Center Parcs de Eemhof

After reading the varied reviews I was a little concerned. However considering the price was nearly half of a UK one, I went with an open mind. We booked 4 nights in October half term so expected it to be busy. When we arrived, the staff were welcoming and VIP cabin (number 417) overlooking the water that we'd booked was lovely and clean, well equipped and had a fab infrared sauna and whirlpool bath in the bathroom. We had paid a bit extra to choose the cabin before arriving and make sure you pick the bedding and towels option. It was well enough away for absolute peace and quiet apart from all the ducks and occasional heron saying good morning. The seating area outside was very cute, just a shame the weather didn't allow for us to be out there. We had an open fire where we bought logs from the daily store. The daily store is pricey so try and take as much with you as possible. We pre booked activities a couple of days before we arrived so we could get the sessions we wanted. We did paintballing, high ropes, archery, darts as a family of 3 and my son went on the flow rider surf simulator which all in was €180. It was well worth it as they were all brilliant and kept my 11 nearly 12 year old entertained. The staff were all excellent and spoke perfect English. Special shout out to Indie who helped me navigate the high ropes! There's a wide variety of food but the brasserie on the marina is by far the best and booking is needed. We didn't make it to Nonna's or Fuego as we didn't book in time. The Action Factory has loads to do for all ages. All in all we had a fantastic time and would go back again. 10/10 for fun, activity and chilling!

I'm going to start this review by stating that I was dubious about travelling here having read very mixed reviews from others who had recently been to this Center Parcs, but given our open-minded approach and past experience of another European Center Parcs (Bispinge Heide, Germany) these doubts were ill placed and I shouldn't have been worried as we all had an excellent stay and it met and exceeded our expectations. We stayed in apartment 24 which is on the waterfront and shared with other, non-Center Parcs residents and holiday makers; Center Parcs call this accommodation a "Water Front Suite VIP Apartment" This location was wonderful, peaceful yet near enough to the main part of Center Parcs and the all important Aqua Mundo and other activities. One extra bonus about the waterfront location is that you can park very close to your accommodation and not have to leave your car in the large car park like usual, this also means you got quick entry/exit to/from the parc when you needed it. From your living room or the outdoor patio (apartment 24 is on the ground floor) you can watch the boats sail by and you get a wonderful sunset in the evening). When we arrived we found the apartment perfectly clean and tidy with fresh towels, bed linen and kitchen essentials such as dishwasher tablets, cloths towels and a few other items all ready to go. There were some small (carry on size) toiletries in the bathroom too. Both bedrooms were a good size with the usual large wardrobe for clothes and bedside tables; the 'master room' had a safe which was free to use and a dresser with hair dryer. In the kitchen, there was a large fridge (also clean) and a good sized, 5-burner hob and microwave/grill appliance. The cutlery, crockery and pots/pans looked pretty new and of good quality - easy to make meals with. The on-site shop was reasonable with a good selection of food to buy, prices were OK with the expected slightly higher prices to pay for the convenience of being nearby (think about your local village shop). Although we didn't use this facility, you could pre-order fresh breakfast rolls for delivery or go there yourself in the morning. The all-important Aqua Mundo was clean, had plenty of lockers and the usual in/out changing rooms with Juliet type doors. I remember seeing one review saying that the doors didn't lock - they do, you just need to lower a catch which is part of the seat to lock both doors and protect your privacy. Inside, there's a good selection of slides including a duo-racer for the competitive ones and others besides. We found it well staffed and not too crowded at all, given that we were in the back end of the holiday season. A particular mention needs to go out to the staff on the flow rider (an indoor body boarding wave machine) who were excellent in instructing and making sure everyone who had booked got the most out of their experience. I would highly recommend this activity (15EUR for 1 hour). On one occasion we had to

Center Parcs De Eemhof is anything but cozy. We lived in area 2, the couttage was not properly cleaned, there were leftovers from the previous guests in the rooms, and food scraps were left in the corners. In the living room, there was clear mold in several places, including under the radiators and on the outer walls, in the rooms there was also clear mold, among other things, under the beds and bedside tables. The terrace and the area outside were not maintained, weeds up in front of the windows and grass that was 20 cm high. On the terrace we had at least 20 visits from rats. At the reception, they were well aware of the rat problem but nothing further happend. We ended up going home after 4 days. Would advise others not to visit Center Parcs De Eemhof Regards Jan from Denmark