Following many posts regarding UK Center Parcs: - 'What's it really like?', (http://www.takethefamily.com/discuss/000066/) we would love to hear of your experiences at any of the 16 Center Parcs Europe villages. Parcs are located in Holland, Belgium, Germany and France. More information can be found at http://www.takethefamily.com/stay/europe/centerparcseurope/. We look forward to your comments.

Just got back from De Eemhof, Netherlands + cheap, villa was half the price of a comparable one in UK, travelling peak season. Even with ferry costs (paid for in tesco vouchers) still cheaper than UK break. +Buffets good, plenty of choice both am and pm. +Aqua mundo good, various pools and slides etc. +children's activities (4+) ok, more available for active over 8s + good English from almost all staff, and tolerant of my bad dutch - shabby; villa outside looked like a council bungalow, and not well cared for inside (VIP villa) - smoking everywhere, inc in children's play areas in restaurants and our babysitter!! - less facilities than comparable villa in UK, no dvd player etc. - lots of add ons to pay for: bowling, clubs, pedalos. - wifi very limited - badly timed eg couldn't see an adult film whilst kids were in clubs due to timings. We'd go again, but lower our standards. VIP vila has sauna which is perfect for drying towels after swimming. If in other villas, bring 2 or 3 sets if you want to swim twice a day. Plan for day trips in addition to activities (under an hour to Amsterdam), 1 1/2 hours from Hook of Holland & ferry. Take sat nav for an easy trip.

Just come back from 2nd year at De Kempervennen in Holland. Both years we've had a bit dodgy weather but lots of activities to do anyway. We stayed with another family in a Deluxe 8 person villa. All clean and everything working. As it rained quite often it did seem a little damp, couldn't get towels dry very easily. Kempervennen has a cable water skiiing and a snow dome so we all learnt to ski. All four children 8,8, 10 and 12 learnt to water ski. You do have to pay extra for these. A week pass for skiing i think was around 45 euros. As said before well worth going out for somthing to eat at a local restaurant same kind of price as eating at centre parcs but quality of food and quantity much better. The food at Centre Parcs we've found to be a bit like a Wacky Warehouse. Kids and adults had a great time and less than half the price of staying in an equivalent UK Centre Park.

