[petercooper]

I've just come back from Center Parcs and have been many times over the past 15 years (but took a break between COVID and now due to their policies over that period). It was fantastic as always, but I'm not sure everything is well.

The park has demand-based pricing for the accommodation, but this doesn't apply to activities or restaurants. We dined out every day, yet despite the park being full, the restaurants were at 25-50% capacity, whereas on earlier pre-COVID visits you'd have to reserve weeks in advance. The same was true for the activities - except for the cheapest options like pottery painting. The cost of living crisis seems to have truly hit Center Parcs' guests, and I'm wondering if it has the ability to adapt to this, as well as it adapts the prices of the accommodation.

[grues-dinner]

I remember going to Center Parks maybe 25-30 years ago with my parents and another family (all in one lodge). I also remember humping in bags and bags of food and drink and getting the bikes off the car roofs.

Perhaps it's just a return to the ancient British Dad tradition of not paying for the optional extras after briefly convincing we millennials that every worthwhile experience has an uplift fee. Even, perhaps especially, if it means organising the stocking of the cars like Captain Scott preparing for a zombie apocalypse.

See also NT picnicing: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/ng-interactive/2023...

Of course, the best bit of the holiday was never going to be a manky old restaurant, you can have those anywhere. It was the forest, the cycling without threat of being turned into chunky salsa on an A-road, the unusual accomodation, the pool, the lodge bubble baths and most of all the fact that blocky-cushioned sofas disassembled into amazing fortress construction materials.

[petercooper]

That's a popular way to do it! But I think it may end up being the way to do it, at this rate. The restaurants used to be very popular in spite of the prices. We eat out as we don't want to cook (enough of that when we go camping!) and the quality of the restaurants is genuinely good (especially their gluten free provision). Whoever buys CP will need to adjust to a new reality though and go much further down the price scale for purchases within the park (one place that was always extremely busy was the Starbucks!)

[gambiting]

I love Center Parcs, it's great place to go with the family. But we always just bring our own food, pack our bikes on the car and usually eat out at one of the restaurants maybe once per stay as a special treat. I assumed most people did the same? The restaurants are hugely overpriced(imho).

[petercooper]

A lot of people certainly always did that, but now it feels like most people are. The restaurants have kept their high prices while seemingly losing most of their clientele. I wouldn't be surprised if they introduce cruise-style dining credits or something with the higher priced lodges to mitigate it.

[TheJoeMan]

Funny because supply/demand should be working both ways... the restaurant prices should be coming down.