing up. The kitchen comes equipped with pretty much everything you could need such as cutlery, knives, cookware, cheese grater etc. as well as there being the obvious cooker, fridge/ freezer, microwave and kettle. Our lodge came with a coffee pod machine with a few free pods and there was also a dishwasher with a couple of tablets.
The main issue we had with the kitchen was storage. Last year we ate out quite a lot so we didn’t actually take much food with us. This time though we had planned on eating in the lodge for most meals so we took a lot with us, as well as snacks. The problem really was that the fridge/ freezer was the same size as what you get in a lodge for 4 people. We struggled a lot to fit everything in and while we could buy most things at the Parc Market on site, we tried to save a bit of money by shopping at a regular supermarket beforehand. This is something I’d think about much more carefully for next time.
Bedrooms
There are 2 twin bedrooms and 1 double bedroom (this one has a TV) but if you need more doubles, the beds can easily be pushed together by moving the small bedside table in the middle. However, it’s nice to have the option of single beds for children or family who aren’t a couple. This set up was pretty good for us; John and I had the double room, my sister and her partner shared a twin with the bed pushed together and Erin and my Mum shared a twin with the beds separate.
The bedrooms were really spacious with plenty of storage space. Our double bedroom had a dressing table area with stool, mirror and hairdryer as well as a single wardrobe and three very deep shelves and then there was also 2 bedside tables. Center Parcs have really comfortable beds but the rooms can get very warm, especially if you forget to turn the heating off!
Bathrooms
I really liked that the lodge had a bathroom and a separate toilet. When you’re travelling with quite a few people 1 toilet just isn’t enough so this made things a lot easier for us. The bathroom was a very decent size and it was nice that it came with both a bath and a shower, toilet, sink and heated towel rail. Both the bathroom and toilet also had a toddler step each which made things a lot easier for Erin.
Patio and outdoors
Lodges also have a small personal outdoor area with table and chairs and BBQ space. We were lucky to have quite nice weather at the beginning of the week so we were able to enjoy lunch outside while being surrounded by ducks and squirrels. Our lodge this year was right by the lake so ducks were outside our door most of the time but we also had birds, squirrels and a couple of deer!
I think because of where our lodge was this year we spent a bit more time outdoors so location can make a bit of a difference, depending on what you want to do.
Our 3 Bedroom New Woodland Lodge was a lovely home for our 4 night break at Center Parcs. With the kitchen being the only slight issue, it didn’t make too much of a difference to our holiday and not enough to prevent us from re-booking.
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