I feel like an expert on Center Parcs in the Netherlands - over the last 9 years we've been to each of the 'Original' parcs at least once, some several times. It started when we wanted to get away the year after the birth & death of our 1st daughter, and that happened over the Xmas / New Year period - so what better place to go than a site full of children? Well - the kids were not english speaking & Xmas is slightly lower key there - it worked well for us, and as an added bonus, there was a really cold spell. The lake at de Huttenheugte froze over - not just skating on it but I was jumping up and down on it (and I'm quite heavy). New Year is a very big celebration there. Lots of fireworks - but sadly no longer offically provided by CP (just all the guests). We've since been back with our 2 children (now 8 & 7) and to Longleat (much closer to us, but we've not been for 6 years or so). Living in the west country (Glos), with my mother in Surrey, we tend to go now via the Channel Tunnel, stopping off en-route. To break the journey, this time we're booked into a hotel near Brugge on the way out & Calais on the way back. We have done the journey in one day quite easily, but thsi way you get most of the first day there, get chance to stop at a supermarket (Albert Hijn) en route, and on the last day have a leisurely pack up while the children are in the kids club, rather than having to be away at a silly time. Back to basics. Center Parcs (CP) in the UK is now run by a separate company from EU, but they do still have a working relationship. Prices in the European parcs are a lot cheaper than UK - at least 40% - however, even then different nationalities pay different prices (supposedly to cover the cost of extra language translation, etc). 3 years or so ago, CP bought up 5 other parcs - 3 in NL, 2 in Germany - these are marketed as CP Free Spirit or Sea Spirit, and are cheaper than the Original parcs. They have less facilities, I believe. As well as the 5 'Original' parcs in Netherlands, there's 2 in Belgium (very close to the dutch border, south of Eindhoven), a couple in France & one in Germany. As in England, each parc has different features. If you can get hold of a dutch language brouchure, there's a handy * system for quality of facilities at each parc (I have one if anyone wants to know). For kids, there is a show called Pe Pe Te Ve - with 4 characters; whilst the show is in dutch (with little bits of german in some parcs), there's a little English especially if they know theres English children in, and are very easy to follow the plot - my children love the characters (all of whom can speak english outside the show). They run the childrens disco, and pop up around the site from time to time. The same actors are also involved in the adult evening shows - basically pop songs with a linking theme - the last show I saw there was entirely in English. While the shows are late, many children stay up to watch. Can be naff, but mildly entertaining - or at least, different! Most also have small 'kinderboerderij' - childrens farms - with toy tractors, goats, sheep, calves, chickens, rabbits. De Eemhof is not very far from Amsterdam - close enough to drive to the Ajax stadium & get the park & ride in for a day trip. Many of the shops are 'outside' - off a courtyard by the pool. The sports center is not too far away. We were on our way there when the Essex parc burnt down - bizarre, as de Eemhof had just reopened after a fire, and we ended up in the company of many English people. Special feature - sailing is available just outside the parc. Surroundings: flat. In fact, most are flat, though there are some slight hills at Het Heijderbos - well, bumps - enough to make a one gear bike annoying. Stars for kids: 0-4 3*, 4-12 4*, 12-17 5*. Het Heijderbos - to east of the country, just below Nijmegen (but in season, take a trip to the Arnhem Open Air Museum - would have kept the children occupied for 2 days - just avoid driving past the zoo first, with its huge play area). Special feature - Jungle Dome - a separate dome with hugh adventure playground & tropical vegetation, small cafe. Next door is sports hall, although that is now mainly kiddies play area - quite good, though (and a bar for a quick coffee). I think this one also has a red & black/white squirrel sanctuary! Stars for kids - (same ages as above - 3*, 4*, 4*) De Kempervennen - just below Eindhoven & probably the closest to UK, so quite a few UK visitors. This was one of the first Center Parcs. Special Feature - Indoor Ski Slope (real snow) - so available all year round. There's also a padi diving school. Open Air Ice rink in nearby Valkenswaard over Xmas. Also use Valkenswaard for shopping, rather than Eindhoven - smaller, but good selection, including an Albert Hijn supermarket (lovely selection of ready prepeared ingredients, rather than so many ready meals). We've been at least 3 times to this one, including Millennium New Year (brilliant fireworks at midnight). Children: 3*, 3*, 4*. De Huttenheughte - North East of NL- haven't been there for 9 years, so may have changed. 25m pool as well as traditional CP pool. Chinese restaurant. Observatory, play ship on lake, close to german border (cycling distance). The lake is very large & takes some time to walk round, & I think this is the most spread out of the parcs. Children 4*, 4*, 4*. Het Meerdal - Just to east of Eindhoven. in-line Skating in summer, ice skating in winter. Nothing really unusual about this parc. 4*, 4*, 3*. We went to Erperheide in Belguim (between Eindhoven & Hasselt) for last Xmas / New Year - A big indoor play area occupied us quite well. Not too far from the Belgium National Gin Museum in Hasselt (closed in January)! 5*, 5*, 3* Restaurants. There's the 'S' restaurant - Sapinnier / Sabine.... which is the ' top notch' one - however, note that they are more laid back that the Longleat one - waiters are not in DJ's, although the food is as good. H - Harolds / Henry's - is the family restaurant - Tex mex.There's also a buffet restaurant with a different theme each night (and great breakfast buffets). There's always a Pannekoek Huisje for pancakes & poffertjes (small puffy pancakes) and a burger kiosk - frites met mayo/fritsaus. Also available at some are pizzas delivered to your door. You can also book a fondue or hot-stone for your cottage, supplied with all the meats (yuck). Some cottages (VIP) come with a free delivery of rolls to the door each day for breakfast, and this can be arranged for others. Sports. People go on holiday to relax, so there's less emphasis on sports. There's say 8 tennis courts when the UK would have 16. But it is still there if you need to work up an appetite. I'm told that when the first one opened in the UK they were stunned that all the facilities got booked up so early & they had to build more. Hints for Xmas/New Year - get bookings in for restaurants before you go (you should be sent a pack a couple of weeks before hand detailing the opening times) - especially if you have special diet needs. We're veggie, which is no problem in Netherlands at all, but the message didn't get through for our millennium dinner - so a very panicked head chef rustled something unconventional but interesting up! Also book up baby sittters if you need one - English speakers can be found - very reasonable prices for an evening out. Down side: Once we had a cottage that stank of pet urine. We had to abandon one bedroom (luckily we'd booked a room each for the children), but the park was full, so we could not be moved. However, they did their best and we got a free meal & toys for the children, amongst other things - that's our only bad experience. So hope that's useful. Mark Rogers

I am trying to find out if Center Parcs in Europe have kids clubs for under 4's? also is ther one parc where the villas have less water frontage ? and what about the smoking ? we are all non smokers and my husband hates the smell, do they have non smoking villas like the UK ?

Hazel: Have a look at Center Parcs Europe Category 4 villages. These are particularly suitable for families with younger children, and have kid's clubs for the very youngest members, as well as P?P?T?V? characters at villages to help entertain the kids, with kids shows. In particular, have a look at Parc Erperheide (Belgium) with a big indoor play area , Les Bois-Francs and Les Hauts de Bruyeres (France). Hope this helps - Take the Family

take them to cap d adge in france or euronat. more info @ www.euronat.fr, france4naturisme.fr,freebodyzone.com,thecenturyboo k.com,religioustolerance.org, and themarraigebed.com good luck.