Hotel Bispinger Heide by Center Parcs

The snowy forest made the whole trip feel magical. The kids were busy sledging, the lodges looked lovely among the snow-covered trees, and we had the usual snack wrappers and requests for hot chocolate. Inside, the lodges were stylish, modern and thoughtfully laid out. The facilities were clean and well organised, and gave the kids plenty of room to burn off their energy. We also found everyone so friendly. We tried out our German, usually with the wrong words and a lot of hand gestures, and whenever we got stuck, people switched to English without judging us. They were incredibly patient. We'd finally had enough of how expensive UK holidays had become. Booking a week there seemed to mean spending a fortune on beige buffet food in the rain, and with kids, value for money really matters. So, with a spreadsheet, some stubbornness, a bit of Googling, flight comparisons and a close eye on exchange rates, we looked at EU Center Parcs. It turned out we could save around £300 by going abroad during the school holidays. I checked the numbers three times. We could fly to Europe, stay in a beautiful lodge and still spend less than we would in the UK. Would we go back to a UK Center Parcs? Honestly, probably not. The snowy forests, gorgeous lodges and lovely staff made for more value, more adventure and more stories, and we still had money left for airport snacks. That feels like a successful holiday to me.