Last visited this park abkut 7 years ago - at that time it was Center Parcs, and in the intervening period is has been part of the SunParks brand before reverting to Center Parcs again. Our memory of it was that it was fine, but not at all like most of the CP sites in the UK and Europe in that it is not in the middle of the trees and not in the countryside. Booked for October half term 2011 with some trepidation having read reviews on tripadvisor. Needn't have worried - tbh if you read between the lines often what people are saying is that something wasn't what they wanted or expected, which is not at all the same thing as saying something is bad or won't suit someone else.
We had a 3 bed comfort villa. We wanted a VIP 2 bed for the extra telly, dvd player and breakfast delivery service but they'd sold out. As expected, the villa was basic - furniture wasn't plush, the floors downstairs were tiled. It was extremely clean and plentifully equpped with pans, plates, glasses, cups etc. Coffee maker, microwave and dishwasher were supplied - in other European CP sites you won't get a dishwasher as standard so this was a nice bonus. The hob (no oven, again as is standard in CP Europe) was old and scratched, as were the kitchen worktops and the dining table. This didn't fuss us but I can see that it might bother others, especially as this isn't a particularly cheap holiday, even if it's much cheaper than in the UK. There wasn't much hanging space in the two upstairs bedroom and there was only one wardrobe with shelves above and no drawers in the downstairs bedroom, but all three bedrooms were comfortable and the bedlinen was immaculately clean. Beds, matttresses and pillows were standard European CP, that is to say single beds and bedlinen only and everything synthetic. Heating could be adjusted within a limited range on a thermostat which I think reverts to a cool temperature if not adjusted by you, to save energy, but is quick to respond when you do adjust it. Proper vented chimney so you can have a real wood fire if you want, although this is not encouraged, presumably in the hope that you will buy their special compacted logs from the park shop. All of the accomodation is set amongst the sand dunes, there is a small lake in the centre and a very few trees but this is not a wooded site and some might find it bleak. It is unusual in being right in the town, make of that what you will. It surely shouldn't come as a surprise. The sea front at Zandvoort is not pretty in my view, the hotels, flats etc all have a grey municipal " new town" look to them, but the beach is huge, open and windy, great for kids to run about, play cricket, fly kites etc. Dogs aren 't allowed on the beach during the peak summer months but are from October.
We hired bikes for our whole 5 day stay which were great, well maintained, good value for money. We always cycle from our villa to the facilities, have a nose around locally and try to do a day trip. Some of the rest of Zandvoort, away from the front, is very pretty. Fair few shops, cafes, restaurants etc in town. We spent an enjoyable day cycling through the dunes to Haarlem which is about 12k away, an easy trip even for occasional cyclists (i never cycle in the UK). There are longer round trips that you can do from the door, and I think Amsterdam is only about another 15k from Haarlem. Safe cycle paths everywhere, as you would expect in the Netherlands where everyone cycles.
The rest of the park didn't have much going on. There was the pool, which was small, with one fairly tame toboggan slide and a small short slide, a wave pool, an outside pool and an old fashioned straight 25 m pool for more serious swimming. It seemed clean to me, and the changing rooms were warm. The pools themselves were very warm, particularly the outside pool which would be fun to use in winter. Indoor tennis and squash courts and indoor and outdoor crazy golf weren't being much used. Fairly pricey as is usual. Ten pin bowling was popular but old and tired looking. We ate twice in the restaurant which we thought was fine, better than we expected in fact. Does pasta, pizzas, salads, grilled meats which it is true to say do come with chips as standard but you can have potato au gratin instead if you prefer. There is also the usual CP eat all you like market buffet which we didn't try as we've done it before and it feels like eating in a canteen with everyone jumping up at different times to fill their plates. It would be good if you have fussy eaters in your party as there is always lots of choice and of course no waiting to be served.
We have done CP in the UK and Europe about 10 times in 8 years and I would say this is one of the more basic and run down of the sites. Before we had kids we used to take the mickey out of our older friends who did CP saying it was no more than middle class Pontins, and this is the closest CP comes to that kind of park. But it's clean, great for a base for visiting the area, the pool is fine, the staff are friendly and helpful. Read the website carefully, look at the photos, read about Zandvoort and its environs on the net, it might suit you, it might not. We could have stayed a full week and not been bored, which says it all really.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
