Centre Parcs Heijderbos
We love centre parcs all around Holland. The concept, the housing, the facilities all of these appeal to us make and us return to it time and time again. This time we stayed at the one in South Holland (one hour from beautiful Maastricht and close to Nimegan), in what they call Eden cottage, which is a newer lot, situated in a village type of complex in the park and not in the usual forest area.
The cottage was very modern with all amenities except a washing machine. It even has a sauna and whirlpool a good television in the living room and one more in the children’s room. The mattresses are not the most comfortable but can be endured for a week or so. For those of you who live in the typically crowded Asian cities the way we do, this is a little haven of peace and tranquility. It offers tennis, water activities in a typical centre parcs tropical dome called Acqua Mondo, cycles, kids bingo, disco and many other happenings for children. The air is fresh and unpolluted. There are three restaurants to eat in and a upgraded supermarket to buy all you need should you prefer to cook at home. The usual fireplace in your home could be used in the evening – good easy to burn wood is available at the supermarket too.
This is positively the first time I experienced very friendly and helpful staff at the restaurant who did not scowl down at me when I asked for a Tomato vegetarian soup ( Dutch tomato soup most often has meat balls in it) and who spoke English. The food was very fresh and tasty. We were attended to regularly at our table and served with a smile.
They keep the landscape lush green and natural so no manicured gardens but beautiful Nature and even a peacock wandering around.
We had a good long stay there –almost ten days but was disappointing this time was that the bathrooms stopped getting warm water, the chimney of the fire place seemed blocked so we couldn’t light our wood, and fresh sheets were dumped in the cottage after a week in spite of the fact that we had paid extra for making up the beds. It took three trips to the office to rectify all of this. However I would not be too discouraged by this as these things do happen. We also heard that burglaries take place so we locked all precious items – passport, wallets etc in a safe provided in the kitchen.
So if you are tired of the hustle and bustle of your life or you live in a cold cold country and need a tropical break which allows for swimming and fun activities, or want to give the kids a sporty rejuvenating break in the centre of Europe, try this. There are different packages that suit varying budgets.

We stayed at Het Heijderbos for the May half term, there was 8 of us including 2 children aged 8 and 2, two 18 yr olds, two at 60 and myself and my husband. We stayed in a Comfort villa, which was ok. The cleaner left all of the windows open so by the time we arrived in the evening there were lots of flies and gnats, so we had to spend ages trying to catch them!! Also the villa wasn't very clean and we had to go round cleaning most things, it's a very basic villa with no dishwasher or oven but we found it ok and it done the job! We booked up lots of activities while we were there, including horse riding, tennis, badminton, bowling, mini golf, the kids and the two 18 yr olds loved it. We also hired bikes for the week which we found quite reasonably priced and we used them all the time! There is definatley something for everyone. The swimming pool was brilliant, with wave machines, rapids and flumes, we all enjoyed going there every day! We took most of our food with us and found this was the best option as we did eat out in the pizza pasta restaurant one night and found it to be quite expensive more so than if you ate out at home. There are a couple of nice bars and we liked going to the sports bar during the day for a couple of drinks and tapas, which was very reasonable. There is a big seating area outside with a small play area attatched to it which is ideal when you have children with you.
The only downfall we had was being burgled on our 2nd day, but we did not let this spoil our holiday. As all the villas are quite well hidden in the forest I'm sure noone can be seen it they are up to no good. The representaive from Centre Parcs came to our villa straight away informing the police who arrived an hour or so later. They were very good at dealing with the situation, but we did get the impression this can be a regular occurance. We were offered another villa to stay in but chose to stay where we were, thinking that we had been hit once so they won't be back again. So make sure everything is locked away in the safe and anything that doesn't fit (it's not very big) then hide it very well. We had things taken that included my husbands clothes, all of our purfumes and aftershaves, phones, purses and bags, so quite alot of stuff!! Which was very annoying and infuriating! Keep curtains closed when you are not around with lights on, this apparently deteers the burgulars.
All in all we had a great week and despite being burgled I would go back but be alot more vigilant!!
I would recommend this to families with young or older children, it really is a place that can appeal to anyone.

We stayed here as a surprise for my son's 8th birthday We had previously been to centerparcs port zelande in Holland last year and had enjoyed that.This was completely different 10 times better!!
Nice bungalows, we had a premium 3 bedroom. Not brilliantly clean but very spacious and good facilities. Only problem we had was the dishwasher floode the floor when first turned on but after a quick call to reception they promptly came out and replaced it with a brand new one, as it could not be repaired.
Aqua Mundo was excellent, kids loved it. I have never experienced such powerful terrifying rapids!! They were so much fun, but please if you have a child who is a weak swimmer please make them were one of the lifevests which are available( free). My son who's 8 had to wear one, he wasn't keen on the idea but after his 12 year old brother only went on it once as it scared him, he agreed to wear one. He loved it couldn't keep him off it!!
We bought a bbq from shop (very cheap) and had one ever night as the meat was lovely and very reasonable ( bought from the on site supermarket)
The supermarket had a great range of products and prices were vere reasonable, compared to the uk.

All in all great weekend had here and we will definately come again!

We have stayed in several CP Europe sites( Slowly trying to do all!) Het Heijderbos was one of my favourites! Was a little nervous when we arrived having not been here before and reading some earlier reviews. However our family ranging from 5 to 65 year old had a great time. We hired a comfort villa for 8 again was a bit apprehensive as we ususally go up a grade but the only difference was no dishwasher and no extra TV for the extra 100 euro that would have cost it was well worth it. The villa was very clean and the beds comfy. Kitchen wise it had no oven but we are used to this. I found that bringing a peeler and sharp knife useful as the kitchen equipment is limited. We take nearly all our food for 4 days and just supplement bread and fresh veg and fruit. The camp shop is fine for this if a little overpriced however if you want to venture into Genep there is a great Albert Heinz Supermaket - symbol (CH in blue) very reasonable but remeber that in supermarkets you often can only pay with cash. Loved the little town of Genep you could bike with older children but it is ok to park ther too we used supermaket car park.
There seemed to be lots of cycle routes to explore through the forest which had we been staying longer we would have done.
The site itself seems smaller then Vossermeren for example but this was quite good for getting to grips with. My girls enjoyed the extra activities Zip wire, Water rafting and Wannabe Witch all helpers spoke excellent English. However you can get away without doing these as there is plenty of free activities including swimming and the unique to that site Jungle Dome!
Jungle Dome is a massive dome with climbing ladders, ropes, slides and generally fun exploring it is hot so take some T shirts and shorts for them to change into we also stocked up on bottles of water and snacks.
The aqua Mundo is great especially the rapids which are the Wildest in all the center parcs. It is true I was quite scared at times and even my little girl who is 7 wanted to wear a swim vest to come down them but once you master them you will never come off and you will go home with bruises but have had a great time!
To sum uop a holiday is a success I feel if you come away wanting more and feeling just that it was not long enough Our 4 day break did that and we spent yesterday planning when we could go back!!!!!!!