We are no strangers to Center Parcs in Longford. We first visited five years ago when the park newly reopened, we have been back since over Christmas to check out their Winter Wonderland experience too. The kids are always excited to return.
It has been almost three since we last visited and last minute we decided to book a lodge during the kids Easter break. As the kids get older, I find they appreciate creating memories and doing experiences more than sitting at home doing an Easter Egg Hunt. Center Parcs release cancellations every day and so we found a two bedroom lodge two days before we departed. We stayed Monday to Friday.
As the kids are now older, we were able to book them into activities that we previously couldn’t as they were too small and also not confident enough. The weather was a bit of mixed bags those days so we couldn’t really do too many outdoor activities.
We took it easy this time and didn’t book too many things and had a little sleep in every morning. It is a home away from home after all. We brought a selection of food with us and went to the local super market when we were in need of milk, pastries or other things. Chloe loves the shop as they give you a little shopping trolley for kids. Of course as smart as she is, she always got a little treat out of it when we did go to the shop.
On our first full day we went swimming, went down a few slides and enjoyed some time in the whirlpool. We got pizza for lunch at the Canope Cafe before heading back to our lodge to get ready for the first activity. Over the last year or so Chloe learned how to roller-skate. The Sports Plaza has a lot of indoor activities to offer and it is where mostly everything takes place which is great for rainy days. This is where we booked her in for a session of roller-skating. She had an absolute ball and wanted to go again… maybe next time.
During her activities daddy and Matthew did their own thing such as table tennis, short tennis or football. Table tennis is actually a favourite sport of ours so we squeezed this in multiple times during our stay. Matthew joined the afterschool badminton and table tennis so he really liked getting a few completive matches in with mammy and daddy.
We had dinner one of the evenings in the Italian restaurant Bella Italia and Sunday night we went to the Indian. We missed out on this last time because it was always booked so quickly. It did not disappoint and I would definitely go for a meal there again. We also enjoyed a meal in the American Diner Huck’s. Matthew loved the ribs and has been asking to have ribs every time we are out for a meal somewhere.
Chloe is a pancake lover so of course we booked a table for brunch one of the days too. This restaurant is located by the lake.
On Thursday we had Matthew in for a session of football with a few other boys. It was right up his streets and he came out sweaty which is a good thing. He really enjoyed it. The pitches can be booked anytime. We were lucky after the session that someone booked and needed a few other kids to play with. He was occupied for the next two hours or so. In the meantime Chloe was brave enough to try out the climbing wall in the Sports Plaza. She found it tough but really enjoyed it.
Later that day Chloe and I joined a Easter cup cake making session. Everyone got six cupcakes and could design them whatever they wanted. Chloe created some really lovely cupcakes. Arts and crafts is something she has always been very good at.
One of the evenings we hung out on the couch in the Sports bar, played some pool, had a few drinks, sweets and watched some football. Of course the Center Parcs visit was not complete without a few visits to the arcade room. One of Chloe’s friends in the estate was in Center Parcs just a few days before and gave her a few coins that she no longer needed. We bought some more but this kept them occupied for a good bit too while mammy and daddy could just sit down and chill out.
Another evening we went bowling. It it is tradition at this stage that we always have to fit in a session of bowling.
We managed to go to the playground every now and again too. Sometimes it is good to not just have the whole trip planned out and packed to the brim.
We finished our visit off with a nice breakfast in the Sports Plaza on the day of our departure.
Center Parcs is not the cheapest get away but you can make it as budget friendly or as expensive as you like with the kitchen facility in each lodge. However, we do enjoy the restaurant around the park and it makes it more like a holiday than having to cook every night. It is fair to say that we will be back. They have been asking already.