We have visited the UK Center Parcs sites at Longleat & Elveden Forest in recent years and decided to try out a CP site on the continent this year. Our main reasons for going to De Kempervennen were the price and the on-site ski centre. We went in the October half-term week when a basic villa at Longleat would have been £1,000 from Mon-Fri whereas de Kempervennen was half the price (€550 = £500 approx.). The UK CP prices seem to have been increasing sharply in recent years so the continental parks become a better option even taking into account a ferry crossing and a tank of fuel for the drive. We booked ski lessons for our family (2 adults & 2 kids – 10 & 5 years old) at the ski centre, which ran for 1hr each day from Tue to Thu. The ski run is not that big (100m, gentle slope) but the centre was very well organised, the instructors were excellent and the kids really enjoyed their first taste of skiing.
Compared to Longleat, the de Kempervennen site was broadly similar but with a few plusses & minuses. On the down-side, the site feels a little old & tired in places and some of the features at a newer site like Longleat were missing – for example, there was no spa or branded restaurants (e.g. Strada). Also, the villas were not 100% clean (e.g. dusty under the beds), which wasn’t great and there was no oven (only a hob & microwave). Also, we would have preferred to be able to book our activities (“toppings”) online beforehand. We had a dinner at the Pizza & Pasta restaurant which was a bit disappointing. On the plus side, the site is flat (easier cycling for our 5-year old) and the animals on-site were a nice touch – our villa was close to the farm with its goats, donkeys & chickens. The CP staff were all really friendly and the organised entertainment in the central dome in the evenings was fun for the kids. The new Eden villas and boat-houses look to be a little more up-market and may be worth a try next time around.
But at half the price of the UK CP sites, we felt the CP experience at de Kempervennen was very good value for money.

During my time at Center Parcs, I found that it was a place for children of all ages, the perfect family holiday. I especially enjoyed the swiming pool, and all the interesting and exciting things there were to do. For example: there was a pool with fish behind glass in which you could see not only the types of fish but learn facts aswell. There was a wild water rapid which, In my opinion, was the best water slide in the park. However, I thought there could have been a life guard at the top controlling the amount of people going into the rapid. This could reduce the amount of accidents occuring during the times when the slide came to a complete stop.The Montana snow centre was an enjoyable experience for my family. I thought that the ski lessons in which my brother took were Excellent for Beginners. He seemed more confident on the slopes after he had taken the morning ski lessons. My sister and I enjoyed skiing at the later hours due to the ski centre closing at eleven O’clock at night!
All in all a very good active holiday.

Visited in Aug 2011 & while still not cheap, much better value than rip off CP UK. We payed about £1100 for 2 bed Eden Premium (new style) which included 2 adult bikes & a few free activities (toppings) which we used to get a child's bike for our 6 year old & a game of crazy golf. We chose the Eden as we saw a few reviews complaining that the original properties stank of smoke.

CP Longleat wanted about double with nothing thrown in for the same week & while yes the food is better in the UK parks, it doesn't justify the crazy prices. It is noticeable there was a lot of English in Holland CP when we visited.

Anyhow, this is a nice park & flat as a pancake, so bikes are excellent for getting about on. Also has the indoor ski centre which unfortunately my wife & kid didn't want to do, but still it was nice to go & watch other people.

The swimming pool seemed a lot less busy than UK & was fine. My son also liked the animal farm, but basically it was the bikes that made the week so enjoyable.

Because Holland is so flat & bike friendly means you can go out of the park & there are cycle paths everywhere so its very safe, & I would definitely recommend getting out & about.

If you go left out the main gate (about a mile or so) there is a little farm shop that also sells ice cream & drinks & has a couple of trampolines plus go karts & kids play tractors. There is also a conservation area with lots of cycle paths over the other side of the road.

If you go right out the main gate you pass a war memorial grave yard & there is also a pancake house (about a mile also) with outdoor kids play area. The food was OK, nothing special. If you carry on to the roundabout & go left you will eventually come into a little village (I think it was Borkel or something like that) & you pass a windmill on the way. Borkel has a couple of places to eat, one being a snack shop kind of like a Dutch version of our chippy, so did the chips with mayo thing.

Back in Center Parks, the on site shop was not bad & the prices seemed fairly reasonable.

On the negative side, the food in the restaurants is pricey & very average & as everyone else has mentioned, you don't get an oven in your accommodation. Surprisingly the best food was the burger joint.

Also found their website to be a bit lacking in info & hit & miss on whether they reply to e-mails you send.

The other annoying thing was the Antwerp traffic on Friday afternoon, but that's life.

In summary I think we will be returning next year & we don't generally like going back to the same places, so I guess we were suitably impressed.

Having despaired at the ever increasing cost of CP's in England, we took the plunge this year and went Dutch. It couldn't have been a greater success. Our holiday was extended by two days (via Pride of Hull North Sea ferry) and even with a full buffet on board, the whole CP experience was CHEAPER than the equivalent in England by a long way! How can you compare £1399 in England with £550 in Holland. You would hardly notice the difference between De Kempervennen and Sherwood Forest. In fact, it reminded me of what CP used to be like when we first started there nearly 15 years ago. Relaxed, no pressures, cheap and a great place for a family to unwind together. No pressured sales and expensive activities. In fact, by booking early we got nearly £50 of activities (toppings) for free. Did the kids miss the expensive activities? Not a bit, but my wallet did.

The Aqua Mundo was every bit as good as Sherwood Forest. In fact, everyone voted the water rapids BETTER - faster, more excitement and quicker turnaround. We went on again and again and again! There was the usual wave pool, tubes etc and an interesting underwater WWF sponsored aquarium/snorkelling experience.

Outside, there were the same activities - cycling, badminton, squash, tennis, adventure golf, pedalos but something was missing, The queues.....oh and we didn't see as many squirrels! (The ones we did see were red ones though,) It was just so much more relaxed, quieter and more peaceful. How CP used to be - walking and cycling through forests with the excitment of the dome and water slides thrown in.

The restaurants were all inside the magical market dome and served good quality, if a little pricey, food. The supermarket was wonderful.I love going into supermarkets abroad and exploring and this was a massive supermarket for CP. The most amazing part was the fresh bread counter. Every morning I cycled to the dome and picked up warm bread rolls, croisants and pain au chocolate to take back to the villa. Who says continental brekfasts are boring!

Overall, we took a risk and it paid off. There was so much to do at de Kempervennen for all ages (our children are 6-16) and a lot of it is free or very cheap. I sound like a cheapskate but I just appreciate good value, and this was just that. I like quality too and this is no different to England, just quieter and friendlier. The pool was a big hit and as it was about an hour and a half drive from the ferry, not much different to the drive to Nottingham. Kampervennen comes recommended and we are going to try another Dutch CP next year. That is part of the excitement of the CP's - exploring a new one for the first time.