Hotel Het Heijderbos by Center Parks

The park is in lovely surroundings, with lots of wildlife. We’re from the UK, so spotting a Red Squirrel was a real treat. The lodges are well set up, and the kitchen worked really well for self catering. We had an enjoyable stay. Eating and drinking out costs a bit, though it didn’t seem much dearer than Holland generally compared with UK prices. A few more free activities would be nice. The action factory was good for sporty kids.

The petting zoo was a hit with the children. It’s worth getting up at 9 so they can feed the goats, rabbits, guinea pigs, donkeys and pigs. We also enjoyed badminton, the climbing wall, high ropes, swan pedal boats on the lake, and some lovely bike rides. The swimming area was great, and the rapids were definitely rapid!! We had a really great week in the Netherlands, and Centerparcs was lovely, though there were a lot fewer sports courts than in the UK. There was a kids club, which made it feel a bit more like a holiday park than UK centerparcs, but our older children weren’t interested, so we didn’t use it. We didn’t eat at the restaurants, as there weren’t many options and they seemed quite expensive. We brought some food and bought the rest at the Lidl 10 minute drive away. Would definitely go back.

The Jungle dome was great, and the park is very pleasant to walk around. Our premium cottage for 4 was comfortable and in a good spot, zone 5. We paid extra to choose the cottage. Aqua mondo was good, though it could have been heated a little more. The wild river was less fun than at other centerparcs we’ve visited. Restaurant food was mediocre and expensive.

We booked the VIP COTTAGE with breakfast and an earlier check in, but nobody told us we needed a RESERVATION just to sit down and eat the breakfast we’d paid for. At reception, they refused any refund. One lady said this center park claims to refund the money, but 9/10 they never give it back. If your own crew talks about the business like that, what does that say about the owner? On arrival, the welcome was anything but amazing. I asked the receptionist what VIP service was included in our reservation, and she said the bedsheets were included 🤣🤣 We were left waiting in the cold and rain from 13:00 until 16:00 to move our stuff by car to the cottage, then told we might have to wait until 17:00 or later to get inside because they wanted to clean it, despite our earlier check in. The compensation for all that “inconvenience” was 25€ for 1 person to spend inside the park. On the 2nd day, we were still waiting for them to fix this shit situation. We booked the VIP COTTAGE and got total chaos. Our reservation number is 6788232, in case anyone from this company has the guts to reply with a proper solution.